we have john downer and phil dalton and a couple of their andamatronic friends. well done. how did you get them amongst all the penguins? >> depending on which ones they were. he could wander and like this. >> are these autonomous robots? >> they are capable of walking. semi-autonomous. if he does fall over or get knocked over by the other, he simply knocks it over. he's going to stand up. >> that is so crazy. and as you saw, they also lay eggs. and they were a little bit too realistic in some ways, the eggs, because we did lose a few to the predators. >> a bird just flew over carrying the egg. that was an incredible shot. >> why was it so important for you to spend the time and making the effort? >> because they're such iconic birds. we feel we have a story coming. >> you can watch "penguins waddle all the way," november 23rd on the discovery channel. >> this is a time when families want to get together. they want to be together to express their love. so what better time to have a surprise homecoming video. the man you're seeing in uniform is airman leo santana. these 24 y

wildlife filmmaker, john downer. the music of cassadee pope and "copy cats." and now, jay leno! [ cheers and applause ] ♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> jay: thank you very much. hi, everybody! nice to see you. thank you very much. boy, here is -- [ cheers and applause ] did you hear about this? here is just an amazing story.

joining me is award winning filmmaker, john downer, the director of the documentary. they're adorable, right? but we know very little about penguins. what is the biggest take away from this documentary? what did you learn that you didn't know before? >> well, i think we use cameras to get close to these animals and see them in a way we've never seen before. we get into their lives. we were seeing some of the greatest challenges any animal faced to bring up young. we will have three different species. but each one of them had a whole set of challenges even to get to their nest site let alone bring up a young one. i think it's a story of battling against the odds and incredible endurance. >> penguins are in their natural element in the water. they have the remarkable ability to survive on land. did that surprise you or is that something you set out to the film, as well. >> that's the problem they've got as a species. they're so streamlined in the water. coming to land is a major thing. he has to hop up a 200 foot cliff just to get to his nest site. these are sheer cliff