Polar bear Norm and his three Arctic lemming buddies are forced out into the world once their icy home begins melting and breaking apart. Landing in New York, Norm begins life anew as a performing corporate mascot, only to discover that his new employers are directly responsible for the destruction of his polar home.
The animation already looks dated, and it feels as lazy as the bland narrative, which finds Norm traveling to New York City to try stop construction on his home.
– Devan Coggan,
Entertainment Weekly,
15 Jan 2016
rotten:
Think of every trope associated with animated family movies and you'll find them all in Norm of the North, a thoroughly uninspired story of a polar bear attempting to save his habitat from a hypocritical hippie seeking to develop condos in the Arctic.
– Jen Chaney,
Washington Post,
15 Jan 2016
rotten:
It's got elements of Happy Feet, Madagascar, Despicable Me, Ice Age, and any number of other films. But most of these elements go nowhere.
– Bilge Ebiri,
New York Magazine/Vulture,
17 Jan 2016
fresh:
Neither its animation nor voice performances are particularly memorable, but Norm of the North, especially in its early section set in the Arctic, has its appealing moments.
– Frank Scheck,
Hollywood Reporter,
29 Jan 2016
rotten:
For the tots, the film is blandly inoffensive enough to offer some Saturday afternoon entertainment, but this isn't one of those crossover hits that parents can enjoy just as much as their kids.