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Mar 18, 2015Derringer rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
Hey! Don't get me wrong here. I've certainly got nothing against penguins, per se. I believe that they deserve their rightful 15-minutes-of-fame just like the rest of us. But, all the same, this here documentary, meticulously chronicling these weird, flightless birds' annual journey as they march (or slide on their fat bellies) to their traditional breeding ground, certainly could've benefited (in my opinion) by having its noticeably over-long running time of 80 minutes seriously edited down to, say, 30 minutes. And if March Of the Penguins' 80-minute running time wasn't a bit too much for my patience, having to endure listening to Morgan Freeman (one of Hollywood's most boring black actors, bar none) as this documentary's celebrity-narrator was, to me, the straw that broke the camel's back, or, more appropriately (in this case) the snowflake that snapped the penguin's spine, when it came to losing points for its overall entertainment value. Yes. Set amongst the majestic scenery that's ever-present in the frozen Antarctic, this documentary was undeniably a beautiful and breathtaking sight to behold. And, why shouldn't it be? Its budget was $18 million, which clearly set its production values in the above-average range. (I kinda wonder how much Freeman was paid out of that grand sum for flapping his lips about penguins) And, besides all of that - I found myself quite put off by the way that the penguins (who are just birds, for crying out loud) were portrayed in the sense of being "one, big, happy family". I found that far too much emphasis was placed on using the behaviour of these wild animals as something of an example that could be closely linked to that of human behaviour. Thank goodness that the English version of this documentary wasn't ruined further as the French version was. Can you actually believe that in the French version they had the gall to give the poor penguins speaking voices and had them uttering ridiculous dialogue? I suppose this nonsense was meant to add an extra level of cuteness to the whole ordeal of these creatures mating and becoming nice, politically-correct mommy & daddy penguins. Anyways - I certainly have nothing against anybody liking this documentary in a big way. It certainly did have its share of interesting, insightful and educational moments. But, to be honest, I've learnt almost as much about the habits of penguins by watching vintage "Chilly Willy" cartoons with my 2 rambunctious nephews. P.S. - It's actually kind of comical to watch March Of The Penguins in fast-forward mode (just for a change of pace).