MARCH OF THE PENGUINS

"An epic journey..."

Every year an incredible journey takes place that takes on the extreme elements of the most remote and desolate place on Earth. This is a story of survival, dedication and most of all love as the dangers and climate of the Antarctic continent can claim lives and devastate families. This is not a human story however, this is story of the emperor penguins and their return to their breeding grounds.

Winner of countless awards including an Oscar, 'March of the Penguins' has taken the box office by storm but is this story of the Antarctic survival enough to keep you attention?

The success of the French documentary 'March of the Penguins' around the world has been phenomenal but here in the UK, the movie is absolutely nothing new and could be interpreted as slightly boring. The problem that for anyone who has grown up in the UK, they have been spoiled by the best natural history unit in the world, lead by Sir David Attenborough for the BBC.

Throughout his career, Sir David Attenborough and his natural history team have covered most of the planet's wildlife in far more detail and even more stunning cinematography. The BBC has covered the plight of the Emperor Penguin and its dedication and devotion to its single chick more than once and this movie pales in comparison.

The film may not be in the same league as anything by the BBC, this should not take anything away from what director Luc Jacquet and his team have accomplished. The story of the Emperor Penguins has always been a fascinating one and the director brings this tale to life with a great deal of dedication. The only problem is that the story isn't really feature film material.

How long can the audience watch these majestic creatures walk across the frozen wastes or see them standing, huddled together to survive the bitter cold. This is fascinating at first but the filmmakers spend far too much time repeating themselves because the penguins don't actually do that much except wait around and incubate the egg until it hatches.

'March of the Penguins' might have been a hit around the world but in the UK it is just an average nature documentary. There is much to enjoy here, especially the narration by Morgan Freeman but would have been a much better experience as a TV documentary than a film one.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 with Dolby Digital 5.1, the movie is presented well.

BONUS FEATURES

Of Penguins and Men (53.43 mins)
Cinematographer Jérôme Maison narrates a documentary about how he and fellow cameraman Laurent Chalet recorded the footage over a year in Antarctica. Here we discover what they had to go through to film these devoted birds and how they had to follow them through extreme conditions in some of the most hazardous terrain on the planet. This documentary is, in fact more interesting than the main feature and complements it extremely well, making it a much better watch.

National Geographic's Crittercam: Emperor Penguins (21.34 mins)
An overly flashy and far too simple programme from the US gives you the basic details about the effect of climate change on Antarctica and its wildlife. From the US McMurdo Base, we discover how the crittercam works and watch can be discovered from the footage. This is watchable but no way as good as the French material.

8 Ball Bunny (7.07 mins)
Why a Bugs Bunny cartoon is part of the DVD package is anyone's guess but no one will complain at the inclusion of a classic Looney Tune.

Theatrical Trailer
Watch the promotional trailer for the movie. Trailers Watch previews of 'The Polar Express' and 'Happy Feet'

OVERALL

Warner Bros. has done a really good job with the DVD for 'March of the Penguins'. The 'Of Penguins and Men' documentary is actually better than the main feature and National Geographic featurette is watchable. Fans of the film should be very pleased.

DVD

The Blue Planet

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2006