Mr. Popper's Penguins (film)
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''Mr. Popper's Penguins'' is a 2011 American
family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
distributed by
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
, loosely based on the 1938 children's book of the same name. It is directed by
Mark Waters Mark Stephen Waters (born June 30, 1964) is an American filmmaker who directed the comedy films ''Freaky Friday'', ''Mean Girls'', ''Ghosts of Girlfriends Past'', '' Mr. Popper's Penguins'', and ''Vampire Academy''. Filmography Film Producer ...
, produced by John Davis, co-produced by Davis Entertainment Company and
Dune Entertainment RatPac Entertainment (also known as RatPac-Dune Entertainment, a co-financing agreement it was part of) was an American motion picture production company owned by producer-director Brett Ratner. RatPac was founded by Ratner and billionaire James ...
, written by
Sean Anders Sean Anders (born June 19, 1969) is an American film director and screenwriter. Career He co-wrote and directed the 2005 film '' Never Been Thawed'', the 2008 film ''Sex Drive'', the 2014 film ''Horrible Bosses 2'', the 2015 film '' Daddy's Ho ...
, John Morris and Jared Stern, and stars
Jim Carrey James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and artist. Known for his energetic slapstick performances, Carrey first gained recognition in 1990, after landing a role in the American sketch comedy te ...
in the title role. The film was originally slated for a release on August 12, 2011, but was moved up to June 17, 2011. The film received mixed reviews from critics and earned $187.3 million on a $55 million budget.


Plot

In an opening flashback, Thomas Popper Jr., is a child whose father traveled around the world during his childhood in the 1970s. Popper rarely sees his father, Thomas Sr., during his travels and communicates with him through
shortwave radio Shortwave radio is radio transmission using shortwave (SW) radio frequencies. There is no official definition of the band, but the range always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (100 to 10 me ...
. In the present day, Popper is now a divorced real estate entrepreneur and a father of two children, Janie and Billy. After returning home from work one day, Popper learns that his father has died during an adventure to Antarctica and, as per his will, has left him with a "souvenir" from his adventures in Antarctica. The following week, a crate containing a
gentoo penguin The gentoo penguin ( ) (''Pygoscelis papua'') is a penguin species (or possibly a species complex) in the genus ''Pygoscelis'', most closely related to the Adélie penguin (''P. adeliae'') and the chinstrap penguin (''P. antarcticus''). The ear ...
, named Captain, appears at his door. Popper immediately becomes annoyed with the penguin and locks him in a bathroom before going to work. After Captain accidentally floods his apartment with bath water, Popper calls his father's organization asking to return the penguin, but, due to a miscommunication, ends up receiving a shipment of five more penguins named Loudy, Bitey, Stinky, Lovey, and Nimrod. Popper intends to give them away to the zoo, but changes his idea when his children think that the penguins are Billy's birthday present. An incensed Popper is forced to spend evenings taking care of the penguins and
bribing Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Corru ...
the apartment clerk to not rat him out to the board, as pets are not allowed in the apartment. At one point, he receives an offer to take the penguins off his hands from Nat Jones, the antagonistic zookeeper at the New York Zoo, who warns him that the penguins won't survive at his house. Unknown to Popper, Jones also plans to trade the penguins for animals the zoo does not have. At work, Popper is given the task of buying
Tavern on the Green Tavern on the Green is an American cuisine restaurant in Central Park in Manhattan, New York City, near the intersection of Central Park West and West 66th Street on the Upper West Side. The restaurant, housed in a former sheepfold, has been op ...
, the only privately owned piece of real estate in
Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...
that is an old restaurant where he used to eat with his father when he was a child. However, the restaurant’s elderly owner, Selma Van Gundy, will only sell it to a person of true value. Popper has meetings with her, but due to him having to juggle them with taking care of the penguins, she begins to have some serious doubts about him. As time goes on, having the penguins around helps Popper become closer to his children. The penguins lay three eggs. Two eggs hatch, but one does not. Popper becomes obsessed with seeing the last egg hatch, causing him to lose his job. Eventually Popper realizes that the egg is somehow unable to hatch, and, after being given permission from Jones to do so, decides to donate the penguins to the zoo. Then, he is re-employed but his children and ex-wife, Amanda, are disappointed by his decision. Popper finds a letter from his father—included in the original crate with Captain but lost when Popper broke the crate by accident—telling him to hold his children close and love them and apologizing for not being a better father that Popper needed. Having second thoughts, Popper asks his children and former wife to help him get the penguins back from the zoo, however, they are not in the penguin enclosure. During a brief argument with Jones, he reveals to them his true motives for wanting the penguins and that he plans to separate them. After Jones lies and says that they're too late to save them, the family manages to find and free the penguins, while evading Jones and the zoo's security. Upon seeing how Popper had reunited his family and saved the penguins, Van Gundy sells him the restaurant while Jones is arrested. Popper decides to renovate and reopen the restaurant. Popper and his family travel to Antarctica with the penguins, allowing them to live with their own kind. Popper's first penguin, Captain, is revealed to have laid another egg. Popper tells his children that they will visit the penguins when the egg hatches.


