Call this flick March of the Penguins meets An Inconvenient Truth. The label makes sense considering the two movie studios responsible for the films (National Geographic Films and Paramount Classics) collaborated on Arctic Tale, an up-close-and-personal nature pic powered by an environ-political message.

If you’re an animal lover, you’ll love watching Seela the walrus and Nanu the polar bear prance around naively as pups, morph into adults that have to deal with today’s harsh realities of a melting Great North and then give birth to their own little ones.

Lucky for us that aren’t so charmed, this movie is not just for animal lovers. The film takes a serious look at how the disappearing frozen Artic wilderness is negatively affecting the animals that live there and suggests what it might mean for their future (and ours).

Like March of the Penguins, Artic Tale is thorough in its coverage of the lives of walruses and polar bears. Somebody (or probably a few somebodies) had to follow Seela and Nanu around during the eight year span from their births to them giving birth. This feat alone is impressive.

Narrator Queen Latifah adds her own funky spin to the tale, and tunes like Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family” and Kool & the Gang’s “Celebration” are mixed in with music by Ben Harper and Aimee Mann, often giving the soundtrack a skittish feel.

Artic Tale is not just a kid’s movie. It’s for everyone that cares about the environment and the detrimental impact humans are having on it.

Grade: B+

Arctic Tale releases in select theaters July 25.