Counters, here, is a noun. These quirky people actually tally up sea birds. I'd originally read the title with Counters as a verb. That is, as in "climate change mounts obstacles, but the Penguin Counters." (Think "The Empire Strikes Back.") I was eager to learn of this clever creature's plan to adapt and best the consequences of the short-sided human with which it shares a pretty blue planet.

Alas, the film is about quirky humans that just can't wait to pull out their old-school (no batteries necessary) palm clickers and reckon a number that hopefully will help the scientific community get a more accurate handle of the entire polar picture as the climate changes.

That said, as portrayed here these people are oddly just as interesting and even cute as the waddling black and white birds. "Penguin Counters" succeeds at being almost entirely charming. Its structure is relaxed and meandering. That said, the digressions into Shackleton's journey needed a bit more backstory, and the tale of Shack's right hand man Frank Wild simply goes long.

Not as cinematically gorgeous as many recent polar docs, but somehow more up close and personal.

From Press Notes: "Armed with low-tech gear and high-minded notions that penguin populations hold the key to human survival, Ron Naveen lays bare his 30+ year love affair with the world's most pristine scientific laboratory: The Antarctic."

-- Books by Author/Illustrator Ross Anthony --