Norm of the North

This animated tale introduces an amiable English-speaking polar bear named Norm (voiced by Rob Schneider) who dances the Arctic Shake. After Norm's King of the North grandfather (Colm Meaney) disappears, greedy Mr. Greene (Ken Jeong)—an unscrupulous real estate developer—decides to airlift pre-fab condos into the area, turning the pristine wilderness into a tawdry tourist attraction. So Norm stows away on a boat to New York City, where he pretends to be an actor in a bear costume in order to infiltrate Mr. Greene's nefarious operation and stop him. Here, he crosses paths with Vera (Heather Graham), Greene's marketing executive, who is eager to get her savvy daughter Olympia (Maya Kay) into a better school. For sidekicks, Norm is accompanied by three flatulent lemmings. Directed by Trevor Wall, Norm of the North is characterized by formulaic (and shoddy) slapstick, weakly developed characters, and cheesy animation. The only bright spot comes from quips by the seagull Socrates (Bill Nighy). Delivering a perfunctory environmental message about the dangers of climate change, this charmless, bland, and boring family film is not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include deleted scenes (5 min.), a “Do the Arctic Shake!” sing-along (2 min.), a “That's Funny!” montage (2 min.), the “Arctic Challenge” trivia game, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a small extras package for a forgettable family film.] (S. Granger)