March of the Digitally Enhanced Penguins
Last night I finally saw March of the Penguins, and as much as I loved some of it, and was heartbroken by some of it, and was lulled to near-napping by some of it, what I came away from it thinking was this:
How much of a documentary can be digitally animated before it no longer is really a documentary? There were sequences and gestures that struck me as a bit too convenient or impossible to capture--or in some cases just fake--and in the closing credits there were plenty of digital artists credited with helping create this true story of brave penguins. There were also foley artists credited--which answers my question about the authenticity of their emotional, sobbing wails at the loss of their children.
I guess if the purpose of this documentary is to educate us about penguins, the whole thing could be constructed of line drawings and it wouldn't matter. But since it is being sold to us as the true story of a very particular group of penguins, I feel a little bit like the victim of an elaborate hoax.
How much of a documentary can be digitally animated before it no longer is really a documentary? There were sequences and gestures that struck me as a bit too convenient or impossible to capture--or in some cases just fake--and in the closing credits there were plenty of digital artists credited with helping create this true story of brave penguins. There were also foley artists credited--which answers my question about the authenticity of their emotional, sobbing wails at the loss of their children.
I guess if the purpose of this documentary is to educate us about penguins, the whole thing could be constructed of line drawings and it wouldn't matter. But since it is being sold to us as the true story of a very particular group of penguins, I feel a little bit like the victim of an elaborate hoax.
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