"Bear to be different."
— Tagline
Norm of the North is a 2016 CGI-animated film distributed by Lionsgate, produced by Splash Entertainment, and animated by India's Assemblage Entertainment and features the voices of Rob Schneider, Heather Graham, Ken Jeong, Colm Meaney, Loretta Devine, Gabriel Iglesias, Michael McElhatton and Bill Nighy.
When Norm, a polar bear with the gift of talking to humans, discovers that tourists are invading his home and interfering with the lives of dozens of other animals, he and three lemmings travel to New York City in order to convince the humans that they shouldn't intrude on their home. While there, they find out that a company run by Mr. Greene is looking for a new mascot. Using his special gift, Norm decides to become the company's mascot in an attempt to convince the humans that they should save the Arctic instead of tearing it down.
Three sequels — Norm of the North: Keys to the Kingdom, Norm of the North: King Sized Adventure, and Norm of the North: Family Vacation — have been released; the first one got a limited release in theaters, while the latter two went Direct-to-Video. A fifth movie was also announced, but nothing's been heard of it since.
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Series-Wide Tropes
- Joke of the Butt: Norm has this in many scenes in all the movies.
- Non-Standard Character Design: Due to the low budget and limited assets, the character models utilise a variety of clashing art styles — ranging from more realistic proportions to more stylised and exaggerated designs — often making them look like they all belong in completely different films.
- Not Allowed to Grow Up: The events of the four films take place over the course of a few years, acknowledged by the characters in-universe, but Olympia never visibly ages and still looks like a pre-adolescent child, despite the fact that she should be at least a teenager by now.
- Unusually Uninteresting Sight: While Norm revealing himself as a talking polar bear caused a major uproar in the first movie, the second and fourth films introduce other anthropomorphic animals that speak to and do business with humans — and have apparently done so even before Norm went to New York — but their presence is completely normalized and the humans see nothing strange about it.
Norm of the North (2016)
- All of the Other Reindeer: Norm is shown to be this. An interesting example in that some of the animals who berate Norm actually are reindeer.
- Anti-Climax: At the end, Norm and his grandfather have to destroy the four houses being sent to their home. It takes them less than two minutes to dislodge the cargo from the boat pulling it.
- Artistic License – Law: Despite Norm exposing Greene's bribery of the Polar Council to Greene's investors, Greene claims that once the houses are in the Arctic the investors are obligated to fund them, despite the contract being made null and void due to his own false pretenses.
- Babies Ever After: How the film ends for Norm and Elizabeth, having had three cubs together: Quinn, Maria and Chase.
- Big Bad: Mr. Greene is the main villain who desires to drive out the Arctic wildlife to build more housing for clients, with very selfish and greedy intentions. He also is responsible for capturing the polar bear Norm's grandfather.
- In the first half of the second film, Mayor Freeman called Norm to receive the key to the city, but stole the key to rob banks in New York while disguised as Norm for the polar bear to take the fall. In the latter half of the film, Prime Minister Voulanov is stealing water from the Arctic to promote his water company and uses robots as his hockey team to cheat.
- In the third film, Dexter steals an artifact than injuries Jin so he can use the artifact to find a hidden shrine filled with money and gold.
- Blessed with Suck: Norm's gift and his taste for human accessories led to him being an outcast in the Arctic.
- Brick Joke: Councilwoman Klubeck lambasts Mr. Green's idea to build condos in the Arctic, claiming that building them in warmer locations like the Bahamas would be far more appealing to her. Green later resorts to bribing Klubeck in order to get her support, specifically by building her a personal condo in the Bahamas free of charge.
- Casting Gag: Ken Jeong plays a corrupt Ecocidal Antagonist named Mr. Green, who comes into conflict with the animals that live in the area he's trying to build on. He had previously portrayed a similar role as Neal Lyman, who also had the ironic title of "King of Green", in Furry Vengeance.
- Didn't Think This Through: In the first film, rather than using his position as mascot to embarrass Mr. Green and worsen his reputation, despite the latter's approval ratings already being at a comically low point from the start, Norm instead plans to get the ratings as high as possible and then denounce Green with everyone watching. It does not occur to Norm that the ever-paranoid Green will have prepared a doctored recording of Norm seemingly endorsing him, which he then plays over Norm's final performance in order to get the project approved.
