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| Mr. Popper's Penguins - 2011 |
Coming up next we have 2011's "Mr. Popper's Penguins", a film about a man who receives a bunch of penguins and keeps them in his New York apartment. His life is completely turned around for the better because of their appearance.
The film's cast includes Jim Carrey, Carla Gugino, Angela Lansbury, Ophelia Lovibond, Madeline Carroll, Maxwell Perry Cotton, Clark Gregg, Jeffrey Tambor, David Krumholtz, James Tupper, and Charlie Semine.
Tom Popper is a very charismatic businessman. He always seems to know exactly what his associates need and want.
During one meeting, he captivates a man with visions of sailing and a very immersive experience. As they look off into the distance, Tom has him imagine a blue whale "a rainbow in the spray from his mighty blowhole".
And Tom's assistant Pippi is quite a character as well. "Pippi Peponopolis. I'm Mr. Popper's personal assistant. I process his paperwork and I procure
his periodicals," she says as she introduces herself.
One morning, Tom receives a penguin as a gift from his recently deceased globe-trotting father. Not knowing what to do with it, Tom leaves it in his apartment as he heads off to an important meeting.
He is tasked by his firm with acquiring Tavern on the Green, a landmark establishment in Central Park. The owner, Mrs. Van Gundy, is as sharp as they come and is not about to let her restaurant go to just anybody.
She isn't very impressed by his pitch. "Picture yourself in a boat on a river with
tangerine trees and kind of a marmalade sky," he muses. She looks at him strangely and says, "I don't do drugs, Mr. Popper."
When he returns home, Tom finds out just what keeping a penguin in an apartment entails. The penguin has flooded his bathroom and goes to the bathroom anyplace it feels like.
And the situation becomes more dramatic when five more penguins arrive at his residence.
Popper's kids (with whom he doesn't have a great relationship) and his ex-wife fall in love with the penguins, which doesn't help with his wanting to get rid of the pesky birds.
More trouble brews in the apartment complex when the noisy penguins succeed in bothering Popper's neighbors. One neighbor, Kent, says, "I’m hearing shrieking, cackling, and trumpeting
sounds coming from that apartment. Now, either Mr. Popper is hanging out with my
mother, or I’m losing my mind."
Needless to say, the penguins become very attached to Popper. They even follow him to a fancy party, where he tries to impress Mrs. Van Gundy. As can be imagined, things don't go very well.
Popper eventually comes to bond with the penguins. During an evening meal, Tom prays over the food. "Dear Lord, thank you for the food we are about
to eat. Please use your mighty power to stop the melting
of the polar ice caps. Amen."
And when the penguins start to build nests, Popper turns his apartment into the perfect icy habitat where their babies can be hatched.
The penguins future is uncertain when a "penguin expert" arrives and tries to take them away from Popper. Eventually, Popper and his family engineer a "zoo break" to rescue them.
Of course, things end up all right. Mrs. Van Gundy decides to let Popper have the restaurant, and he is even more thrilled once he is allowed to keep custody of the penguins.
In the spring, Popper has a very special lunch planned with his family (with whom he has reconciled) at the newly refurbished restaurant. He tells them he is going on a long trip and he needs them to come with him.
They travel to Antarctica, where the penguins happily rejoin their family group.
Cast rundown:
Jim Carrey................................Tom Popper
Carla Gugino.............................Amanda Popper
Angela Lansbury........................Selma Van Gundy
Ophelia Lovibond.......................Pippi Peponopolis
Madeline Carroll.........................Janie Popper
Maxwell Perry Cotton..................Billy Popper
Clark Gregg...............................Nat Jones
Jeffrey Tambor...........................Mr. Gremmins
David Krumholtz........................Kent
James Tupper............................Rick
Charlie Semine..........................Quint
And that's all for Mr. Popper's Penguins. Six penguins appear in this version of the story. In the original novel, there were twelve. Real penguins were used for certain segments of this movie, and their scenes were filmed on a refrigerated set.
