Director Luc Jacquet and his hardy crew have gone to the far reaches of Antarctica, where the cold is impossibly bitter and the winds are fierce, but Emperor penguins inhabit the area with a repetitious ritual that forms the basis of the story told in an intimate narration spoken in the mellifluous, friendly tones of Morgan Freeman.

These penguins indeed march. In single file, looking as if dressed in tuxedos, they set out and wobble along on a perilous trek of 70 miles to their mating grounds, where they choose a mate. It isn’t exactly like hitting a singles bar, but the analogy is there as they utter their mating calls and cast about to find one with whom to couple. The mating done, they await the appearance of an egg. Then something exceptional happens. The female transfers the egg to the male, who assumes the job of sheltering it.

It is the female who goes off to find food, another long and dangerous trek that takes months, while the male protects the egg from the deadly cold and starves. When the egg hatches, the male emits a substance that can sustain the newborn briefly. When the females return, their bellies are full from the fish they have found in the icy waters, and they regurgitate their supplies to the males and the newborn. It is amazing how the returning mother penguins and the males emit sounds that will enable to the mates to find each other in the enormous huddled throng.

We then follow the process by which the chicks mature to the point of being able to hack it on heir own. Subsequently, the families break up, return to the distant home ground until the cycle begins all over again. The narration emphasizes how closely the penguins may parallel human behavior. One particularly interesting segment shows how, when a female penguin loses her newborn to the elements, she may attempt to steal another’s chick. But other penguins rally round to protect the mother from the potential theft.