Penguin Documentaries

From Oscar-winning features to long-running BBC series, these films let you stand in the middle of a colony without leaving your couch.

Poster for March of the Penguins
2005
March of the Penguins
Luc Jacquet · 80 min
Academy Award

The Oscar-winning French documentary tracing the annual 100-km Emperor penguin trek across Antarctica to breed in the harshest winter on Earth.

Poster for Penguins: Spy in the Huddle
2013
Penguins: Spy in the Huddle
John Downer (BBC) · 3 × 60 min
BBC series

Fifty disguised robotic cameras infiltrate three species of penguin colonies, revealing intimate behaviour never before seen on film.

Poster for Dynasties: Emperor
2018
Dynasties: Emperor
BBC / David Attenborough · 60 min
BBC Natural History

A single Emperor penguin family's struggle through an Antarctic winter — the crew intervenes to save trapped birds in an unprecedented moment.

Poster for Penguins
2019
Penguins
Alastair Fothergill & Jeff Wilson · 76 min
Disneynature

Follows Steve, an awkward young Adélie penguin, through his first breeding season — equal parts heart-warming and visually astonishing.

Poster for Snow Chick: A Penguin's Tale
2015
Snow Chick: A Penguin's Tale
John Downer (BBC) · 60 min
BBC Earth

The first months of an Emperor penguin chick, narrated by Kate Winslet — filmed with remote-operated animatronic "spy" cameras.

Poster for Life in the Freezer
1993
Life in the Freezer
BBC / David Attenborough · 6 × 30 min
Classic series

Attenborough's landmark polar series — the first to bring the full cycle of Antarctic wildlife, including all four Antarctic penguin species, to a global audience.