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 fish-filled seas. The male emperors are left behind to guard and hatch the precious eggs, which they cradle at all times on top of their feet. After two long months during which the males eat nothing, the eggs begin to hatch. Once they have emerged into their ghostly white new world, the chicks can not survive for long on their fathers’ limited food reserves. If their mothers are late returning from the ocean with food, the newly-hatched young will die. Once the families are reunited, the roles reverse, the mothers remaining with their new young while their mates head, exhausted and starved, for the sea, and food. While the adults fish, the chicks face the ever-present threat of attack by prowling giant petrels. As the weather grows warmer and the ice floes finally begin to crack and melt, the adults will repeat their arduous journey countless times, marching many hundreds of miles over some of the most treacherous territory on Earth, until the chicks are ready to take their first faltering dive into the deep blue waters of the Antarctic.

La marche de l'empereur (2005)
  • Rating: (26,991 votes)
  • Tagline:In the harshest place on Earth, love finds a way »
  • Runtime:80 minutes
  • Director: Luc Jacquet
  • Country:France
  • Actors:
    Le père (voice)
    Charles Berling
    Le bébé (voice)
    Jules Sitruk
    La mère (voice)
    Romane Bohringer
    Narrator (voice: English version)
    Morgan Freeman
    Narrator (voice: Indian version)
    Amitabh Bachchan
    Narrator (voice: Swedish version)
    Gösta Ekman
    Narrator (voice: Italian version)
    Fiorello
    Narrator (voice: Danish version)
    Sofie Gråbøl
    Haha-Penguin (voice: Japanese version)
    Hikari Ishida
    Ko-Penguin (voice: Japanese version)
    Ryûnosuke Kamiki
  • Genres:Documentary, Family
  • Producers:
    Jean-Christophe Barret
    co-producer  
    Yves Darondeau
    producer  
    Ilann Girard
    executive producer  
    Christophe Lioud
    producer  
    Emmanuel Priou
    producer  
  • Plots: 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 fish-filled seas. The male emperors are left behind to guard and hatch the precious eggs, which they cradle at all times on top of their feet. After two long months during which the males eat nothing, the eggs begin to hatch. Once they have emerged into their ghostly white new world, the chicks can not survive for long on their fathers' limited food reserves. If their mothers are late returning from the ocean with food, the newly-hatched young will die. Once the families are reunited, the roles reverse, the mothers remaining with their new young while their mates head, exhausted and starved, for the sea, and food. While the adults fish, the chicks face the ever-present threat of attack by prowling giant petrels. As the weather grows warmer and the ice floes finally begin to crack and melt, the adults will repeat their arduous journey countless times, marching many hundreds of miles over some of the most treacherous territory on Earth, until the chicks are ready to take their first faltering dive into the deep blue waters of the Antarctic. Written by Sujit R. Varma
La marche de l'empereur
  • User's comment:A Story of Survival by leiser18

    The March of the Penguins is a powerful film. It is sad, funny, and simply amazing at the same time. It teaches us that life is a miracle. For the emperor penguins life is an everyday struggle to survive against predators, storms, and raging winds in the harshest weather conditions on earth. The documentary, filmed on location in Antarctica, shows the birds' struggle to eat, live, and reproduce. Each year the birds walk over seventy miles across ice and snow to their breeding ground. There the penguins mate, then conceal their eggs from the cold under a fold of their skin and balancing the precious new life to be born on their claws. Fathers take turns in caring for the eggs until they hatch, while mothers walk long miles again to bring home food for the chicks. Once the chicks are born, the parents work together to feed, shelter, and raise them. French director Luc Jacquet was a scientist before he became a filmmaker. He succeeded in making the story dramatic, compelling, and comprehensible to younger viewers. The film is skillfully narrated by Morgan Freeman. It is a definite MUST SEE.


  • Quotes: 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. Narrator: [narrating voice over] And they will march just as they have done for centuries, ever since the emperor penguin decided to stay, to live and love in the harshest place on Earth. Narrator: [from trailer] There is a mysterious ritual that dates back thousands of years. No living creature has survived it except the penguin. They have wings but cannot fly. They're birds that think they're fish. And every year, they embark on a nearly impossible journey to find a mate. For twenty days and twenty nights the emperor penguin will march to a place so extreme it supports no other life. In the harshest place on Earth loves finds a way. This is the incredible true story of a family's journey to bring life into the world: March of the Penguins.
  • Also known as: March of the Penguins (International - imdb display title, English title), March of the Penguins (UK), March of the Penguins (USA), A Marcha dos Pinguins (Brazil), A Marcha dos Pinguins (Portugal - imdb display title), Pingvinresan (Finland - Swedish title), Pingvinresan (Sweden), Calea împaratului (Romania), Die Reise der Pinguine (Germany), El viaje del emperador (Spain), Imparator'un yolculugu (Turkey - Turkish title), La marcia dei pinguini (Italy), Marsz pingwinów (Poland), Penguin, penguin, paano ka ginawa? (Philippines - Tagalog title), Pingviinien matka (Finland), Pingvinek vándorlása (Hungary - imdb display title), Pingvinenes marsj (Norway - imdb display title), Pingvinmarchen (Denmark), The Emperor's Journey (International - English title), To taxidi tou aftokratora (Greece - transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title),

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