Reframing perceptions of anthropomorphism in wildlife film and ...

given names - Nanu the polar bear and Seela the Walrus, personalised the story arcs and
the film echoes Walt Disney‘s The White Wilderness (1958).
Figure 3.3: Poster advertising the American cinematic release of
March of the Penguins, with the logline “In the harshest place on
earth love finds a way” (Poster from www.movieposter.com)
Despite its popularity March of the Penguins has been constantly criticised for its
humanised portrayal of penguin biology (Miller 2005), raising arguments regarding
anthropomorphisms‘ influence on wildlife filmmaking and responsibility of wildlife
filmmakers. Criticism stemmed from the interpretation of the film by some religious
groups as evidence of Intelligent Design (Mayell 2005 and Wexler 2008). It was
suggested that the humanistic endurance of the penguins as they made their way
towards their breeding grounds parallelled the hardships faced by those engaging in a
Christian pilgrimage (Wexler 2008). The filmmakers, however, maintained this was not
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