DVD Corner

Mr. Popper’s Penguins Blu-ray Review

“Mr. Popper’s Penguins” is a poor adaptation of a classic children’s book.

Based on the book by Richard Atwater, this modern day film adaptation revolves around a divorced wealthy realtor father (Tom Popper Jr.) whose life becomes turned upside down when receives packages of penguins from his recently deceased father (a world traveler). While the penguins stress him out and cause troubles for him at his home and workplace, they turn out to be a blessing for his family as his two children and wife dig the penguins. Ultimately, Tom has to decide if he will keep the penguins so that he can stay close with his family or give them to a zoo so he can return to his old life.

What could have been a charming adaptation of a classic book has instead been reduced to a groan worthy modern kid flick that barely resembles the book. Instead, we get a movie filled with nauseating pop culture references (like “Ice Ice Baby” and Beyonce jokes) and more poop and fart jokes than you can imagine.

One would think Jim Carrey would at least make the movie watchable, but alas he further sabotages his career here with another “going through the motions” performance as Tom Popper Jr. Whatever happened to that enthusiastic, crowd pleasing Carrey we saw in the 90’s and early 00’s?

The only real highlight here is actress Ophelia Lovibond who plays the charming scene stealing character Pippy. The role is essentially a one joke character, but she certainly makes the most of it.

Summary: Adults will have a hard time getting through this one, but some children may enjoy this flick (especially if they love penguins). With that said, there are much better children’s films out there that I would recommend instead of picking up or seeing “Mr. Popper’s Penguins”.

Video/Audio:

The 1.85:1 1080p is as sharp as can be when it comes to the colors (although the so-so CGI is more apparent in hi-def).

The 5.1 DTS-HD is equally impressive. Everything from the echoes in the apartment to the sounds of the penguins had depth.

Extras:
* DVD and Digital Copy.
* 12 deleted scenes with optional commentary by Mark Waters, Bruce Green and Richard Hollander.
* Fox trailers and a “Mr. Popper’s Penguins” trailer.
* Pages from the original “Mr. Popper’s Penguins” book.
* A 2 minute gag reel with Jim Carrey messing around mostly.
* “Nimrod And Stinky’s Antarctic Adventure”- A 6 minute animated short that follows up on the penguins after the film.
* “Ready For Their Closeup”- An 8 ½ minute featurette about the Penguins on set.

* “Ladies And Gentoomen”- A featurette about Penguin species.

* Commentary by Mark Waters, Bruce Green and Richard Hollander. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to listen to this track unless they were a huge fan of the film.

* “The Legacy Of Mr. Popper’s Penguins”- A featurette about the classic book.
* “Stuffy Penguin Theater”- An extra about the stuffed penguins they used on set in place of the CGI penguins.
* “Penguin Pandemonium” with commentary by Mark Water, Bruce Green and Richard Hollander. An interesting extra talking about how a scene was technically done.

December 11, 2011 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Jim Carrey, Mr. Popper's Penguins Blu-ray Review, Mr. Popper's Penguins Book, Penguins