Wildlife documentary March Of The Penguins justifies its big screen canvas by finding epic drama in the day-to-day business of survival in the South Pole. With "first class" cinematography by a two-man crew and a smooth voiceover by Morgan Freeman, this went on to become the second highest grossing documentary ever (behind Fahrenheit 9/11) and a shoo-in for Oscar glory.

On A Wing And A Prayer

Apparently director Luc Jacquet had the easy job, tucked up inside a cosy editing suite. An engrossing 53-minute documentary on the making of the film reveals that it was intrepid cinematographers Jérôme Maison and Laurent Chalet who put their lives on the line, spending a year in the icy wastelands of Antarctica among the emperor penguins. In a pensive narration, Maison constantly refers to the unnerving sense of isolation - "alone and face-to-face with ourselves".

At least the penguins are friendly. As soon as Maison and Chalet arrive in the colony, 7000 penguins gather around their campsite and help lift their flagging spirits. However, in the months ahead, the men's battle for survival comes close to overshadowing the penguins' story. It begins with hands simply sticking to the camera equipment and then come the blizzards... On one occasion they become disorientated by snow blindness and manage to get themselves lost on the way back to base camp. Thankfully a rescue team saves them from this potentially fatal situation, but Maison is given serious pause for thought as he lays in bed recovering from a nasty case of frostbite.

Shooting Fish

Crittercam is a much more light-hearted featurette for all the family. We're given more insights into the lives of emperor penguins, but this time the birds do their own camerawork. With an underwater camera strapped to its back, we follow a penguin as it dives to extreme depths and hunts fish, spotting them against the luminous ice sheet above. It's so up-close-and-personal you can actually see the bewilderment in the eyes of the little ice fish as the penguin zooms in for the kill.

Just as fun but rather less educational is the vintage cartoon 8 Ball Bunny, featuring Bugs Bunny and an ice-skating penguin - or as Bugs calls it, "A boid in a tuxedo!" Film buffs should also watch out for Humphrey Bogart in a small role...

It's shame we don't get to hear from director Luc Jacquet, but this is still a well-rounded package of extras with a little something for both kids and grownups.

EXTRA FEATURES