March of the Penguins

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March of the Penguins ★★★2005 (G)

Oscar winner for Best Documentary proves that animals can be movie stars even if they aren't animated by Pixar or Dreamworks. Director Jacquet traveled to Antarctica to film the mating rituals of the Emperor penguin and walked away with pure Animal Planet gold. You'll marvel at how ridiculously far the penguins will go to propagate their species—endless marching over frozen wastelands, working daily to escape predators, cutely ignoring the French camera crew. It's “Booty Call” meets National Geographic, all brought together by the smooth vocal stylings of narator Morgan Freeman. Tries a bit too hard to imbue the birds with human personalities, but the astounding footage wins in the end. 80m/C DVD, Blu-ray Disc, HD DVD .USD: Luc Jacquet; W: Jordan Roberts; C: Laurent Chalet, Jerome Maison; Nar: Morgan Freeman. Oscars ‘05: Feature Doc.; Natl. Bd. of Review ‘05: Feature Doc.; Broadcast Film Critics ‘05: Feature Doc.