March of the Penguins

A documentary on the annual trek of Emperor penguins is dazzling audiences | Andrew Coffin

This stuff just can't be made up. The documentary March of the Penguins (rated G) is dazzling audiences for many reasons—but chief among them must be the simple facts of what it takes for emperor penguins to survive the harsh conditions of their home. Their story is told over the nine-month period it takes the penguins to hike 70 miles inland (if anywhere in Antarctica can be called "inland"), mate, lay their eggs, and return to the water. And it has to be seen to be believed.

Thankfully, French filmmaker Luc Jacquet allows us to do just that in this remarkable movie. Morgan Freeman narrates the U.S. theatrical release of the film, working from a script that often stretches to anthropomorphize the animals and sometimes, frustratingly, leaves details unexplained—but this is a story that easily stands on its own two very short legs.