Snow Chick: A Penguin's Tale (2015)

Snow Chick: A Penguin’s Tale: Directed by John Downer. With Kate Winslet. A chronicle of the birth and development of one penguin chick, born late and smaller than any of its fellow toddlers.

“People may think before watching u0026#39;Snow Chick: A Penguins Taleu0026#39;, u0026quot;another documentary on penguins, why?u0026quot; Seeing as they are frequent subjects in nature documentaries. Those that absolutely adore penguins and canu0026#39;t get enough of them, like me who considers them one of my favourite animals along with elephants and seals, shouldnu0026#39;t feel that way. Have always felt actually when watching penguin documentaries that there is always a lot to learn about them.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIt is no wonder that u0026#39;Snow Chick: A Penguins Taleu0026#39; 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. u0026#39;Snow Chick: A Penguins Taleu0026#39; 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.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026#39;Snow Chick: A Penguins Taleu0026#39; 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 penguinu0026#39;s life. The penguins are positively photogenic. The music doesnu0026#39;t try to be too jaunty or too grandiose, really donu0026#39;t like it when any music in documentaries tries to be too playful, too contemporary or over-emphasises the emotions and u0026#39;Snow Chick: A Penguins Taleu0026#39; just about avoided those things.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhen it comes to the footage and information, u0026#39;Snow Chick: A Penguins Taleu0026#39; 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.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAbsolutely 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 Winsletu0026#39;s narration delivery is very calm and sincere, without being too sentimentalised.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIn summary, a gem. 10/10”