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 MR. POPPER'S PENGUINS (BLU-RAY / DVD / DIGITAL COPY) |
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| Featuring: Jim Carrey, Carla Gugino, Angela Lansbury, Ophelia Lovibond, Jeffrey Tambor |
| Director: Mark Waters |
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Distributor: 20th Century Fox |
| DVD release: 06 December 2011 |
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Runtime: 94 min.
(3 discs) |
| Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen |
| DVD features: 1080p High Definition, Aspect ratio 1.85:1, Audio tracks (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 - English; Dolby Digital 5.1 - French, Spanish), Subtitles (English SDH, Spanish), Audio Commentary (w/ dir. Mike Waters, ed. Bruce Green, visual effects supervisor Richard Hollander), Deleted Scenes, Gag Reel, The Legacy of Mr. Popper's Penguins, Ready for their Close-up, Ladies and Gentooman, Stuffy Penguin Theater, Penguin Pandemonium
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 Mr. Popper, played by Jim Carrey, is a realtor who deals with big properties. He's very good at his job and is angling to get a partnership at his firm.
The carrot dangled before him is Central Park's legendary Tavern on the Green. If he can buy that property from the aging Mrs. Van Gundy (Angela Lansbury), his company can tear it down and build something really profitable. Popper is up for it, but he's just received via freight delivery his inheritance: a penguin in an insulated box.
 Let's step back a bit for more setup. Popper is a divorced father of two kids don't want to spend their weekends with him because he doesn't "get" them. Seems like he'd rather be without them as well, so he can spend more of his weekends working and being cold and indifferent to the people who most care about him. A not unfamiliar formula for light family entertainment is thus invoked.
 Through a mix-up, Popper calls to get rid of the bird and manages to get five extras instead. It works to make his kids want to spend time with them (him) and helps to sour the deal with ol' lady Van Gundy. The higher-ups at the office think he's going crazy as he tries to close the Van Gundy deal. He's stretched too thin trying to keep the birds happy (he opens the balcony door to let the cold in for them), please his kids, and be a good, heartless realtor. Naturally, all these elements come together in the third act. Not a bad little film for lighthearted entertainment--if you can ignore Popper's bipolar nature--but the overused formula should be discarded.
The partially computer-generated birds each have a unique personality that makes them endearing and adorable. The cast is excellent, and Carrey is allowed to be 22% goofy, which is good for the mood of the film without going over the top.
The extra features are fine: a featurette on the original children's book that lends the film its name as well as a few other features, bloopers, deleted scenes, and an animated movie detailing further adventures of the penguins. With the great picture and big, beautiful sound, if you can bear the well-worn formula of this kind of film, you and your family may well enjoy Mr. Popper's Penguins.
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