Les Secrets des manchots

Beautifully filmed account of these amazong birds, while also at times giving some insight into how these programmes are filmed.

Narrating anything, but especially wildlife documentaries, is a skill. This one is let down by a narrator you can hear is trying so hard to be quiet and soft, almost whispering. It doesn't sound natural. Unlike Tom Hanks, for example, in the recent Americas series.

Also, to the reviewers upset at seeing the reality of nature, maybe nature documentaries aren't for you. Stick to cartoons. The camera crew absolutely should NOT interfere in nature. They should just film and observe. The whole point is showing nature in its full, and sometimes heartbreaking, glory. It's not a zoo.

I am surprised that some of the low ratings that are based solely on the narrator's voice. As a photographer and filmmaker, the images are simply extraordinary, and it is essential to remember that documentary shows of this nature are 90% visual and 10% audio. Perhaps the narrator is not David Attenborough, but to discount the entire show just because of her voice seems unjustified.

Bertie Gregory's work is simply a masterclass. His patience and his range of compositions are without equal, and I remember gasping several times, admiring what he did in the field.

If I had one complaint, it would be the overdone editing at times that creates a narrative that is too cute. But overall, the one-of-a-kind visuals showing our natural world in all its splendor should be celebrated, leaving us with a sense of wonder.

This is incredible! My daughter is penguin obsessed and even we are still learning new things. The early images of the emporers are incredible! The galapagos ones adapting and living alongside humans is absolutely fascinating.

The only reason it's not 10/10 is Blake lively's voice; please don't let her narrate again, it sounds like a bad AI voice! We need someone with gravitas and real emotions.

I think the videographer guy is incredible and has a much better presenting voice. Would love to see more of his work.

The fact that so many penguins survive in such a wide variety of environments is just amazing.

The penguins are beautiful. Blake Lively's voice is not. She sounds like someone's coworker would when you show them a picture of your baby and they think the baby is demonically ugly but can't say it. So bored. So boring. It was like having to clean your ears in a world where all Q-tips are replaced with sandpaper. I don't care about what she does but I hate her for disgracing these innocent penguin's lives with her horrendous vocals.

Anyways I ended up putting it in a Hungarian dub. I don't speak Hungarian but it's better than Blake Lively's stupid voice. No idea what the Hungarian lady is saying but it's great.

Stopped watching because of the awful narration. I don't recommend this doc. The editing turns simple penguin squabbles into slow-motion "epic showdowns" complete with thunderous drums-because nothing says "life and death struggle" like a flipper slap over a chunk of ice.

They clearly blew the budget on drone shots of Antarctica, because the "plot" (if you can call it that) has all the depth of a snowflake. Or, they had to pay the narrator too much to do much else. By the third act, the repetitive shots of penguins slipping on ice start to feel like unintentional slapstick, and not in a good way.

In summary: If you came for scientific insight or or emotional storytelling, keep waddling. If you want to hear a choir swell while penguins stare at each other... well, even then, you might be disappointed.