Penguins Galore!

 Today (April 25th) is World Penguin Day!

(Not to be confused with National Penguin Day Which is in January.)

Everyone loves penguins.  They are cute and silly and just watching them waddle around makes you laugh.  I like penguins too.  But I don't think I would want them as a pet.  Unlike Mr. Popper.  Who welcomes them into his home.  That might be a fun concept for a book and a movie but I don't think it would be very funny in real life.  Besides, I think it would be illegal.

But that's why we love fiction.  Rules do not apply.

Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater

Mr. Popper is obsessed with the polar regions.  One day, in response to a letter he wrote to an artic explorer, he receives a penguin in the mail.

It's silly and goofy and all sorts of impossible things happen, starting with a penguin being sent in the mail from the Antarctic.  It is a kind of fantasy book since none of this could happen in the real world so don't count on this book for penguin facts.  But the idea of having a penguin (and then lots of penguins) in the house is a fun one.  And I think most kids (and some adults) would find it funny - the penguins living in the refrigerator, sliding down the stairs on their bellies, and riding the bus.  My biggest criticism of the book is Mr. Popper.  After he gets the penguin he starts spending all the family money on it, even after his wife mentioned her worries about being able to afford food.  Mr. Popper treated the penguin like it was more important than his family and I could not forgive him for that.  Although a child would probably not take it all so seriously and just enjoy the silly antics on the penguins and Mr. Popper alike.

Mr. Popper's Penguins starring Jim Carey

Mr. Popper inherits a penguin and it turns his life upside down.

Carey was a perfect pick because he does the silly, goofy thing so well.  And this movie is definitely silly and goofy.  Like the book, it is a fantasy in so far as none of this stuff could actually happen.  But it is fun and there were moments that made me chuckle.  I think penguins in the city are just naturally funny and watching them waddle around outside of their natural habitat will amuse young and old alike.  It is a good family film that turns out to be more about Mr. Popper's family than his penguins.  

Movie vs. Book

I didn't like either Mr. Popper but in the movie he was able to redeem himself to some degree.  Both were full of things that could never happen and sometimes goes to eyeroll levels.  But it's kids fiction so it is forgivable.  Why Mr. Popper comes to have the penguins, and his reactions to the penguins completely different.  They share some elements but they are not really the same story.  Is one better than the other?  Apple and oranges.  I think I would have to say I personally enjoyed the movie more.  But the book is a simpler, less complicated story with less real world problems.  Which does have a certain appeal.