I'm not alone in how much I love penguins -- they're very popular animals because they look so cool in their perpetual evening wear, and they're cute as they stand up straight or waddle around, and they're unique because they're birds who can't fly but can swim exceedingly well. They live in the icy cold, so it's hard to see a penguin in its natural habitat -- thus, they make for great exhibits in places like San Diego's Sea World, where everyone can see them waddling and swimming in a controlled icy environment. People love them -- children especially love them -- and, when I was a child, I took my love for them further than others might have. I read about them.

So I found out about the distinctions among the Emperor penguins, the Adelie penguins, the Rockhopper penguins, and the Macaroni penguins. I discovered that many of them mated with one partner and hatched one egg. I learned that penguins fed their chicks by regurgitating their own food for them. That's why I wasn't surprised by the individual facts  presented in Luc Jacquet's documentary, March of the Penguins. But I was surprised by the degree of those facts. It's one thing to read that penguins migrate to their nesting grounds. It's quite another to watch the movie and find out they hike 70 miles!

March of the Penguins is specifically about the Emperor penguins, the largest of their kind. If you didn't know anything about them before, you will probably find out everything you ever wanted to know by seeing this film. In addition to the trek they make to begin breeding, you'll learn how long they can go without eating. You'll learn how difficult it is to ensure safe transfer of an egg from one parent to the other. You'll learn about the intensity of the storms they must survive through as they're protecting those eggs. You'll learn, quite frankly, that penguins have a really tough life. 

As one would expect from a movie like this, it presents a raw, natural beauty. It's a stark illustration of the conflict of survival. In conditions like this, why does a group of animals bother to try and survive? But they manage to do so, and have been doing it for centuries, perhaps even millennia. That it can happen at all seems a testament to the glory of life. The photography of Antarctica emphasizes this remarkable accomplishment -- long shots of fields of ice, populated by a group of black birds, constantly walking around in circles, huddling with each other to stay warm. It's a natural display of contrasts: black vs. white, a small community of beings vs. an expanse of nothing, and life vs. death.

However, what doesn't work quite as well here involves  Jacquet's attempt to sell the story of the Emperor penguin as a story of "love." Yes, the penguins are monogamous (for one breeding cycle, anyway), the parents have an extremely tight ritual of cooperation, and they do care for a singular chick until it's ready to be on its own. Nevertheless, it might be stretching the point to call it the kind of love we're used to. It's a little corny, yes, but the attempt is appreciated. We like to think survival in harsh conditions could be a byproduct of caring and trust.

March of the Penguins is a lovely film, but it's not, say, Winged Migration -- it isn't made with big cinematic goals in mind, and, quite frankly, might feel quite at home as a special on Animal Planet. Still, it deserves a bit more of our attention for a few things that enhance the viewing experience. It features narration by Morgan Freeman, whose elegant and distinctive voice gives the story a welcome warmth amid all those views of the penguin's cold world. The film also includes incredible long shots of the environment contrasting with amazing close shots where you can almost count the individual feathers on a penguin. Photography like this lends a humanity to the penguins that makes you believe March of the Penguins might be a story about love after all.

(Released by Warner Independent Pictures and National Geographic Feature Films; rated "G" as suitable for all ages.)

Review also posted on www.windowtothemovies.com.