March Of The Penguins

Narrated by Academy Award-winner Morgan Freeman, this informative, entertaining and visually-captivating documentary was shot over the course of a year across the stark expanse of Antarctica’s frozen tundra by Frenchman Luc Jacquet. His film crew followed thousands of emperor penguins for hundreds of miles on an annual trek during which they alternately wobble by foot and glide by belly

March of the Penguins might do for the waddling species of birds what Winged Migration did for airborne varieties. Narrated by Academy Award-winner Morgan Freeman, this informative, entertaining and visually-captivating documentary was shot over the course of a year across the stark expanse of Antarctica’s frozen tundra by Frenchman Luc Jacquet.

His film crew followed thousands of emperor penguins for hundreds of miles on an annual trek during which they alternately wobble by foot and glide by belly from their native, ocean-side habitat to a bleak, ice-bound meeting ground where, for millennia, they and their forbears have migrated to find a mate and reproduce.

Once there, the animals proceed to pair-off and procreate. Since each female is capable of producing only one egg per winter, we learn that the survival of offspring is contingent on both parents instinctively collaborating to nurse it, first, through the two-month period of gestation and, then, through the challenging period of adjustment to life on treacherous terrain after hatching. While March of the Penguins will undoubtedly be more appreciated by ornithologists than by the average moviegoer, one need not share an interest in the subject to be enthralled by the breathtaking cinematography or by the fascinating biology lesson in natural selection..

Excellent (3.5 stars)
Rating: G
Running time: 84 minutes
Studio: Warner Independent

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