Waddling into view are the stars of Netflix鈥檚 鈥楶enguin Town鈥 gala
Print Edition
They arrive every year in their snazzy black and white tuxedos, causing traffic jams and clamoring for quality real estate.
Endangered African penguins have long been a source of delight to visitors of the South African community of Simon鈥檚 Town, mixing with humans as they go about their penguin tasks, which includes the important one of finding a nest and breeding.
Now these critters are the stars of a new eight-part series on Netflix started on Wednesday called 鈥淧enguin Town,鈥 which follows several of the birds and reveals their personalities, from a middle-aged pair nicknamed 鈥渢he poster penguins for monogamy鈥 to a young bachelor looking for his first mate.
鈥淚t became very clear very quickly that this was like watching a reality show like 鈥楲ove Island鈥 or 鈥楤ig Brother,鈥欌 said Cayley Christos, a field producer on 鈥淧enguin Town鈥 and co-owner at production company Red Rock Films.
鈥淚 know people don鈥檛 love anthropomorphizing all the time, but it鈥檚 hard not to do when they so clearly have these personalities,鈥 she added. 鈥淎nd so we didn鈥檛 really have a choice but to make it really personal.鈥
The show is narrated by comedian Patton Oswalt, a veteran at voiceover work. 鈥淚 jumped at the chance because I watched a lot of the raw footage and I was just kind of bowled over how enchanting and sweet it was.鈥
Among the some 1,000 breeding pairs that arrive each mating season, the filmmakers capture relatable characters, including a whimsical misfit they call 鈥淛unior鈥 and a pack of troublemaking penguins known as the 鈥淐ar Park Gang.鈥
鈥淵ou really do kind of latch on to some of these personalities,鈥 said Oswalt. 鈥淵ou follow all these little stories and you鈥檙e rooting for these guys.鈥
Behind the sweetness is serious business. Only 2 percent of the African penguin population is left from the number that the existed 100 years ago. Christos cites estimates that the species has about 10 years left before extinction.
鈥淟iving among people isn鈥檛 easy. It鈥檚 not the best place for them. They really should be on an island, but they have no choice. They鈥檇 rather face these huge giants walking around them all day long than die,鈥 she said.
The flightless, aquatic birds first started showing up in Simon鈥檚 Town on the Western Cape in the early 1980s as boat traffic around their natural habitat increased. They usually arrive in November and stay for six months.
鈥淪lowly, slowly, slowly they realized that this was quite a safe, nice place to be. They weren鈥檛 getting attacked by land predators,鈥 said Christos.
Initially, the arrival of the colony was greeted with some dismay by residents. 鈥淟ike any good wildlife, they march around and they poop in people鈥檚 gardens. And so I think it鈥檚 been an interesting adjustment,鈥 she said.
Townsfolk soon realized that the penguins were a tourist draw and a potential source of income. 鈥淭hey really are gods in that town and everybody鈥檚 businesses are named after them.鈥
The team from Red Rock Films initially focused on about 80 nests and then whittled the list down to 50 pairs they would follow 24 hours a day. One more cut led them to a final five to concentrate on.
Filmmakers used all sorts of equipment to capture the penguins 鈥 nest cams, drones, waterproof cameras, special tripods and an antigravity rig. So committed to environmentalism was the 30-member team that they pledged to abstain from meat and fish during the eight-month shoot, eating an exclusively plant-based diet.
While light and fun, the series also may have something to say about how humans can live in peace with animals, finding a way to achieve mutual benefit.
鈥淚 love that the story shows that you can coexist,鈥 Christos said.
鈥淓ven if it鈥檚 a water-loving crazy bird, you can live with them and it can be a peaceful coexistence.
鈥淚 think that鈥檚 a good recipe for us to take forward to any other species that we come across.鈥
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 娌狪CP璇侊細娌狪CP澶05050403鍙-1
- |
- 浜掕仈缃戞柊闂讳俊鎭湇鍔¤鍙瘉锛31120180004
- |
- 缃戠粶瑙嗗惉璁稿彲璇侊細0909346
- |
- 骞挎挱鐢佃鑺傜洰鍒朵綔璁稿彲璇侊細娌瓧绗354鍙
- |
- 澧炲肩數淇′笟鍔＄粡钀ヨ鍙瘉锛氭勃B2-20120012
Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