- Double Entendre: Vera asks Norm at one point to come out. Norm, dressed up in flashy clothing, says "I think I just did!"
- DreamWorks Face: Norm has this on one of the theatrical posters (which serves as the page image).
- Ecocidal Antagonist: Mr. Greene, an unethical real estate developer whose plots are to drive out the Arctic wildlife in order to build more housing for clients, and is not above bribery. He also has captured Norm the polar bear's grandfather, who Norm eventually saves in the film. Additionally, Greene sabotages Norm's initial attempts to convince Greene's company to not build houses in the Arctic through a Recorded Spliced Conversation that manipulates his recorded words to make it sound like he endorses Greene's plots.
- Establishing Character Moment: We first see Mr. Greene in a calm trance and keeping a civil tone. But when Vera tells him the director shooting his commercial quit, he starts panicking, shouting, and berating Vera.
- Expy:
- The lemmings are obvious attempts to cash in on the Minions; the one Norm steps on also bears an uncanny resemblance to Rhino.
- Mr. Greene is basically a third-rate copy of Chester V in terms of role, design and movement.
- Norm himself, in both appearance and personality, is basically Otis as a polar bear.
- Failed a Spot Check: Mr. Greene somehow didn't think anything was wrong with the polar bear in the penthouse… despite the fact the "polar bear" was an actor whose mask was off and he was staring right at the cameras showing this. It's only near the climax does he realize Norm isn't there.
- Fat and Skinny: The two animal catchers working for Mr. Greene.
- Filler: The dance montages. Only one of them advances the plot; the rest only exist to show off Norm's dancing skills in a movie that already has a lot going on.
- Fix It in Post: This line from the director of the Arctic homes commercial after Norm and his friends sabotage the set."We'll fix the rest in post. Anything can be fixed in post! In one of my movies, I wrote the plot in post!"*
- Follow the Bouncing Ball: One of the dance montages uses this.
- For Halloween, I Am Going as Myself: When Norm travels to New York and meets an actor, the actor assumes Norm is another actor going to audition for Mr. Greene's business commercials. For the majority of the film, Norm, along with the Lemmings, walked around with everyone thinking he is an actor. The only ones who know he is a real polar bear are Olympia, Mr. Greene, and some of Mr. Greene's investors. By the sequel, it seems everybody in the New York is away Norm is polar bear as Vera, who also thought the same in the first film, now realizes Norm is not an actor, given she was also surprised to understand Quinn. The third film establishes everyone beyond New York and the Arctic knows about Norm being able to talk as Jin heard of him when they first met each other in the Arctic.
- The Freelance Shame Squad: After Norm's warnings of the humans potentially invading the Arctic are shunned by his father, the former is laughed out of the bear cave by the other animals.
- Furry Confusion: The seals, unlike all the other animals in Norm's home, aren't capable of speaking and only exist as food for the polar bears and killer whales. They even bark and sound like seals, whereas everyone else (even the lemmings, who also don't speak) has more anthropomorphic qualities.
- Gasshole: One of the three lemmings who joins Norm is frequently seen passing gas.
- Gilligan Cut: Norm says he'll never do the Arctic Shake for the human tourists. Then the screen wipes to him doing it.
- Green Aesop: The film focuses heavily on stopping Greene from destroying the Arctic, which would inevitably lead to the animals being driven out.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Mr. Greene kept a flash drive of the recording of him and Councilwoman Klubeck conversation about sending condos to the Arctic despite knowing it would damage the environment. Not knowing Norm spied on them and stole the said flash drive and gave it to the investors, which they later uploaded it to the internet, ruining Greene Homes and placing Mr. Green and the councilwoman under suspicions on bribery charges.
- I Am Big Boned: What Norm classifies himself in the trailer after he breaks a chair after sitting in it.
- I'll Take That as a Compliment: Said word for word by Norm when a man auditioning to be a mascot says that Norm (whom he thinks is another man in a costume) smells like a real polar bear.
