People may think before watching 'Snow Chick: A Penguins Tale', "another documentary on penguins, why?" Seeing as they are frequent subjects in nature documentaries. Those that absolutely adore penguins and can't get enough of them, like me who considers them one of my favourite animals along with elephants and seals, shouldn't feel that way. Have always felt actually when watching penguin documentaries that there is always a lot to learn about them.
It is no wonder that 'Snow Chick: A Penguins Tale' was a ratings hit and a critical favourite. It is a wonderful documentary. It is so easy to identify with Snow Chick, there was a lot to be educated by (even when exploring a frequently portrayed animal), there was a lot of emotion felt watching and it was a journey well worth investing in. 'Snow Chick: A Penguins Tale' may sound very cute and not much more and too much of cute animals in beautiful environments, but there is actually a lot more to it than that.
'Snow Chick: A Penguins Tale' is a stunner visually, the photography is breath-taking, rich in vivid colour with heavy use of white and blue, and cinematic-worthy. The scenery is beautiful and also unforgiving, which does emphasise without going overboard that there is a darker side to a penguin's life. The penguins are positively photogenic. The music doesn't try to be too jaunty or too grandiose, really don't like it when any music in documentaries tries to be too playful, too contemporary or over-emphasises the emotions and 'Snow Chick: A Penguins Tale' just about avoided those things.
When it comes to the footage and information, 'Snow Chick: A Penguins Tale' risked recycling old information but what was said entertained and educated. Quite a lot of it was illuminating, such as how the male penguin produced the baby milk and when the mother got back from the fishing. A very wide mix of emotions was felt on this very identifiable and beautifully told journey. There are humorous moments, such as slipping on ice, bagsful of charm and some very touching and suspenseful moments when we see the adversity the penguins have to undergo.
Absolutely adored the penguins and related to them from the very start to the very finish. Their journey may be dramatised but personally did not care at all when so emotionally invested. The titular character is absolutely adorable while having a surprising amount of humanity, the emotions the characters feel being deeply felt and not too spelled out. Kate Winslet's narration delivery is very calm and sincere, without being too sentimentalised.
In summary, a gem. 10/10
