So over the weekend La Marche de l'Empereur, which my English speaking readers might know as March of the Penguins, became the second highest grossing French film in the US, overtaking Amelie, but still behind The Fifth Element. I didn't realize the story had been changed, but the BBC reports that:

In the French version of the film - which was shot by a four-man crew over 14 months - actors' voices speak for the penguins.

But it was felt by distributors that the style would not appeal to English-speaking audiences, and in the US version the voices have been replaced by a narration by actor Morgan Freeman.

...which was actually one of the concerns we had with the French version - fear that the voice-overs would be too syrupy, or goofy, or whatever. Nevertheless, the idea that the film was completely changed for the US market is disturbing.
Jason in Egypt commented:
Funny...I hadn't heard anything about this flick until this week I saw a "Top 10" list program that included it. I didn't know about the French Connection or how it was modified, so I was just shocked that a movie of that type would be so popular with American audiences!!!
on Fri Aug 19 15:03:24 2005

David commented:
Yeah - all my French colleagues were like 'I think I heard something about that movie...? Why do Americans like animal movies so much?'
on Fri Aug 19 15:08:18 2005

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