Cast

*
Jim Carrey James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and artist. Known for his energetic slapstick performances, Carrey first gained recognition in 1990, after landing a role in the American sketch comedy te ...
as Tom Popper Jr. ** Henry Kelemen / Dylan Clark Marshall as Young Tom Popper Jr. *
Carla Gugino Carla Gugino (; born August 29, 1971) is an American actress. After appearing in ''Troop Beverly Hills'' (1989) and ''This Boy's Life'' (1993), she received recognition for her starring roles as Ingrid Cortez in the ''Spy Kids'' trilogy (2001â ...
as Amanda Popper *
Madeline Carroll Madeline Carroll (born March 18, 1996) is an American actress known for starring as Juli Baker in '' Flipped'', as Molly Johnson in ''Swing Vote'', as Farren in ''The Spy Next Door'', and as Willow O'Neil in ''The Magic of Belle Isle''. Early ...
as Janie Popper *
Maxwell Perry Cotton Maxwell Perry Cotton (born May 7, 2000) is an American actor who portrayed Cooper Whedon in the television series '' Brothers & Sisters''. Life and career Cotton was born on May 7, 2000, in San Diego, California. Cotton graduated from Notre Da ...
as Billy Popper *
Angela Lansbury Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American film, stage, and television actress. Her career spanned eight decades, much of it in the United States, and her work received a great deal ...
as Mrs. Selma Van Gundy *
Clark Gregg Robert Clark Gregg Jr. (born April 2, 1962) is an American actor, director, and screenwriter. He is best known for playing Agent Phil Coulson in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films '' Iron Man'' (2008), ''Iron Man 2'' (2010), ''Thor'' (2011), ' ...
as Nat Jones *
Desmin Borges Desmin Borges (born 1983/1984) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Edgar Quintero on the FX (TV channel), FX/FXX comedy-drama ''You're the Worst''. Borges grew up in Chicago and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater at DeP ...
as Daryl *
Philip Baker Hall Philip Baker Hall (September 10, 1931 – June 12, 2022) was an American character actor. Hall is known for his collaborations with Paul Thomas Anderson, including '' Hard Eight'' (1996), ''Boogie Nights'' (1997) and ''Magnolia'' (1999). He als ...
as Mr. Franklin *
Dominic Chianese Dominic Chianese (; born February 24, 1931) is an American actor, singer, and musician. He is best known for his roles as Corrado "Junior" Soprano on the HBO series ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007), Johnny Ola in ''The Godfather Part II'' (197 ...
as Mr. Reader *
Ophelia Lovibond Ophelia Lucy Lovibond (born 19 February 1986) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Carina in the film ''Guardians of the Galaxy,'' Izzy Gould in the BBC's ''W1A'', Joyce Prigger in HBO's ''Minx'', and Kitty Winter in CBS's ''Ele ...
as Mrs. Pippi Pepenopolis *
Jeffrey Tambor Jeffrey Michael Tambor (born July 8, 1944) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles such as Jeffrey Brookes, the uptight neighbor of Stanley and Helen Roper in the television sitcom ''The Ropers'' (1979–1980), as Hank Kings ...
as Mr. Gremmins *
David Krumholtz David Krumholtz (born May 15, 1978) is an American actor and comedian. He played Mr. Universe in '' Serenity'', Charlie Eppes in the CBS drama series ''Numb3rs'', and starred in the ''Harold & Kumar'' and ''The Santa Clause'' film franchises. Ear ...
as Kent *
James Tupper James Tupper (born August 4, 1965) is a Canadian actor known for his roles as Jack Slattery on the ABC television series ''Men in Trees'', Dr. Chris Sands on the NBC medical drama series ''Mercy'', and David Clarke on ABC's ''Revenge''. He also st ...
as Rick *
Brian T. Delaney Brian T. Delaney is an American actor, who provides the voice of the male Sole Survivor in ''Fallout 4'' and Master Mantis in the ''Kung Fu Panda (franchise)#Video games, Kung Fu Panda'' games. Filmography Voice acting Film Television V ...
as Young Tom Popper Sr. (voice) * Matthew Wolf as Antarctic Friend (voice) *
Charles L. Campbell Charles L. Campbell (August 17, 1930 – June 21, 2013) was an American sound engineer who won three Academy Awards for Best Sound Editing. He also served as Governor of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) 1984-1987. Early l ...
as Old Tom Popper Sr. (voice) *
Betsy Aidem Betsy Aidem (born October 28, 1957) is an American actress who plays for film, television and stage. Her film work includes ''The Bleeding House'', ''See You in the Morning (film), See You in the Morning'', ''A Vigilante'' and ''Aeris (film), Ae ...
as Tavern hostess *
Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American voice actor. He began his career in the 1960s, and holds over 860 film, television, and video game credits as of 2022, making him one of the most prolific voice actors of all time. With ...
as the
penguin Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...
s (vocal effects)


