This documentary, written and directed by Luc Jacquet and narrated by Morgan Freeman, is about the extraordinary ritual of the Emperor penguins. Each year they walk over 100 km to reach their ancient breeding grounds.

The trek begins in March when the Emperor penguins leave their coastal home. They walk across the ‘darkest, driest, windiest and coldest’ continent on earth to reach their breeding grounds. The walk can take up to a week because they don't walk very fast. The penguins all arrive on the same day and begin the task of finding a mate with whom they’ll stay throughout the breeding season. When the penguins find their partner, the breeding ritual begins.

Later, when the mother lays the egg, there is the tricky and dangerous task of transferring it to the father who will ‘incubate’ it throughout the long harsh winter. (Some eggs are lost during this process, cracking in the extreme cold.) By this time the mother is in dire need of nourishment and she returns to sea to find food. All the fathers stay to look after the eggs for four months without food. When the mothers return, their chicks are waiting eagerly for the food they bring. Only now can the fathers return to sea to find food. Unfortunately, many do not survive the journey across the ice because they are starving. Eventually those that do survive return to their family. Then it is time for the adult penguins to leave and begin the breeding cycle once again.