March Of The Penguins Review by Clint Morris
Its amazing what they can do with special
effects these days, even more astonishing what they can do with CGI,
but like the world’s most popular blend of cola, you can’t
beat ‘the real thing’. Forget Ice Age,
the sea life you see in “March of the Penguins” is anything
but the result of an unwearied animator and I-mac bowdlerization
programme. This is the real-deal ladies and gents, nature at
it’s most primordial and beautiful….and seemingly all done
by just sticking a camera atop of a tripod and pressing record. ‘In
the Antarctic, every March since the beginning of time, the quest
begins to find the perfect mate and start a family’. What sounds
like the root for a new Sarah Jessica Parker comedy is actually
one-heck-of-a-documentary, where the headline act isn’t anything
but penguins. (Who, by the way, could act their way out of a paper bag
better than Ms Broderick). Funnily enough, it’ll satisfy you
twice-as-much as any rom-com could. For 80 minutes, we watch
– in awe a lot of the time – as masses of Penguins band
together in a single file, in a column miles long, and go on one heck
of a walk. They’re going to mate, and it’s not going to be
easy. There is, incongruously enough, more hurtles in their way than an
equestrian, with such dangers as the weather, vultures, famished seals
and segregation playing havoc with family plans. Though
it’s a bit whimsical at times, nature lovers, as well as anyone
with a penchant for the warm and fuzzies (the baby penguins are rather
cute), will fall head over heels for this stunningly shot picture. Dare
you not to 'awww' once through it. 3.5 out of 5
March of the Penguins
Australian release: 30th March, 2006.
Cast: Narrated by Morgan Freeman, Penguins.
Director: Luc Jaquet
Website:
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here.
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