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January 20, 2006The paradox of Antarctica: splendor and sadness exist side by side. Penguing fighting and mating, penguing gliding and swimming. Banana-peel slips, and roll-down-the-hill slides. Attempted penguin kidnapping, successful penguin murder. Penguins dying, penguins surviving. The fantastic penguin journey caught on film. Morgan Freeman narrates, his voice wise and warm. The music matches perfectly the enchanting images onscreen, which range from chicks huddling in a storm to adult penguins diving into the water like torpedos to a night sky studded with more stars than you knew existed. I gasped in empathy and shock. I teared up, and I burst out laughing. I wanted to run to the nearest Pet Penguin Boutique and buy a little one for myself, no matter what the price. The filmmakers describe waiting on location (the South Pole) for three weeks for the penguins to arrive. Upon seeing them, they remember "running like teenagers on the way to their first date."
Practical concerns are in the forefront of everyone's mind. The penguins keep warm by huddling together. In an area where the temperatures reach as low as -80 degrees F, the temperature in the middle of the huddle can reach 60 degrees. "Life can be summed up in one word: resist." The filmmakers use a different method to keep warm. "We acquire habits, like putting on 6 layers of clothing at dawn, an undertaking that takes half an hour." Forget bathroom breaks. While the penguins must bear the icy winds by day and night, the humans can remain outside for a mere 3 hours. And in the midst of scrambling to get the perfect shot and stalking the penguins with determination, the crew stops to admire the view that precious few will ever see for themselves.
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