Production

Originally,
Ben Stiller Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is the son of the comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Stiller was a member of a group of comedic actors colloquially known as ...
was slated to play Mr. Popper, and
Noah Baumbach Noah Baumbach () (born September 3, 1969) is an American film director and screenwriter. He is known for making witty and intellectual comedies set in New York City and has often been compared to writer-directors such as Woody Allen and Whit Sti ...
was originally going to direct, but they dropped out.
Owen Wilson Owen Cunningham Wilson (born November 18, 1968) is an American actor. He has had a long association with filmmaker Wes Anderson with whom he shared writing and acting credits for '' Bottle Rocket'' (1996), '' Rushmore'' (1998), and ''The Royal ...
,
Jack Black Thomas Jacob Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for his acting roles in the films '' High Fidelity'' (2000), ''Shallow Hal'' (2001), ''Orange County'' (2002), '' School of Rock'' (2003), ''E ...
, and
Jim Carrey James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and artist. Known for his energetic slapstick performances, Carrey first gained recognition in 1990, after landing a role in the American sketch comedy te ...
were all considered to replace Stiller, with the role eventually going to Carrey.
Mark Waters Mark Stephen Waters (born June 30, 1964) is an American filmmaker who directed the comedy films ''Freaky Friday'', ''Mean Girls'', ''Ghosts of Girlfriends Past'', '' Mr. Popper's Penguins'', and ''Vampire Academy''. Filmography Film Producer ...
was chosen to direct. Filming began in October 2010, and finished in January 2011. On September 21, 2010, it was confirmed that
Carla Gugino Carla Gugino (; born August 29, 1971) is an American actress. After appearing in ''Troop Beverly Hills'' (1989) and ''This Boy's Life'' (1993), she received recognition for her starring roles as Ingrid Cortez in the ''Spy Kids'' trilogy (2001â ...
joined the cast as Tom's former wife Amanda Popper.
Rhythm and Hues Studios Rhythm & Hues Studios was an American visual effects and animation company, that received the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects in 1995 for '' Babe'', in 2008 for '' The Golden Compass'', and in 2013 for '' Life of Pi''. It also received fou ...
did the penguin animations for certain shots. The musical score was composed by
Rolfe Kent Rolfe R. Kent (born 18 April 1963) is an English film score composer. Biography Kent was born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. He attended St Albans School, worked at Balrossie School in Renfrewshire, Scotland, then graduated in Psych ...
and orchestrated by
Tony Blondal Tony Blondal is a film and television orchestrator and conductor, and record arranger. He started out his musical career playing live (guitar) and doing studio recording sessions (guitar, mandolin, banjo, balalaika, charango and various instrument ...
. It was recorded at the scoring stage at
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
in Century City, California with a 78-piece orchestra. An online Museum Slide Game was created by designer Mark Kavanaugh as promotional material for the film. The penguins portrayed in the film were a mix of real penguins and CGI.


