Though movies featuring penguins aren’t really a trend these days, movies of such themes that were shown years ago are still among the top favorites of kids today. Penguins are quite adorable and incredible creatures, and seeing them playing roles in movies is an exceptionally pleasurable experience. What makes penguin movies even more special is that compared to dog movies and other animal movies; they entail plots and experiences that are new to moviegoers. This is primarily because it is not every day that people encounter penguins and get to observe how these animals comport themselves. In celebration of the World Penguin Day today, here is a list of the top ten penguin movies of all time.

1. Surf’s Up

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An American comedy film staged in 2007, this Ash Brannon and Chris Buck film features a teenage rock hopper penguin who was determined to win the most important competition in the world of penguin surfing to prove his fellow penguins that he was more than just the “surfing fool” they credited him for. Together with his chicken friend, he joined the Big Z surfing competition in Pen Gu Island. Surf’s Up was produced in 2002 by Sony Pictures Animation and featured the voices of some of the biggest Hollywood stars such as James Woods, Jon Heder, Shia LaBeouf and Jeff Bridges. It generally received positive reviews from movie critics, saying its story was “certified fresh.”

2. March of the Penguins

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A French documentary film that featured the annual journey of the Emperor of Penguins of the Antarctica Region, March of the Penguins was directed by renowned director Luc Jacquet and was co-produced by Bonne Pioche and the National Graphic Society. It took the staff of March of the Penguins one year to shoot the film, since it involved the breeding age of penguins where they leave their natural habitat, the ocean, to journey to their own breeding grounds to court and mate with a fellow penguin. In 2005, the film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and several other awards from the Broadcast Film Critics Association and the Online Film Critics Society Awards.

3. Mr. Popper’s Penguins

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Mr. Popper’s Penguins is a book that was turned into a film in 2011. The story featured Mr. Popper, a poor house painter who resided in the Stillwater town with his family in the 1930’s. Years of residing in that place, the family met and took possession of a penguin which they named Captain Cook. Following their adoption of this male penguin, the family of Mr. Popper got another female penguin fresh from the zoo that eventually mated with Captain Cook. As the couple penguins had a total of 10 baby penguins, the Poppers family, threatened that the penguins might eat them, had to think of ways on how they could get rid of the thriving family of Captain Cook. The film adaptation of Mr. Popper’s Penguins was directed by Mark Waters and starred renowned actor Jim Carrey.

4. Cry of the Penguins

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More commonly known as Mr. Forbush and the Penguins, Cry of the Penguins is a British penguin movie that was shown in 1971. This Arne Sucksdorff, Alfred Viola and Roy Boulting-directed film starred Oscar winners John Hurt and Hayley Mills and was filmed in Antarctica through the assistance of the Argentinian navy and army. Based on a bestselling novel written by Graham Billing, Cry of the Penguins was a story of a young and rich biologist who left his family and girlfriend to live with the creatures of the frozen South Antarctica.  The movie featured several footages of real penguins and their encounters with humans.

5. Farce of the Penguins

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An American parody of the French documentary film entitled March of the Penguins, Farce of the Penguins is an award winning film that conquered the silver screen in 2007, featuring Samuel L. Jackson as its narrator and two other major characters dubbed by writer and director Bob Saget and Lewis Black. The film featured a wide array of slapstick talents and R-rated commentaries for live footages of penguins in Antarctica. The story was about a group of penguins who journeyed 70 miles towards their breeding grounds to find their mates and sleep with them. Somewhere along the way, the main characters, Carl and Jimmy, met a penguin named Marcus who loved bragging about his huge boom stick and bullying those who have small ones. The film generally featured the story of the three buddies towards their self-indulgent power of procreation ritual in Antarctica.

6. The Adventures of Scamper the Penguin

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A penguin movie that was screened in 1986, The Adventures of Scamper the Penguin was directed by Gennadiy Sokolskiy and starred Hollywood stars Virginia Masters, David Miles Monson and William Oliver. It was released by Enoki Films and was originally entitled The Adventures of Small Penguin Lolo. This movie featured a story of two penguins who got stranded on a floating iceberg in Antarctica and were eventually caught by a man who wanted to sell them to the zoo for a price. In due course, the two penguins met another macaroni penguin who promised to help them escape from the hands of the greedy man. The Adventures of Scamper the Penguin generally tackled the life of penguins in Antarctica during spring.

7. The Penguins of Madagascar

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The film adaptation of American CGI television show The Penguins of Madagascar, The Penguins of Madagascaris a spin-off feature film that will be starred by the penguins of the original television show that is currently being aired on Nickelodeon. Slated for release in 2015, the movie will feature the nine main characters of the Dream Works animation movie Madagascar, namely, the penguins Skipper, Kowalski, Private, Rico, the lemurs King Julian, Maurice and Mort, and the chimpanzees Mason and Phil. The film is expected to enjoy huge success the way the television show does now among kids and families, garnering several awards such as outstanding direction, best animated television program, favorite cartoon show and many more.

8. Happy Feet

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An Australian-American animated musical family film that was staged in 2006, Happy Feet was the first animated film produced by renowned film producer Kennedy Miller, together with Animal Logic, a visual design company. It was directed and co-written by George Miller and had its earliest release in the theatres of North America on November 17, 2006. The movie slotted in some live human actions in certain scenes but was never released on IMAX 3D due to budget constraints. It featured a little penguin named Mumble who had a terribly bad singing voice but was best at tap dancing—something that no other penguin could match. His story taught his viewers that uniqueness is more of a gift than a burden. The movie won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film and a lot more.

9. Wallace & Gromit in the Wrong Trousers

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Directed by Nick Park and Aardman Animations, The Wrong Trousers is an animation film that was staged in 1993 and featured the incredible duo, Wallace and Gromit. A dog, Gromit found himself being taken out of his own home by a tenant who happened to be a ruthless criminal. This criminal, a penguin, planned to rob the home of Gromit and sought to use Wallace and his new invention, a mechanical remote-controlled pair of trousers. By the end of the story, Wallace’s intelligence rose above that of the ruthless penguin and was able to save Gromit. The movie won the 1993 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.

10. The Pebble and the Penguin

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Filmed in 1995, The Pebble and the Penguin was an animated musical film that featured the actual mating rituals of Adelie Penguins residing in Antarctica. It was produced by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman and featured the story of a penguin named Hubie who was so in love with another penguin named Marina. The two encountered several challenges before they finally became an item and had children.