March of the Penguins

At the end of each Antarctic summer, the emperor penguins of the South Pole journey to their traditional breeding grounds in a fascinating mating ritual that is captured in this revelatory documentary by Luc Jacquet. Even more fascinating, however, is what happens when the females leave their newborn chicks with their mates and make their way back to the sea to find food for the whole family. The film screened in just four theaters when it opened in 2005 but soon became a massive hit nationwide. Narrated by Morgan Freeman, it remains the second most successful documentary ever made.