Centro Digital Pictures Ltd., Davis Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Jim Carrey, Carla Gugino, Madeline Carroll, Angela Lansbury, Ophelia Lovibond, James Tupper, Philip Baker Hall, Dominic Chianese, Kelli Barrett
Tom Popper (Jim Carrey) is a vicious real estate mogul who can close any deal. He’s a divorced Dad with two kids who he’s trying to be close to, but is finding it difficult as the kids grow up. Tom had a father who was an adventurer and a world traveler and had little time to spend with him as a boy which has caused him some issues.
His father passed away and sent as a gift a penguin which quickly becomes 6 penguins. Living in a penthouse with 6 penguins is a bit of a challenge, but because the kids love them, he tries to make it work. To top it off, his biggest challenge at work is to purchase the Tavern on the Green in Central Park for his firm from a wise old lady named Mrs. Van Gundy (Angela Lansbury) who is not eager to sell, but is looking for someone who has great worth. Can Popper keep the kids happy, and try to scam Mrs. Van Gundy at the same time?
Mr. Popper’s Penguins is a quite well done tale, similar to a lot of other movies, even some of Jim Carrey’s own like “Liar Liar” for example. But it’s such a charming story and the premise of trying to raise penguins in a Park Avenue penthouse is very unique and very well done. This story has less Jim Carrey making funny faces and crazy pratfalls, and instead gives up lots of story and character development and heart. This is so much better than Zookeeper turned out to be, and I enjoyed this film very, very much more. Since I saw them so close together it is hard not to compare. Mr. Popper wins by a mile.
Jim Carrey has the ability to crack you up one second, and leave you crying your eyes out the next. This is a familiar story which is why I did not give this 5 stars, but as I said before, the fact that the story is so unique makes it really fresh, so you don’t mind the “Dad who has a bad relationship with this kids and is tied up to his job too much and needs a crisis or two to bring him close to his kids and make him realize he still loves his ex-wife” bit is in the background of all the action going on in the apartment. I just think that this is going to be a very fun movie for the youngsters because of all the penguins running around, and still plenty of story for the grown ups to enjoy. Bringing this out in July is a really odd decision, as it really feels like a perfect Christmas movie, but in a way, it’s a nice way to feel “artificially cool” in the middle of the summer too. I really liked this movie, and if you’re tired of all the big action films and anxious to take the kids to see a great kids story, this is an excellent choice. I highly recommend this one.
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