Live-action animal adventures have always been a Disney specialty, and this one has a pretty compelling plot, inspired by the true story of a Japanese antarctic expedition in the late 50s. A young guide (Paul Walker) and his trusty sled-dog team take a UCLA researcher (Bruce Greenwood) across a glacier to recover a meteorite; though the dogs save the doctor’s keister more than once, they’re left behind when an unexpected storm forces the expedition team to evacuate. The second half drags, crosscutting between Walker as he tries to drum up a rescue party and the dogs as they tough it out in the subzero cold, but the survival drama is genuinely exciting, and the players, both human and canine, put this across with spirit. Frank Marshall directed. PG, 120 min.
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