Bob Saget was always more than Danny Tanner. If you grew up watching Full House, the transition to his 2007 direct-to-video project Farce of the Penguins was probably a traumatic shock to the system. It’s a weird movie. Honestly, it’s one of those cultural artifacts that feels like a fever dream when you look back at the mid-2000s comedy landscape.
While the world was falling in love with the majestic, sweeping visuals of March of the Penguins, Saget looked at those flightless birds and thought about fart jokes. And mating. And more fart jokes. He saw the solemnity of Morgan Freeman's narration and decided to replace it with Samuel L. Jackson yelling about frozen tundra. It was a bold move. Maybe too bold? Some would say it was just plain crude, but there’s a specific kind of genius in taking one of the most successful documentaries of all time and turning it into a vulgar locker-room sketch.
What Really Happened With Farce of the Penguins?
The mid-2000s were the wild west for spoof movies. We had Scary Movie, Date Movie, and Epic Movie saturating the theaters. Saget, however, took a different route. He didn't want to recreate the scenes with actors in cheap costumes. Instead, he bought stock footage of real penguins. That’s the "farce" part of it—using high-definition, legitimate nature footage and overdubbing it with the voices of every famous person Saget had in his Rolodex.
It’s a simple premise. The penguins are on their long trek, just like in the documentary, but instead of discussing the "mysteries of life," they’re complaining about their dating lives, their anatomy, and the sheer cold. It’s basically March of the Penguins if the penguins had the collective maturity of a frat house on a Saturday night.
You’ve got a massive cast here. It’s actually staggering when you look at the credits. Aside from Samuel L. Jackson taking over the narrator role, you have Lewis Black as a cynical penguin, Christina Applegate, Tracy Morgan, Mo'Nique, and even James Belushi. Saget didn't just stop there; he brought in his old sitcom pals like John Stamos and Dave Coulier. It felt like a massive favor-call from a comedy legend.
The Problem With Timing
Comedy is all about when you say the joke. By the time Farce of the Penguins hit the shelves in early 2007, the "penguin craze" was already cooling down. Happy Feet had already come out and won an Oscar. The original March of the Penguins had been out for nearly two years. In internet time, that’s an eternity.
The movie was released by ThinkFilm. They weren't a massive studio, but they had a reputation for indie hits. Unfortunately, this wasn't Half Nelson or Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. It was a vulgar parody. Critics weren't kind. The movie holds a dismal rating on Rotten Tomatoes, often cited for being one-note. But critics often miss the point of cult comedy. Saget wasn't trying to win an Oscar; he was trying to make his friends laugh.
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Why the Samuel L. Jackson Narration Matters
The biggest "get" for the film was Samuel L. Jackson. His voice provides the backbone. He plays it straight—mostly. He uses his iconic cadence to describe the "long-ass walk" the penguins have to take. It works because it directly mocks the gravitas of Morgan Freeman.
If you compare the two:
- March of the Penguins: Freeman speaks of "ancient rituals" and "the endurance of love."
- Farce of the Penguins: Jackson speaks of "horny birds" and "frozen testicles."
It’s low-brow. Definitely. But for fans of Saget’s stand-up—which was notoriously "blue"—it was exactly what they expected. The contrast between the beautiful, serene Antarctic photography and the foul-mouthed dialogue is the entire joke. If you don't find that juxtaposition funny in the first five minutes, you’re going to have a miserable hour and twenty minutes.
The Cast: A 2000s Time Capsule
Looking back, the voice cast is a "who's who" of that era’s entertainment.
- Gilbert Gottfried: His voice is unmistakable as a foul-mouthed bird.
- Dane Cook: At the height of his fame, he contributed a voice.
- Jason Alexander: Bringing a bit of George Costanza neurosis to the ice.
- Whoopi Goldberg: Even an EGOT winner wasn't above a penguin joke.
There’s something fascinating about seeing these names attached to a project that was essentially a home-movie-style overdub. It speaks to the respect the industry had for Bob Saget. He could get anyone on the phone. Honestly, the behind-the-scenes stories of how he convinced these people to record lines in a booth for a few hours are probably as interesting as the movie itself.
Why Some People Actually Defend It
Not everyone hates it. There is a subset of comedy fans who find the sheer commitment to the bit admirable. It doesn't break character. It doesn't try to have a "heart" or a "moral lesson" like Happy Feet. It is relentlessly, unapologetically stupid.
