March of the Penguins (2005)
Average Rating: 7.8/10
Reviews Counted: 180
Fresh: 170 | Rotten: 10
Only the most hardened soul won't be moved by this heartwarming doc.
Average Rating: 7.8/10
Critic Reviews: 48
Fresh: 45 | Rotten: 3
Only the most hardened soul won't be moved by this heartwarming doc.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.5/5
User Ratings: 98,284
Movie Info
Emperor penguins overcome daunting obstacles in order to return to their breeding grounds for mating season. This tells the story of one year in the life of a flock -- focusing on one couple in particular -- as they trek across the Antarctic on an annual journey that invokes just about every major life experience: from birth to death, from dating to mating, from comedy to tragedy, and from love to fighting for survival.
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All Critics (180) | Top Critics (48) | Fresh (170) | Rotten (10) | DVD (31)
Watch them march to the very extremes of extremis, though, and it's easy to feel awe. Life must beget life, whatever the cost.
Top CriticSome of the eggs and chicks freeze, and the parents' cries are painful to hear (probably more for us than for them).
French director Luc Jacquet and a team of incredibly brave (and heavily bundled) documentary filmmakers captured this complicated mating ritual with strikingly crisp photography that's both grand and intimate.
This astonishing film, shot in the Antarctic, captures sights never seen before.
Birth, death, romance, danger: All play a role in Jacquet's homage to a remarkably endearing creature.
Morgan Freeman's slick voice-over compounds a slightly plodding structure, but the dedication of the penguins -- and the cameramen -- assure your wonderment.
A touch David-Attenborough-TV-special in places, but beautifully filmed and dripping with drama, joy and heartbreak.
The avian protagonists' comical ungainliness on land and deadpan manner make for adorable viewing, while the austere, glacial landscape is consistently breathtaking.
The love story may be tenuous, but the penguins are undeniably sweet and silly, sliding on their bellies, and the impossibly cute chicks offer up plenty of slapstick.
With such incredible subject matter, March Of The Penguins cannot help but hold the attention. It's impossible not to warm to the penguins.
It set the bar high for future documentaries.
plays like a high-end Discovery Channel special, but it's compelling and beautiful just the same, exuding a love for its subject matter that's infectious
...a glorious documentary about the remarkable mating cycle of "emperor" penguins.
Did I love it? No. Did I like it? Sure.
It's a rather offensively human-centered approach to what should be a mystifying and beautiful experience.
Though it seems like a somewhat wasted opportunity to shed some light on these creatures, you can't fault Mr. Jacquet for his efforts.
Director Jacquet has cleverly figured out a way to anthropomorphise his wondrous, web-footed subjects, as they deal with hunger, rejection, loss, loneliness, and sensuality.
Director Luc Jacquet captures some remarkable nature shots, getting up close and documenting the entire frigid process, yet the film itself plays like little more than a PBS special.
It's a missed opportunity to make a great documentary, but still decent family entertainment, with awe-inspiring Antarctic scenery and some very cute stars.
March of the Penguins is a staggeringly beautiful film about the breeding cycle of the toughest birds on Earth, the emperor penguins of Antarctica.
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Foreign Titles
- Die Reise der Pinguine (DE)
- March of the Penguins (UK)
