Dryver, Stryde, Jennifer and I went to see the March of the Penguins today. First the experience was amazing and such a great time with the kids. The movie is unbelievable and the kids loved it as the whole movie was filled with Mommy, Daddy and Baby penguins. Dryver was in awe as the Penguins walked across the large screen and he continued to tell me he wanted one for a pet. Stryde started yelling at them about 20 minutes into the movie. He wanted to talk to the Penguins, and was yelling at the top of his lungs for at least 2-3 minutes (though it seemed like hours). He was telling Dryver to yell at them and let them know that they didn't need to be in that cold weather, as it was 90 degrees outside if they just went out the door we had come through.
Though this is a 'G' Movie, the theater was filled with adults. Also the film could also be seen silent because the images are so striking, so haunting and so exquisite that these pictures do speak for themselves on a primal level. That being said, Morgan Freeman was amazing. They all deserve multiple awards for this film.
The whole experience was enthralling ...And yes, the close-ups of the baby penguins -- roly-poly masses of fluffy gray feathers crowned by miniature black-and-white masks -- are undeniably adorable.
Documentaries are the surprise hits of the summer, and none is scoring bigger ($16 million and counting) than Luc Jacquet's wondrous look at the emperor penguins of Antarctica. They waddle, swim, waddle, eat, waddle, get buffeted by blizzards, waddle, flirt, waddle, procreate, waddle, hatch eggs, waddle, watch their chicks confront the perils of starvation and of attack birds, waddle, face death from leopard seals, waddle, find love against all odds.
The thing that made this most important in seeing this with the kids was it is a pure movie that connects children and their parents. This is a loving ode to the life-altering (and at times life-threatening) dedication and devotion of parents. What a great experience for all of us.
By the way, Jennifer had to take Stryde home to watch 'Trains' after about 30 minutes of the show. I guess the reality of life had to come back sometime.
