March Of The Penguins

Documentary

Charles Berling	Narrator French version
Romane Bohringer	Narrator French version
Morgan Freeman	Narrator US version
Hikari Ishida	Narrator Japanese version
Ryunosuke Kamiki	Narrator Japanese version
Takao Osawa	Narrator Japanese version
Jules Sitruk	Narrator French version
Ching-wen Chia	Narrator Taiwan version
Leon Dai	Narrator Taiwan version

Director	Luc Jacquet; Sabine Emiliani
Producer	Yves Darondeau; Christophie Lioud
Writer	Jordan Roberts; Luc Jacquet

March of the Penguins instantly qualifies as a wildlife classic, taking its place among other extraordinary films like Microcosmos and Winged Migration. French filmmaker Luc Jacquet and his devoted crew endured a full year of extreme conditions in Antarctica to capture the life cycle of Emperor penguins on film, and their diligence is evident in every striking frame of this 80-minute documentary. Narrated in soothing tones by Morgan Freeman, the film focuses on a colony of hundreds of Emperors as they return, in a single-file march of 70 miles or more, to their frozen breeding ground, far inland from the oceans where they thrive. At times dramatic, suspenseful, mischievous and just plain funny, the film conveys the intensity of the penguins' breeding cycle, and their treacherous task of protecting eggs and hatchlings in temperatures as low as 128 degrees below zero. There is some brief mating-ritual violence and sad moments of loss, but March of the Penguins remains family-friendly throughout, and kids especially will enjoy the Antarctic blue-ice vistas and the playful, waddling appeal of the penguins, who can be slapstick clumsy or magnificently graceful, depending on the circumstances. A marvel of wildlife cinematography, this unique film offers a front-row seat to these amazing creatures, balancing just enough scientific information with the entertaining visuals. --Jeff Shannon