Despite what you might have heard from other critics, Mr. Popper’s Penguins isn’t that bad. While it’s not going to win any Academy Awards or lift Jim Carrey’s career to new heights, it does manage to be adorable and cute for kids. That’s really the audience the movie was intended for anyway.
Give credit to Jim Carrey for giving 110% in his role as Mr. Popper. This could have been easy money for the man and he could have slept walked through the role. Instead, he gives a very fun and sometimes touching performance as the businessman turned penguin owner. He’s believable, fun and energetic when he needs to be. He delivers the goods in the film, especially when interacting with the penguins (or the virtual penguins). Again, he could have dialed this one in, but he chose to give a strong performance, even though the film wasn’t as strong.
Director Mark Waters and his writers took some creative liberties with the original 1938 story, but still maintained that central aurora of ‘togetherness’. What they put together was cute and emotionally driven. I like the fact that Carrey’s Mr. Popper never had a strong relationship with his father, which meant that he had issues with his own children and family; it made the story believable. That wrapper surrounded the main story, and the true elements of the original story, which was the focus on the penguins. Instead of penguins arriving for almost no reason, the wrapper provides a strong reason for the penguins to be there. The lack of father and his last gift (the penguins) is the remaining factor that keeps Popper’s last hope of being a good father alive and well.
In the end, it’s a healthy story, and one that most kids these days need to see (and adults). It’s not a cookie cutter story, as most kids movies tend to be, and it is relatable for those who have broken homes. Is it perfect? No, it has issues. The filmmakers seemed to have a tough time figuring out how they wanted to end the film. They also had a tough time making a relatable bridge between Angela Lansbury’s Van Gundy and Mr. Popper. Again, it’s not perfect.
What it is in the end is something that kids will like and for a movie like this that is truly all you need to ask for.
As for the Blu-ray portion of the film, it’s good. There are a lot of rich colors (reds, yellows, blues, whites and blacks) that come through pretty clean and crisp. You get a nice fullscreen of the film (1.85:1 ratio) and you get little to no graininess or artifacts. There really isn’t any moments where color banding is an issue either. The movie does have some issues here and there, but there are more beautiful HD moments than not. The audio comes in at 5.1 DTS-HD, which doesn’t make a lot of difference since this is mostly a family comedy.
Now, for the features here’s what you’re looking at:
● Special Features
○ Animated Short: Nimrod and Stinky’s Antartic Adventure
○ The Legacy of Mr. Popper’s Penguins
○ Ladies and Gentoomen
○ Ready for their Closeup
○ Stuffy Penguin Theater
○ Penguin Pandemonium
○ Original Story Sampler
● Gag Reel
● Feature Audio Commentary
● Tooth Fairy 2 – Sneak Peek
● Theatrical Trailer
For a film that didn’t do too hot in the theaters, it’s nice to see that Fox treated it well with special features. Lots of good stuff here, especially the animated short. Kids will love this and parents will appreciate the gag reel.