I finally watched March of The Penguins.
It's such a beautiful love story really and the scenes are all so amazing.. I wonder how long it took them to film this entire movie, considering all the right angles and closeups. And the cold weather they probably have to go through. The whole tiresome event seemed like it takes forever just to have one little newborn penguin. Oh haha. And it's really cute when the penguins slip and fall on the ice. LOL!

I apologize if the following summary is too long but it is all interesting to me! Haha. Read only if you want to.

The Emperor Penguins make their march away from the sea and inwards to land, and thicker snow. They end up back where they were hatched and they court. Courting is an interesting process as they go about looking for 'the one'. Since there are more females than males, some females will try to disrupt courtship between a couple. And they fight! Using their wings, they whack each other just like in a human catfight. Lol. After all that drama, they eventually end up in thousands of couples and they sayang each other, whisper sweet nothings - I assume because they make soft gentle noises as they lean against each other's head/beak. Then they wait for months for the egg.

After that, the mother passes the egg to the father as she makes the long march back into the sea to feed. Passing the egg over is no easy feat as some eggs will crack and eventually be consumed by the weather if not handled carefully. The father now has to endure the coldest storms and protect the egg from the icy wind. This is incredible as the thousands of fathers move around in a massive flock as they cuddle amongst each other and keep each other and their eggs warm. As they move, they take turns to shield each other from the cold and also to be shielded. It takes for about a month or so before the mothers return and inevitably, some eggs will be lost and some older fathers will fall asleep and die.

The babies hatch and eat some substance the fathers cough out. Apparently that substance can keep the baby alive for one more day but they essentially need their mothers. And moreover, the fathers have been without food for at least 3 months already, surviving only on ice (and probably their 'reserves'). So I guess coughing out food for your baby is really like going extremely low on supplies already. Remember that this is almost icy all year round so when a storm comes, the fathers have to gather again to cuddle and ensure the survival of their babies. But then, some babies won't last since mothers aren't back yet.. really sad.

The mothers return, marching that same stretch of land again. But now they have energy so can move at higher speed and rush back. They call out and wait for their mate to find them. It's gonna be deafening but they still manage to get to each other. Haha amazing. The father then has to pass the baby back to the mother. The little one gets its first proper meal. Father and child sing to each other to make sure they will recognise each other when the father comes back after his trip to sea for food. Then the males leave. After not having food for about 3.5months, it is quite a difficult task to walk 70miles(?) back to sea. I wonder how many actually survive.. It's quite crazy I think.

This is quite funny.. The mothers who lost their babies to the storms actually try and steal other chicks from their mothers! Doesn't that remind you of the story of King Solomon and the 2 women fighting over one baby?! Haha.

The babies grow bigger and stronger. And just as I prefer toddlers to infants, the baby penguins start running here and omg so cute! so huggable and so furrrrryyyy! Me likey. They grow and grow until one day the mothers decide to leave them alone in search for food. Those little ones seem so pitiful as they keep on following their mothers, reluctant for them to leave.

Shortly, the fathers return with food. And the baby penguins get their bellies full again. And by full I mean reaaally full! There is this scene with a cute fatty bom bom baby penguin. :D As the ice melts, the path to the sea gets shorter and so the parents can shuttle to and fro in less time. The little ones will be left alone for a couple of weeks more as the parents separate for the last time. Then they will enter the sea and swim home.. Where is home? -raises eyebrows-

Such a cute docu-movie. I think I've gained a new respect for Emperor Penguins now. :)


eta:
I watched the ending shots of the movie and I can't believe the camera men were so close to the penguins! A few even came up to check them out, like totally poking their beaks into the camera and stuff. Super cute. And it was as if the penguins were not bothered by their presence. Oh man.. I'd love to be right there watching the penguins!