Babies die. Parents starve to death. And couples struggle to raise their children in a harsh world. This is March of the Penguins.

Penguins have been so personified as cartoon character stereotypes that they’re nearly impossible to take seriously. Where they were once comedic inspiration (e.g., Chilly Willy) they have since morphed into too-cute-to-be-real creatures known for tap dancing and drinking bottles of cola. One viewing of March of the Penguins will dispel that perception very quickly.

March of the Penguins follows one of innumerable penguins on their journey to and from their breeding grounds. The challenge lies in the location of the ice floe. The penguins must lay their eggs in a place that is thick enough to not melt, and yet the terrain shrinks and grows, making the trip longer or shorter depending on the season. First the males, then the females, must protect the chicks against the elements, starvation and predators. Will they survive?

Some inevitably do not. This is not a sappy documentary, but an unblinking portrayal of just how harsh the world can really be. It’s easy to relate to these creatures, so different from us and yet so alike. After all, they walk.

There are few anthropomorphic creatures that lend themselves to storytelling. Monkeys and apes are an obvious choice, maybe prairie dogs, and then there are the penguins. The film treats them as a tribe, and as they waddle slowly towards their inevitable destination of life and death, surrounded by ice that could be miles or feet high, we see our struggles in their own tribes.

An excellent, sentimental film that is never too cute. Penguins have never been so dignified.