March of the Penguins (2005)

Movie night in the Bauer household this weekend consisted of a family viewing of March of the Penguins. It is an amazing story of just what the penguins do in order to breed. It is very touching and sweet and horrific and trying. My wife and I were surprised at how our children were so emotionally moved by the harsh realities of life in the wild... i.e. when baby penguins did not survive.

Growing up watching Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, my wife and I were well versed in the kill-or-be-killed survival-of-the-fittest world of life in the wild. It was tough to watch as a child, but it did make you realize how fragile life can be. Watching some of the missteps of the penguins and the sad outcomes was hard on our kids because they had not been exposed to such realities. So, we comforted them and used it as an opportunity to explain the value of life.

The film is an amazing experience and worthy viewing. If having human kids was as tough as having penguin kids, we would have been extinct a long time ago.