'Mr. Popper's Penguins' is amiable family fare

By Claudia Puig, USA TODAY

Mr. Popper's Penguins bears almost no resemblance to the classic children's book of the same name. But that's not necessarily a bad thing.

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  By Barry Wetcher, 20th Century Fox, via AP

  Six penguins and a Popper: Captain, Lovey, Bitey, Nimrod, Stinky and Loudy star with Jim Carrey, who inherits them after his dad dies.

By Barry Wetcher, 20th Century Fox, via AP

Six penguins and a Popper: Captain, Lovey, Bitey, Nimrod, Stinky and Loudy star with Jim Carrey, who inherits them after his dad dies.

Nothing much happens in Richard and Florence Atwater's quaint 1938 story. Perhaps the most appealing elements of the book are the pen and ink illustrations by Robert Lawson.

The visual images in the movie are also the highlight, particularly scenes of a procession of penguins parading across a Manhattan street, romping around an upscale New York apartment, or sliding down the iconic spiral walkways of the Guggenheim. The birds are a deftly rendered blend of the real thing and their computer-generated brethren.

While Jim Carrey, as Mr. Popper, is ostensibly the star, he's upstaged by the waddling waterfowl. And he keeps his elastic-faced mugging to a minimum, aware that the show is for the birds.

The result is an amiable movie that's suitable family fare, though it does suffer from an excess of obnoxious bathroom humor, provided mostly by a penguin named Stinky.

Carrey plays a familiar character: a workaholic, clueless dad with issues stemming from his own absentee father. He has a young son Billy (Maxwell Perry Cotton) and a teenage daughter Janie (Madeline Carroll) and a hankering for his ex-wife Amanda (Carla Gugino). The movie plays off every divorced child's dream that his parents will someday get back together. But since the entire scenario has an air of fantasy blended with screwball comedy, this doesn't seem as problematic as in other more reality-based family films.

Director Mark Waters has fared better with edgier humor, such as 2003's clever remake of Freaky Friday and his 2004 teen flick Mean Girls. But he keeps the action lively and the camera trained on the adorable flightless birds, blending live action and CGI seamlessly. Most of all, Carrey hits the right notes, dialing it down and letting the penguins take center stage.

Mr. Popper's Penguins
* * 1/2 out of four

Stars: Jim Carrey, Carla Gugino,
Angela Lansbury, Clark Gregg,
Madeline Carroll
Director: Mark Waters
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Rating: PG for mild rude humor
and some language
Running time: 1 hour,
34 minutes
Opens Friday nationwide

Popper, unlike the book's dreamy house painter, is a cynical real estate developer. His eye is on a prize: Central Park's Tavern on the Green. But owner Mrs. Van Gundy (Angela Lansbury) doesn't want to sell ? especially not to a developer.

Meanwhile, the Popper kids have grown increasingly distant from their driven dad. But that changes when Mr. Popper receives a surprise wooden crate from Antarctica. It turns out his explorer father died and left Popper six Emperor penguins.

Popper, whose sterile apartment hardly seems pet-friendly, finds that the penguins render him a hit with his kids. The tuxedoed birds are undeniably endearing, especially when they gather around Popper's TV, mesmerized by Charlie Chaplin, who could pass as a distant relative.

Soon, Popper goes a bit dotty. He converses with the birds, braves freezing temps for them and prepares sushi (well, raw mackerel) for them.

In addition to their penchant for wacky high jinks, the penguins teach Popper a thing or two about family. Think Mr. Popper's Proper Priorities.

Speaking of things alliterative, Mr. Popper has an assistant named Pippi (Ophelia Lovibond) who persists in her peppy preference for the letter p. It's silly stuff, but genially funny.

The whole movie could be summed up similarly. Mr. Popper's Penguins is predictable, but well-intentioned fun.

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