Ask the Critic: Carina Chocano
Question: I’ve heard the American version of “March of the Penguins†differs from the original French. How is it different?
Chocano: In the original version, which screened at Sundance in 2005, three actors provided individual, first-person penguin narration. A man, a woman and a child were cast -- not to impersonate the penguins but to channel them. I never saw that version, but it’s been described to me as “poetic,†which is rarely a good sign.
When the movie was picked up for release here, its American distributors, Warner Independent Pictures and National Geographic Films, asked that the original narration and narration concept be scrapped in favor of a more traditional single-narrator speaking in the third person, eventually hiring the resonant Morgan Freeman. Freeman wonderfully conveys all of the penguin pathos without attempting to become one with the penguins.
The American version also features new music by Alex Wurman, whose symphonic score replaces the original electronic score.
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