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In a world where many comedies try to be "important," Farce of the Penguins is a reminder of the era of the "Gross-Out" comedy. It’s a relic of the DVD-bin culture. You’d go to a Blockbuster, see the cover with a penguin wearing a gold chain or something equally ridiculous, and rent it for a laugh with your buddies.
The movie also serves as a reminder of Saget’s real personality. To the public, he was the dad of the year. To the comedy world, he was the guy who told the filthiest version of The Aristocrats joke. This movie was his way of merging those two worlds: using "family-friendly" imagery to deliver "adult-only" punchlines.
Comparing Parody Styles
Most parodies use sets. Think of Spaceballs or Young Frankenstein. They recreate the look of the original. Saget didn't do that. By using the actual footage (or stock footage that looks identical), he creates a weird cognitive dissonance. Your brain sees a nature documentary, but your ears hear a comedy club.
It’s a technique used by things like Kung Pow! Enter the Fist or What’s Up, Tiger Lily?. It’s a niche sub-genre. It relies entirely on the quality of the writing and the delivery of the voice actors. While some of the jokes in Farce of the Penguins haven't aged particularly well—mostly the stuff relying on 2006-era stereotypes—the central gimmick of "animals talking like jerks" is a timeless comedy trope.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Production
A common misconception is that this was a "cheap" movie. While it didn't have a $100 million budget, the licensing for high-quality nature footage isn't cheap. Neither is a cast of thirty SAG actors. Saget took this seriously. He spent a lot of time in the editing room trying to sync the beak movements of real penguins with the dialogue. It’s an arduous process.
Also, people often think this was a theatrical flop. It wasn't really a theatrical movie. It had a very limited release before heading straight to DVD. That was the plan. It was designed for the "stoner comedy" market and the late-night college crowd. In that specific niche, it actually performed decently well for a time.
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The Legacy of Bob Saget’s Direction
Saget only directed a handful of films. Dirty Work is his most famous, and it’s a cult classic. Farce of the Penguins is its weirder, less-loved sibling. But both films share a common thread: they don't care about being "prestige." They care about the punchline.
When Saget passed away in 2022, fans started revisiting his entire filmography. While most went to Full House or his America's Funniest Home Videos days, the comedy nerds went back to the weird stuff. This movie represents a specific moment in time when a comedian had enough clout to say, "I want to make a movie about swearing penguins," and a studio actually said, "Here’s the money."
Actionable Insights for Comedy Fans
If you’re planning to revisit Farce of the Penguins or watch it for the first time, keep these things in mind to actually enjoy the experience:
- Adjust Your Expectations: This is not a "smart" satire. It is a crude, repetitive, and often absurd parody. If you’re looking for Veep-level wit, keep moving.
- Watch the Original First: The jokes land much better if you’ve recently seen the actual March of the Penguins. The pacing and the "drama" of the penguins' journey are the targets.
- Look for the Cameos: Half the fun is trying to identify the voices without looking at IMDb. Some are obvious (Gilbert Gottfried), but others are surprisingly subtle.
- Understand the Era: Contextualize it within 2007. This was the era of South Park’s peak influence and the rise of "random" humor.
The movie is a testament to the idea that comedy doesn't always have to be sophisticated. Sometimes, seeing a penguin talk about his "shrinkage" in the cold is exactly what you need after a long day. It’s a crude, loud, and bizarre footnote in film history, but it’s a footnote that only someone like Bob Saget could have written.
Final Thoughts on the Penguin Parody
Is it a "good" movie? By traditional standards, probably not. But is it an interesting one? Absolutely. It’s a pure expression of a comedian's id. It’s what happens when you give a legend the keys to the kingdom and he decides to use them to make a prank video.
If you want to understand the full spectrum of 2000s comedy, you have to acknowledge the spoof era. Farce of the Penguins sits right at the edge of that era—too weird for the mainstream, too vulgar for families, but just right for a specific group of people who find the absurdity of life (and penguins) hilarious.
To dive deeper into this specific era of comedy, check out the documentaries on the 2000s stand-up boom or look for Bob Saget's memoir, Dirty Daddy, which gives a lot of insight into his creative mindset during these years. You can also find the film on various streaming platforms like Tubi or Amazon Prime, where it continues to live its life as a cult curiosity for a new generation of viewers.
Next Steps for Enthusiasts:
- Watch the 2005 documentary March of the Penguins to see what Saget was actually parodying.
- Compare the dialogue to Saget’s 2007 HBO special That Ain't Right to see the overlap in humor.
- Research the history of ThinkFilm, the distributor that took a chance on this and other edgy mid-2000s projects.