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Movie:		8.0
Picture:		8.0
Sound:		8.0
Extras:		9.0
Score:		8.0

Director(s):	Luc Jacquet
Writer(s):	Jordan Roberts and Luc Jacquet
Starring:	Morgan Freeman
Genre:	Children & Family • Documentary
Release Date:	November 03, 2009
Rated:

List Price:	DVD - $35.99
Amazon:

March of the Penguins, Luc Jacquet's 2005 documentary about Antarctica's emperor penguins and their harrowing annual journey to complete the circle of life, will melt even the iciest of hearts. It showcases an odd dichotomy — unbearable cuteness and sniffle-inducing sadness — that will pull at your heartstrings no matter how many times you watch it. If you don't shed a tear or two, out of sorrow or otherwise, you're probably a sociopath.

Narrated by Morgan Freeman (before there was any question about whether or not it was okay to be Morgan Freeman), the story appeals to a number of emotional triggers; you'll laugh, you'll cry (hopefully), you'll worry. The movie's stance on its subject matter is for the most part objective, but the content is delivered in such a way that you can't help but feel for these penguins. As Freeman points out, “They're not that different from us, really.” They're mating rituals echo our own, as does their devotion to their children. The similarities are what get you — they may just be animals, and it may just be nature taking its course, but it's still sad when a penguin, weakened and fatigued, gets left behind to disappear into the cold, or when a couple loses its chick to the harsh weather, or their own inexperience or bad luck. We don't know what the penguins might be thinking, if it can even be explained in a way that we would understand, but we can imagine that a mother cries out when she returns from her long quest for food to find that her chick has not survived, or the crushing disappointment a father might feel when his newly-hatched chick freezes to death. One particularly heart-wrenching moment reveals a mother penguin bemoaning the loss of her chick, frozen in a surprise blizzard.

This is surely what made this film as wildly popular as it is. It did well at the box office, bringing in roughly fifteen times as much as it was made for, and took 2005's Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, along with a slew of other awards. Audiences young and old loved it, and even if you've already bought March on DVD, this new edition is well worth it.

DVD Bonus Features

Why is it worth it? The extras! Along with March, Disc One includes “Of Penguins and Men,” an hourlong documentary about the making of March of the Penguins; National Geographic's “Crittercam: Emperor Penguins,” featuring footage taken by cameras attached to some of the penguins; “8 Ball Bunny”, a classic Looney Toons cartoon about Bugs Bunny's attempts to help the adorable albeit overly-sensitive little Playboy Penguin, who gets left behind while his stage show heads out of town; and the trailer.

On Disc Two of this edition is another hourlong documentary, On the Wings of Penguins, which chronicles the African penguin, or “jackass penguin.” It seems a bit more geared toward the kids, what with the kitschy music and sometimes goofy post-production shot edits; but it's informative and cute, and while by no means comparable to March, is a decent supplement.

The set also includes a stack of stills from both March and Wings, and, what may be the best part of this release, the softest stuffed toy penguin ever.