March of the Penguins (2005)
"La marche de l'empereur" (original title)

A look at the annual journey of Emperor penguins as they march -- single file -- to their traditional breeding ground.

Director:

Luc Jacquet

Writers:

Luc Jacquet (scenario), Luc Jacquet (adaptation),

Stars:

Charles Berling, Romane Bohringer, Jules Sitruk

Won 1 Oscar. Another 15 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Charles Berling	...	Le père (voice)
Romane Bohringer	...	La mère (voice)
Jules Sitruk	...	Le bébé (voice)
Morgan Freeman	...	Narrator (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Amitabh Bachchan	...	Narrator (voice)
Gösta Ekman	...	Narrator (voice)
Fiorello	...	Narrator (voice)
Sofie Gråbøl	...	Narrator (voice)
Hikari Ishida	...	Haha-Penguin (voice)
Ryûnosuke Kamiki	...	Ko-Penguin (voice)
Marek Kondrat	...	Narrator (voice)
Takao Osawa	...	Chichi-Penguin (voice)

Storyline

Each winter, alone in the pitiless ice deserts of Antarctica, deep in the most inhospitable terrain on Earth, a truly remarkable journey takes place as it has done for millennia. Emperor penguins in their thousands abandon the deep blue security of their ocean home and clamber onto the frozen ice to begin their long journey into a region so bleak, so extreme, it supports no other wildlife at this time of year. In single file, the penguins march blinded by blizzards, buffeted by gale force winds. Guided by instinct, by the otherworldly radiance of the Southern Cross, they head unerringly for their traditional breeding ground where--after a ritual courtship of intricate dances and delicate maneuvering, accompanied by a cacophony of ecstatic song--they will pair off into monogamous couples and mate. The females remain long enough only to lay a single egg. Once this is accomplished, exhausted by weeks without nourishment, they begin their return journey across the ice-field to the ...

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Plot Keywords:

journey | penguin | ocean | egg | chick | 

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Taglines:

In the harshest place on Earth, love finds a way

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Genres:

Documentary

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [fr] Warner Brothers [us]

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

22 July 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

March of the Penguins

Filming Locations:

Terre Adélie, Antarctica

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$119,737 (Argentina) (12 May 2006)

Gross:

$378,316 (Argentina) (9 June 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bonne Pioche, Alliance de Production Cinematographique (APC), Buena Vista International Film Production France

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguins and the only one to breed during the winter in Antarctica.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: [narrating voice over] There are few places hard to get to in this world. But there aren't any where it's harder to live.

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Crazy Credits

As the closing credits roll, footage is shown of the photographers dragging their equipment across the ice, setting up their cameras, and shooting film as the penguins walk around them.

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Connections

Referenced in Blue Collar Comedy Tour: One for the Road (2006)

User Reviews

The real man behind March of the Penguins

Despite Luc Jaquet 's brilliant idea of making a documentary on the penguins, people should know that only LAURENT CHALET Director of Photography and assistant JEROME MAISON spent one year shooting the film completely alone and almost died there.

Luc Jaquet, quoted as the Director, was in fact never behind the camera.

Laurent CHALET shot almost 100% of the entire film while Luc Jaquet stayed in France, waiting one year for the return of CHALET and MAISON to start editing the footage that he discovered at the same time.

Laurent CHALET, is the real man behind the Penguins.