When "March of the Penguins" arrived in theaters in 2005 and ultimately went on to secure a Best Documentary Oscar, I somehow missed the boat on all the hype. It had remained a film on my "I'll eventually see that someday" list and when the time came for me to check it out along with a new documentary titled "On the Wings of Penguins" the four years of hype in the back of my mind resulted in some trepidation as I popped the disc in my player and sat down to see just how good this documentary really was.

The story of the Emperor penguins lives up to all the hype surrounding it and to be quite honest, the beautifully filmed, pleasantly narrated tale does exactly what a documentary should do: let the subjects do the storytelling. The tale these penguins tell as the filmmakers follow their annual journey over sixty miles of breathtaking but incredibly harsh Antarctic terrain to breed. The titular journey is but one small piece of what viewers will become immersed in and cinematographers Laurent Chalet and Jerome Maison got to see first hand.

The penguins, despite their awkward waddle and simple looks are complex creatures; it's quite easy to become attached to their story and feel for them, sharing the beauty of their monogamy as well as the heartbreaking loss of life to an unfortunate misstep in transferring an egg from mother to father. One of the film's most amazing scenes occurs when a distraught mother tries to steal the egg from another, more fortunate penguin. The group won't have any of this behavior and they defend the under siege mother and her fragile egg from attack.

The journey of the penguins doesn't end with the birth of new chicks; the mothers must make their own second journey back to the sea in order to secure enough food to feed their newborns. Viewers again get an unfiltered, unaltered look at these tiny chicks seeing their mothers for the first time and experiencing their first meal, as well as those who despite surviving the initial struggle of being born in the first place, as well as those saved from near death by a father's last ditch effort to feed them with internal emergency reserves.

The Antarctic is a character of its own at times, displaying cycles of serene beauty one moment and the harshest weather it can throw at these amazing creatures the next. Morgan Freeman's narration is just enough to let us know what is going on; there's no rapid-fire stream of penguin facts here. The film's slow nature may be a shock to those familiar with television style documentaries, but the pristine scenery combined with the amazing tale of the penguins themselves is utterly captivating for the entire 85-minute runtime.

RATING: 5.0/5.0

"On the Wings of Penguins" features a different breed of penguin, the Jackass penguin, a smaller species, but one more people have likely scene at a zoo. Next to the monkeys, I find myself spending the most time watching these penguins whenever I visit the zoo as they are truly fascinating creatures, showing the same quirky personalities as the Emperor penguins of "March of the Penguins."

The approach "On the Wings of Penguins" takes is drastically different however and focuses more on the dedication of the men and women who take care of these creatures both in zoos and on preserves in their native South Africa. Unfortunately, when placed in a package with the fantastic preceding documentary, "On the Wings of Penguins" is a chore to get through and doesn't give the animals their fare shake at being able to tell their story.

The narration is very heavy-handed and overbearing. The stark realism of March is sorely missed and the end result feels very sanitized. We hear of the threats to these creatures but don't see them. Instead we get scene after scene of scientists caring for these creatures. A few of these moments are the most memorable of the entire program, in particular a sequence towards the end of the program where a penguin afflicted with Glaucoma gets eye surgery to restore his sight. It's a reassuring feeling knowing there are kind souls out there who devote their lives to helping one small species on this planet.

"On the Wings of Penguins" is intended to be the selling point of this new double disc set, and considering the criminally low price "March of the Penguins" can be found for at a local store, the price difference is not justified by the less than stellar quality of this new documentary. In fact, I can't even say "On the Wings of Penguins" would be worth your time if it aired on television. There are some great moments, but it's a largely boring experience, despite the more energetic, animated presentation.

RATING: 1.5/5.0

"March of the Penguins" is presented with a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen presentation. The original source material was video and blown up 16mm footage. As a result, the transfer is not pretty. There's some very noticeable grain and pixilation during some nighttime scenes. Still the detail is very solid, given most of the film features close ups of the penguins and the color levels are handled wonderfully, allowing the subtle changes in the coloring of the landscape to pop out.

"On the Wings of Penguins" is presented with a 1.85:1 non-anamorphic presentation and features a very warm color palette. Detail is a middle of the road affair, with some minor edge enhancement rearing its head.

The Audio

"March of the Penguins" is presented with an English Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track. Morgan Freeman comes across crisp and clear, as do the unique calls of the stars of this film and the mysterious howl of the Antarctic winds. An optional 5.1 Spanish track as well as English, French, and Spanish subtitles are featured.

"On the Wings of Penguins" features a 2.0 English track that is very dialogue heavy, with some standard background music being the only time things get very active. Dialogue is fortunately distortion free, which is very helpful given a few thick accents from the scientists.


The Extras

"March of the Penguins" features a nearly hour long bonus documentary titled "Of Penguins and Men" which focuses on the human side of the documentary. It's nearly as fascinating as the main feature and shows the trials and tribulations these men underwent to bring this tale to the big screen. "Crittercam: Emperor Penguins" is a short featurette from National Geographic that gets a first hand look at life through the eyes of a penguin. It's a nice supplement, despite its generic approach. A classic Bugs Bunny cartoon titled "Eight-Ball Bunny" and the film's theatrical trailer round out the remainder of the extras.

"On the Wings of Penguins" features no extras. However, new to this box set is a collection of postcards featuring pictures of the penguins as well as a small stuffed penguin. Again, this is all material to entice people to possibly re-buy the original feature, but in no way does any of the new material come close to justifying the steep price on this set.

Final Thoughts

The bottom line here is "March of the Penguins" is a fantastic documentary and if you already own the original release, keep it; it's the same disc featured here. "On the Wings of Penguins," the postcards, and stuffed penguin don't justify purchasing this set at all. Go track down the current standalone disc of March and let this overpriced, letdown of a double dip sit on shelves where it belongs. Skip It.