Go see Happy Feet in Antarctica, not at the movies

We’ve seen movie marketing for travel destinations in abundance lately: Go to New Zealand to see The Lord of the Rings, England for Harry Potter, or even Wyoming for Brokeback Mountain. But go to Antarctica to see the real Happy Feet? That’s what Quark Expeditions has to say.

A November 13 press release quotes: “Having just returned from seeing the real ‘Happy Feet’ (the name of an animated emperor penguin movie premiering November 17th), Quark Expeditions is pleased to present their own ‘Happy Feet’ journey starring the real emperor penguins.”

Although undeniably cute, what exactly does an animated penguin who tap dances his way into everyone’s heart have to do with what you’d actually see on Antarctica’s relatively tourist-friendly periphery? I’m not quite sure, but it can be enticing for some.

The marketing email couldn’t be more perfect. Happy Feet comes out tonight in theaters near you, while Antarctica’s “high season” is fast approaching (most tourists go to Antarctica in December or January). Had this email mentioned last year’s award-winning March of the Penguins documentary, I would have been sold.

In all seriousness, Antarctica can be an amazing trip if you can afford the $10,000+ price tag (although sold out for this year, Quark Expeditions has released its 2007 dates). In fact, USAToday.com ran an article just this week that deems the polar ice caps as one of the “Seven New Wonders of the World.”

Unfortunately, these polar regions are endangered, so if you want to see the emperor penguins—inspired by the movies or not—you might consider acting sooner than later before they take their not-so happy feet and migrate elsewhere (to where tourists can’t go).