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# is worthy of a black-tie affair
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/is-worthy-of-a-black-tie-affair/
- Published: 2005-06-24T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T07:17:35.000Z
- Author: Dan Dunn
- Tags: Environment, Santa Monica, #archive-import

Every winter on the icy continent of Antarctica, thousands of resolute “emperor” penguins embark upon a months-long grueling odyssey in which they waddle, slip and slide from the ocean to an ancient breeding ground 70 miles inland, enduring the worst Mother Nature can dish out in order to reproduce. And you thought horny frat boys went to great lengths to get lucky. The penguins’ amazing mating ritual is the subject of this gorgeous and moving documentary from acclaimed wildlife film-maker Luc Jacquet, who along with his predominantly French crew spent 13 months stranded in one of the coldest and inhospitable places on Earth capturing some breathtaking images.

Though it’s set in an environment where the wind chill routinely reaches 100 degrees below zero, “March of the Penguins” is sure to warm even the most frigid of hearts. Morgan Freeman’s easygoing, cleverly scripted narration and Alex Wurman’s operatic score are in perfect harmony with a narrative that is alternately effervescent and tragic, and vivifies a frozen wasteland that remains largely unadulterated. The stars of the show, though, are the anthropomorphic emperor penguins, models of sobriety and endurance who know how to work a camera. And though all coupling occurs out in the open on a frozen field, puritanical filmgoers need not fear an orgy: Emperor penguins, unlike so many of their regal human counterparts, are monogamous creatures.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 24, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/062405.pdf?ref=smdp.com)