How can it not be? Japanese explorers realize too late that they haven't given the sled dogs they left behind enough of a chance. The look of horror on the men's faces stays with you throughout the movie, and you feel with them each time a dog is swallowed up by the water or a whale.The dogs work together, and are very fit. They may have a chance for survival, but it is treacherous terrain, and a treacherous region of the world.You try to keep count, and when watching the film you probably won't be able to keep up, so when the humans return, you're not too sure what they'll find.A moving an stunning movie. I still remember it very well after two decades.

Where can I buy this book. What a loving movie of friendship and love. After viewing the film that Disney did I came home and I really loved my dog. The wonderful thing that I came away from this film was a strong unconditional Love. Why can't humans learn from these wonderful dogs and their owner. My goodness six months went by and some of the dogs made it through some terrible weather. After everything that these dogs went through they were so happy to once again be with their master. How terrible for the master of these dogs must have felt to leave them behind and not knowing if he would ever see them again. How wonderful it is for someone to believe in something and love the way that this person did for his dogs. Thank you Deb

I saw the movie on TV in the late 80's when I was living in Japan and it has always stayed with me. One reason is that my friend, Karla, said it was from Alaska. This was not logical to me because the harnesses on the sleds were "Eastern Arctic", not Western Arctic. The Eastern Arctic harness is like a fan, the Western Arctic/Alaskan style is the straight line with two dogs running side by side with a lead dog.Another reason is that I adore dogs, and had always asked my father to bring back a Canadian Eskimo Dog (a specific breed) when he traveled north to the Arctic (He refused). And, finally, the cinematography is beautiful. It was a perfect movie to watch with my limited (almost non-existent) Japanese! The images of the landscape have haunted me since that night in Tokushima in 1987.

I know many people only watch movies with lots of special effects or big-name stars, but -Antarctica- must not be overlooked. It's based on a true story; the setting is terrific; and the dogs play their "roles" just as well as the human actors. Kids can watch it without their parents worrying about the content (tho' I'll warn you, some of the dogs *do* die, which may upset youngsters); students interested in Japanese or simply "artsy" films can see it too...in short, anyone can watch it! (Except for the unfortunate few who prefer sex-violence-profanity...too bad for *them*.)