The movie, The March of the Penguins, has raised a great amount of interest in penguins. One never imagined penguins to be so driven. Here’s an overview of the amazing penguins.

Known as the little tuxedos, penguins have always seemed a bit odd as animals go. All of that changed, however, with The March of the Penguins, a movie about Emperor Penguins. The movie focuses on the incredible hardships these penguins undergo to be parents. If you haven’t seen the movie, rent it now. It will make you laugh, cry and develop a healthy respect for these majestic animals.

Penguins live in a fairly limited area. They’re primary home is Antarctica. Penguins can also be found in the cold costal areas of New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. There are no penguins in the Arctic. This is the opposite of polar bears which are not found in Antarctica.

There are seventeen species of penguins. The smallest are Rockhoppers, which average roughly twelve inches in height. On the other end of the spectrum are the Emperor Penguins, which average nearly 48 inches in height.

Penguins feed in the water, not on the ice of Antarctica. A typical meal consists of fish, squid or krill. Penguins can hold their breath underwater for six minutes, six times the average human. They are extremely strong swimmers, but can’t swim backwards.

As March of the Penguins revealed, penguins have a unique breading cycle. They only breed once a year and in protected areas called rookeries. Much like salmon, penguins return to the same rookeries each year. Depending on ice flow conditions, they may travel up to 70 miles to reach the rookeries.

Once at the rookeries, penguins will flirt with each other until they find the perfect mate. The female will lay only one egg. She will push the egg to the male who holds it on the top of his feet with his stomach fat hanging over it to keep it warm. He will do this for nine straight weeks and go without food. While he loses up to fifty percent of his body weight, the mother will head back to the ocean to feed as much as she can. She will then return to the rookeries just as the egg hatches and feed the baby from her mouth. The male, in turn, will head off to the ocean to eat and recover his body weight.

When you see penguins in a zoo or water park, you should feel sorry for them. Because they are natives of Antarctica, the natural defense systems in their body are not tailored to germs found outside of the frozen continent. As a result, large numbers die from diseases caused by germs they have no defense to.

Most people, me included, never have given a second thought to penguins. That is too bad since they are truly amazing creatures.

One of the more surprising films of 2005, and perhaps the most intriguing, was March Of The Penguins, a full-length feature film documentary cut from the same mold as a PBS National Geographic special. Directed by Luc Jacquet, the film had its origins in France, but the narrative theme is neither French, nor English, or for that matter, reflective of any nation’s cultural influence. Instead, March Of The Penguins is a truly rare cinematic masterpiece that transcends borders, language, and culture. Its brilliant portrayal of the Emperor penguin in his natural habitat offers universal appeal to audiences everywhere by reinforcing the themes of love, companionship, life, and the struggle to overcome the hardships of an oftentimes cruel and unforgiving world.

The US version of March Of The Penguins is narrated by Morgan Freeman, a stellar choice for the role as his precise, yet folksy, voice serves to underscore the magnitude and the magic of the annual journey endured by these fascinating animals. The visuals of the film are powerful in their own right, but I doubt the movie would’ve enjoyed the massive commercial success it did without the strength of Freeman’s performance. In the opening scenes, Freeman introduces us to the Emperor penguin and its icy homeland of Antarctica. As winter approaches, penguins from all over the continent make an instinctive annual voyage across rugged and inhospitable terrain in search of the ancient Emperor penguin mating ground.

Along the way, audiences learn every particular detail of the arduous task that awaits the Emperor penguins. With thousands gathered together, each must find a mate. Once the relationship has been consummated, a single egg is the product of their pairing. But the egg is fragile, subject to easy fracture and the hazardous conditions of extremely low temperatures. As such, the male penguin must protect the egg while the female returns to the ocean in search of food for herself and her yet to be born offspring. In the interim, high winds, driving snow, and freezing elements pound away at the swarm of male penguins as they desperately protect their respective eggs. Amazingly, the herd instinctively protects itself from the relentless cold by rotating those on the outside into the middle and vice versa, so that the burden of the cold weather is shared equally by all.

Once winter subsides and the females return, the newly hatched baby penguins face the additional threat of predators. The males must make their own journey to the ocean, and the budding toddler penguins must be initiated into the ways of their world, all so the process can take full-circle and start all over again next year…

One of the highest grossing theatrical documentaries ever released, March Of The Penguins is an utterly fascinating film. In contrast to the usual mind-numbing action-packed blockbusters produced by Hollywood (and demanded by those of us in the viewing public), March Of The Penguins is both educational and entertaining. You’ll find yourself perched on the edge of your seat in anticipation as these rugged creatures engage with the harshest elements of nature. You’ll root for the heroes and boo the villains, but despite the absence of a contrived Hollywood plot, you’ll find yourself truly captivated by this charming film – the story of struggle, the story of triumph, the story of life… March of the Penguins.

I have had a March of the Penguins poster on my wall ever since the movie came out. It isn’t just that I am a big Morgan Freeman fan, although I am. I’ve always loved his mellow, warm voice and enjoyed most of the movies he has made. Nevertheless, I liked the rest of the March of the Penguins so much that Morgan Freeman almost took a backseat. It was really one of the most amazing movies I’ve ever seen.

The funny thing is that I’m not normally much of a documentary viewer. I’ve never been that into nature films especially. To me, a movie needs a lot of character exposition to work. Let’s face it, you just don’t get that with the majority of animal movies. Nonetheless, March of the Penguins somehow worked for me. I think it had a lot to do with the lifecycle of the Emperor penguins they were showing. It is one of the most moving and dramatic stories of ever heard.

To me the great irony about these penguins is that they spend much less time in the water, where they are agile and comfortable, than anywhere else. These penguins spend most of their time either huddled about in the cold or taking long walks to and from their feeding grounds. They live in one of the most remote and hostile regions in the world, and most of their lives are spent just huddling together trying to keep warm. According to March of the Penguins, many babies die every winter, unable to cope with the cold.

This is what makes the perseverance and continuation of the Penguins so moving and profound. The march of the penguins carried on year after year, in spite of the incredibly cold temperatures. Penguins still fall in love and mate, have a new generation of young, and survive the next cold winter. I think that is what speaks most to people. All of us have to undergo some pretty epic and difficult trials at some point in our lives, and occasionally it feels like we can’t carry on. What this movie taught me was that you can carry on no matter what. Like the March of the Penguins, the daily struggles of humanity continue generation after generation no matter what happens. It is simultaneously a frightening and profoundly hope inspiring message that I hope everyone has the chance to hear.