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DVD March of the Penguins (Widescreen Edition)
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
Review(s): DVD March of the Penguins (Widescreen Edition)
definitely no happy feet in here
*March of the Penguins* is an entertaining and educational film. This film basically chronicles a year in the life of the Emperor penguins, which the majority of the year is spent on mating and caring for the egg.
The film opens with a waddle of penguins coming up from water onto land. They go on a 70-mile journey til they reach an area that's surrounded by thick ice walls and ice is thickest underneath. (That means they're cut off from food sources.) From there, the penguins court and mate. The pair will be monagamous for that one particular year.
An egg is produced, which the mother keeps warm under her on her feet. However, after a certain amount of time has passed, she carefully passes the egg to the father. (Some transfers will not be successful, thus the chick dies within.) After losing a third of her weight, she goes back on the 70-mile journey back to sea to eat.
The male penguins are the ones that have to face the harsh winter storms, while protecting the egg. Being docile, due to lack of food and the harsh winter, they huddle together for warmth.
The best part of the whole film is seeing the chicks hatch. Despite not eating for a long time and losing half his weight, the father has a special food reserve only for the chick until the mother returns. When the mother returns, there is this cute reunion of the family. Pretty soon, the males take off to sea. However, the journey is much shorter since the ice have melted.
The bond between the mother and her chick is just absolutely adorable. The chicks playing with each other is gonna make you go "awww!" It's just cuteness overload!
Before you know it, the mothers leave their chicks behind and take off for the sea. However, the fathers have returned with food. Then, they take off for the sea, leaving behind the chicks. The chicks are on their own for a time before they take their first plunge into the sea. These chicks will not return to land until 4 years later.
The sceneries are just really beautiful, despite the surrounding whiteness and the harsh winter. I love the angles on the penguins, showing you that the penguins indeed do have emotions and cognition.
Morgan Freeman does an excellent job, providing appropriate information at the appropriate time.
This film comes highly recommended!
good, but may not be appropriate for kids under 4
This movie had great reviews and everyone said it was "for kids," so we bought a copy to watch with our 2-year-old. It is a great show, but I wasn't prepared for some of the issues it raises. Some of the death scenes they soften by saying "fade away" and not showing it, but it does show a mom getting eaten by a seal, an egg with a baby in it freezing, and one parent penguin viciously trying to steal another's egg/baby. My daughter hadn't been exposed to concepts like this before and I wasn't sure that this was the way I wanted to introduce them, and she definitely became frantic a couple of times, so we stopped watching and resumed only after we knew which parts to fast-forward.
Brrrr...
This is one of the most originally presented documentaries I've ever seen. I had no idea how involved their lives were. Although, I must admit that about 10 minutes into the film I told my partner he could go ahead and press Play. It takes it a bit to get enthralling. It left me wondering what their life perspective is. They seem to be incredibly in the moment creatures, and I wondered if they are aware of us, and if they are, what they think.
Related DVD's March of the Penguins (Widescreen Edition)
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