- Insane Troll Logic: When Vera sends a video of herself seemingly being chased by an angry polar bear — it's actually Norm trying to get her off the ice before it collapses — Mr. Green decides that this kind of footage and the implied danger and excitement is exactly what they need to sell the idea of living in the Arctic to the public.
- Ironic Name: The crooked real estate developer is named Mr. Greene.
- Lineage Comes from the Father: Norm can emote and speak like a human, which he inherited from his grandfather. Norm's father does not have this ability, likely it skips a generation. Norm's eldest son Quinn inherits his father's ability as shown in Norm of the North: Keys to the Kingdom when Verna and Olympia are shocked that they can understand Quinn.
- Made of Iron: The lemmings. They get crushed by an elevator door (amongst other things) and they just pop back up again.
- Misplaced Wildlife: Although lemmings and caribou are native to the polar Arctic region, they actually live in the tundra, not on the ice caps as the film depicts.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!: As Norm tries to scare off Vera when she's shooting a commercial for Green Homes, she decides to film him chasing after her. It actually helps Vera and Mr. Greene in the long run.
- The Nose Knows: How Mr. Greene knows that Norm is a real live polar bear. The last time he smelled someone like Norm was when he captured his grandfather.
-
No Such Thing as Bad Publicity: When he first suspects Norm, Greene barges into the sushi restaurant brandishing an armed tranquilizer gun, terrifying the other people dining and forcing Norm to physically intervene, with the ensuing altercation resulting in Greene accidentally darting himself and falling unconscious. Footage of this incident being posted online somehow raises the Greene Homes approval ratings, which prompts Greene to officially hire Norm as the company mascot. - Orbital Shot: Very much overused. The camera will frequently orbit around the characters, often with little rhyme nor reason. Case in point.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Averted. It doesn't take long for Olympia and Mr. Greene to figure out that Norm's an actual polar bear and not a guy in a mascot costume, considering that he both weighs as much as one and smells like one.
- Playing Possum: While trying to sneak around Greene's office, Norm lies on the floor and pretends to be a bear skin rug when a maid walks in, but struggles to stay still when she starts using her vacuum on him.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Pablo, the head of Mr. Greene's investors, is one of the only humans besides Olympia that Norm can truly trust, and for good reason. He's hardly frightened by the fact that Norm is an actual polar bear, knowing that he can communicate to humans, and is willing to listen to Norm's side of the story about Greene's homes causing environmental damage, and is also understandably furious after Norm provides video evidence of Councilwoman Klubeck being in league with Greene, who bribed his way into fulfilling his deals. He trusts Norm to help him get him out of the deal, promising to help Vera and Olympia while he's gone, and in the end, he publishes a news report of Greene's corruption, hailing Norm as a hero. Better yet, he also becomes Vera's new boss after she quits Greene, and Olympia gets into his alma mater by the end with Pablo's help.
- Recorded Spliced Conversation: Just before Norm is about to publicly denounce Greene Homes, Greene instead plays a doctored recording of Norm's previous appearances, editing it to sound like he's endorsing the project instead, which is the last piece Mr. Greene needs to legally start building them.
- Running Gag:
- The lemmings popping back to their normal form after being flattened, stomped, crushed, etc.
- One of the lemmings farting for no reason.
- Norm and his dance montages.
- Norm's cell phone rings (in the sequels).
- Shaking the Rump: Norm twerks at least twice in the film. He also drops a Lampshade Hanging the first time he does so while talking to Socrates the seagull.
- Shout-Out: Possibly coincidental, but the Lemmings bear a striking resemblance to Rhino.
- Show, Don't Tell: An inverted example. Almost every scene of Norm in New York has him explaining his plan in full to several different people.
- Smart Cetaceans: The killer whale in the beginning of the movie is able to venture and remain out of the water for long periods of time, although he does retain some non-sapient predatory urges, as seen when he eats a seal (although it was part of a show).
- Talking Animal: Norm and all of the animals in his Arctic home, except for the lemmings and seals.
