207/365
Yesterday, we spent some time out of our busy Easter Sunday to catch the newest DisneyNature film, Penguins. It was a cute movie without as much of the heartache as its predecessor, Born in China, that was released two years ago during Earth Month.
Steve
I love how the DisneyNature films name the main character and follow the animal through the trials and tribulations of its species. Disney likes to select a comedian to narrate, so you know it’s going to be a good time with witty commentary and well-timed delivery. Penguins is narrated by Ed Helms, who was perfectly suited to tell the story from Steve’s point of view—a coming of age Adélie penguin who becomes a father for the first time. He gets into funny situations, and you are rooting for him and his family the entire 75 minutes of this film.
Some Perilous Situations
My daughter was hesitant to see this film since we had seen Born in China. Nature is harsh, and the reality is that not all stories have a happy ending. She is very sensitive, and the ending of that film was too much for her sweet, caring nature. She couldn’t bear to think of those baby snow leopards trying to survive without their mother. Even two years later, she is still upset by it. Penguins definitely had moments of peril, including two scenes where a baby penguin is attacked by another animal, one viciously, but the filmmakers edited it to look like the baby escaped the attacks and all ends well. I’m not sure if that was what really happened, but your children will probably not recognize the difference.
Sparking Conversations
The great thing about a good documentary is that it will not only teach you something, it can spark conversations and curiosity about the natural world. If you have sensitive children as I do, you can use a movie like Penguins to talk about the harsh realities of nature and how animals persevere to overcome obstacles in their environment, literally fighting for their lives. For others, it might move you to contribute to organizations like the World Wildlife Fund, or volunteer at your local wildlife rehabilitation center.
Earning Points
Don’t forget to upload your tickets to Disney Movie Rewards to earn your points. We had six people in our party this time, so I will put the other two tickets on another account since you can only put in four tickets from the same title on the Disney Movie Rewards site. Both my mom and my husband have accounts to load tickets to, so I don’t have to waste the points from extras.
Earth Week
This week, I’ll be writing about different activities that we are doing as a family to reduce our footprint on this Earth and make our world a better place for everyone to live. Some are easy, like going to a movie to support conservation efforts. Others are more difficult and require you to take a hard look at your budget and family’s priorities. Earth Day is my favorite holiday on the calendar, and I like to take each April 22 to evaluate where I can cut back on my consumption, increase my awareness, and participate in activities and organizations that are making a difference in this planet’s uncertain fate.