Reception


Box office

''Mr. Popper's Penguins'' was theatrically released on June 17, 2011 by
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
. It earned $6.4 million on opening day and $18.4 million over the three-day weekend, ranking in third place behind ''
Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...
'' and '' Super 8''. The opening was at the high end of 20th Century Fox's expectations, which was predicting a mid- to high teens opening. In its second weekend, the film faced competition from ''
Cars 2 ''Cars 2'' is a 2011 American computer-animated Spy film, spy comedy film produced by Pixar, Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the sequel to ''Cars (film), Cars'' (2006), the second film in the Cars (franchise), ''Cars'' f ...
'' and dropped 45% to $10.1 million and ranked in fifth place. Over the four-day Independence Day holiday weekend, it ranked in eighth place after dropping 34% to $6.7 million. The film earned $68,224,452 domestically and $119,137,302 in foreign countries, grossing a total of $187,361,754 worldwide.


Critical response

On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film has an approval rating of 47% based on 142 reviews with an average rating of 5.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Blandly inoffensive and thoroughly predictable, ''Mr. Popper's Penguins'' could have been worse – but it should have been better." On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a score of 53 out of 100 based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.


Accolades

;BMI Film & TV Awards 2012 ;Kids' Choice Awards, USA 2012 ;MovieGuide Awards 2012


Release


Home media

''Mr. Popper's Penguins'' was released on Blu-ray and DVD on December 6, 2011. It includes a short film called ''Nimrod and Stinky's Antarctic Adventure''.


Soundtrack

* "
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 album '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. It was written primarily by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partners ...
" – Written by
John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
and
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
* "
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!", also known as simply "Let It Snow", is a song written by lyricist Sammy Cahn and composer Jule Styne in July 1945 in Hollywood, California, during a heat wave as Cahn and Styne imagined cooler conditions ...
" – Written by
Jule Styne Jule Styne (; born Julius Kerwin Stein; December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was an English-American songwriter and composer best known for a series of Broadway musicals, including several famous frequently-revived shows that also became s ...
and
Sammy Cahn Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premier ...
* "Sweet N' Lo" – Written by
Erwin Lehn Erwin Lehn (8 June 1919, Grünstadt Grünstadt ( pfl, Grinnschdadt) is a town in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with roughly 13,200 inhabitants. It does not belong to any ''Verbandsgemeinde'' – a kind of collective ...
* "Doo Wah Dooh Wah" – Written and Performed by
Syd Dale Syd Dale (20 May 1924 – 15 August 1994) was an English self-taught composer and arranger of funk, easy listening and library music. His music played an important role on television, radio and advertising media of the 1960s and 1970s and is sti ...
* "Set 'Em Up Joe" – Written by Werner Tautz * "Spin Spin" – Written by Steve Sidwell * "Go Get It" – Written and Performed by
Jeff Cardoni Jeffrey E. Cardoni (born January 10, 1972) is an American composer. He is a multi-instrumentalist who studied classical piano before playing drums and guitar in numerous bands, including a brief stint with the rock band Alien Crime Syndicate. Bio ...
* "Piano Lounge" – Written by Daniel May and
Marc Ferrari Marc Schumann(known professionally as Marc Ferrari) (born January 27, 1962) is an American musician, author, entrepreneur and investor. He is best known for his work as a guitar player in the 1980s and 1990s rock bands Keel, Cold Sweat, and Medi ...
* "
Ice Ice Baby "Ice Ice Baby" is a hip hop song by American rapper Vanilla Ice, K. Kennedy and DJ Earthquake. It was based on the bassline of the song "Under Pressure" by British rock band Queen and British singer David Bowie, who did not receive songwriting ...
" – Performed by
Vanilla Ice Robert Matthew Van Winkle (born October 31, 1967), known professionally as Vanilla Ice, is an American rapper, actor, and television host. Born in South Dallas, and raised in Texas and South Florida, Ice released his debut album, ''Hooked'', ...
* "All Music" – Composed by
Rolfe Kent Rolfe R. Kent (born 18 April 1963) is an English film score composer. Biography Kent was born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. He attended St Albans School, worked at Balrossie School in Renfrewshire, Scotland, then graduated in Psych ...
* Music from the
Charles Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...
movies


References


External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mister Popper's Penguins (film) 2011 comedy films 2011 films 20th Century Fox films American comedy films Davis Entertainment films Dune Entertainment films Films about penguins Films based on American novels Films directed by Mark Waters Films produced by John Davis Films set in New York City Films set in 1976 Films set in 1978 Films set in 1980 Films set in 1981 Films shot in New York City Films with screenplays by Jared Stern Films with screenplays by John Morris Films with screenplays by Sean Anders Films scored by Rolfe Kent 2010s English-language films 2010s American films