- Toilet Humor: You have no idea…
- When Norm and the lemmings enter Mr. Greene's skyscraper, the lemmings pee into a fish tank and a potted plant.
Greene: Are they house-trained?
Norm: Oh, definitely! They've peed in tons of houses!- Later, when Norm and the lemmings realize they're being watched inside their new "house," Norm tells the lemmings to act natural. They all start farting.
Norm: (waves paw in disgust) Not that natural! - Two Lines, No Waiting: During the second act, Norm finds out that Mr. Greene is keeping his grandfather prisoner. Norm spends the remainder of the movie trying to free him while also being the Greene Homes mascot.
- Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Zigzagged. When Norm first arrives in New York, reactions range from people realizing that he actually is a real life polar bear, while others pay no mind to him and assume he's just a human in a costume, which gives him the idea to become a mascot for Greene.
- Wham Line: From one of the animal catchers, which starts the movie's subplot.Animal Catcher: "Another talking polar bear?!"
- When You Coming Home, Dad?: Olympia wishes that her mother Vera was not as good at her work so they could spend more time together.
Keys To The Kingdom (2018)
- Artistic License – Economics: The bank robberies are shown to have a disastrous fallout pushing the economy to the verge of collapse, with numerous characters having lost their "entire life savings" and being unable to pay their bills or put their children through college. In real life, all American banks and their accounts are insured by the federal government, meaning the theft or misplacement of mere physical money would not affect the clients' actual balances nor their financial situations.
- Asset Actor: The model used for a younger version of Norm during a flashback sequence in the first movie is reused for his son Quinn, which remains his consistent design in the following sequels.
- Didn't Think This Through: When Norm corners Mayor Freeman in his helicopter, the Mayor doesn't back down and challenges him to settle things like men. Although Norm is Beary Friendly, he's still a fully-grown polar bear, and he overpowers Freeman with little effort.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: The Far North Water company attempt to drill into the Arctic's icebergs in order to get the purest water they can find, in a manner not dissimilar to drilling for oil.
- Good Old Fisticuffs: Attempted. Mayor Freeman tries to invoke this during his final confrontation with Norm, but the latter doesn't even briefly entertain the idea and casually manhandles Freeman instead.
- Ironic Name: Mayor Freeman is most certainly not a "free man" when he's finally arrested for his crimes.
- Small Name, Big Ego: When he's exposed as the bank robber, Freeman boasts that he is "as powerful as a King" and beyond reproach as the authorities approach him. As a local mayor, he's not even the powerful figure in his own city, let alone on the level of a president or monarch.
King-Sized Adventure (2019)
- Acquired Situational Narcissism: When Norm names him as acting king and leaves him in charge of planning the wedding party, Quinn quickly lets the power get to his head and takes to bossing Olympia and the other animals around, leading them to eventually turn on him.
- Bloodless Carnage:
- Jin is said to be badly injured and close to death after the plane crash and subsequent avalanche, but has no visible injuries.
- Dexter's Komodo dragons are shown biting Norm onscreen when he fights them to protect Chen, but he has no claw or teeth marks from this.
- Continuity Cameo: In the flashback, one of the buyers Dexter sells his stolen artefacts to is shown to be Mr. Greene, the villain of the first film.
- Evil Former Friend: Jin explains that he and Dexter were once good friends and partners, working together as curators at their museum. Over time, Dexter's greed got the better of him and he began stealing and selling the artefacts to make himself rich, which eventually cost him his position and integrity.
- Gratuitous German: Dexter frequently uses orders the word "Fassen!" note when commanding his Komodo Dragons.
Family Vacation (2020)
- Growling Gut: Happens to Norm when his work causes him to miss a family dinner.
- No Antagonist: Unlike the first three films, Family Vacation doesn't have an active villain driving the plot. However, Pete and Repete did still Norm's crown that would risk getting the Arctic in Eternal Winter, though they did it for their father, and do regret what they did and apologized.
- When You Coming Home, Dad?: Much of the film's conflict stems from how Norm's duties as king leaving him little time to spend with his kids and wife, leading to them accompanying him on his mission under the guise of a family vacation.