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A Warning about Mr. Popper’s Penguins

Monday, June 20th, 2011

When we drove by our local movie theatre, my 9-year old announced excitedly that the movie Mr. Popper’s Penguins was playing and that we all HAD to go see it. mr_poppers_penquins_movie To be honest, I had never heard of the movie, which is sort of sad since its inspired by Richard and Florence Atwater’s Newbery Honor Book by the same name.

We were fortunate enough to be invited to a screening of the movie prior to its opening to the general public on June 17.

As I mentioned earlier, the movie is inspired by versus based on the book Mr. Popper’s Penguins. I haven’t read the book but from what I understand from my daughter, the story is quite a bit different. This is something to keep in mind if you are taking a child who has read the book, expecting to see it recreated.

Movie and book differences aside, my kids found the movie delightful. My 9-year old enjoyed it but my 6 and 4-year old were the ones laughing out loud during it. The silly penguin antics and occasional bad jokes (farting penguins, need I say more) had my two youngest in stitches.

Jim Cary was his over the top self in the opening, almost a caricature of himself, but I found as the storyline continued he actually seemed more human, less ‘The Mask’. Although a fun movie, there is one scene that will have you shedding a tear or two and you might find yourself having to explain it to the kids after the movie.

Mr. Popper’s Penguins is a movie family will enjoy; kids will love it and parents won’t mind watching it. The message of choosing family over money, when Mr. Popper sacrifices his high paying job to care for his new family members, may be lost on the kids but parents will enjoy it. Young kids will prefer the penguin’s personalities.

But I bet you’re wondering about the warning. If you do plan on taking your kids to see Mr. Popper’s Penguins, be prepared for kids to forgo the puppy request as a family pet in exchange for a penguin.

Tags: 20th Century Fox movies, family movie, Mr Popper's Penguins
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Beezus and Ramona, The Movie

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010

My daughter received her first Ramona Quimby book on her eighth birthday earlier this year. She loved Ramona. And what’s not to love, she’s an eight-year-old girl full of energy, enthusiasm and personality who is trying to navigate through life as an eight-year-old girl.

ramonabeezusmovie So when we were invited by the folks at Fox to get a sneak peek at the new Beezus and Ramona movie, my daughter was estatic. Neither of us have read the book, though it is on EverythingMom’s Elementary Summer Reading list, but we couldn’t resist seeing how Ramona translated on screen.

Synopsis (from the official movie website):

The adventures of young Ramona Quimby (played by newcomer Joey King) and her big sister Beezus (Selena Gomez) come to life in this all new film based on the best-selling books by Beverly Cleary. Ramona’s vivid imagination, boundless imagination and accident-prone antics keep everyone she meets on their toes. But her irrepressible sense of fun, adventure and mischief come in handy when she puts her mind to helping save her family’s home.

We don’t own cable, yet my daughter recognized Selena Gomez right away, from the Wizards of Waverly Place which we have sometimes caught when traveling to the US (where they do have cable). Joey King is new but she did an amazing job living up to Ramona’s personality.

Ramona has an amazing imagination that kids can relate to and adults wish they still retained. The movie does a great job transporting you into Ramona’s imaginative world by superimposing her 3-D self into a 2-D colourfully illustrated background. Joey King does a great job showing Ramona’s playful, ‘I-can-do-anything’ attitude right along side her concerns about her parent’s relationship and loosing the family’s home.

Beezus and Ramon opens as a very fun and humourous, not laugh-out-loud funny but more smile-on-your-face funny. However the second half of the film does take a sadder turn, with death, down-sizing and the threat of relocating and loosing the family home.

I thought there were some story lines in the film that we’re really resolved or felt forced but these were small and didn’t detract from the my overall enjoyment of the film. With three kids ourselves we could really relate to some of the themes explored in the film, like being the middle child and the older sister/younger sister dynamic. Beezus and Ramona had a real family life dynamic that made the characters and situations seem real (though maybe them all happening in such a short time span was a little much).

My 5-year-old son didn’t enjoy the film that much, not enough action for his taste, but my 8-year-old daughter loved it. Seeing the movie has now spurred her to start reading her Ramona Quimby books. Ramona and Beezus was a fun family film but bring tissues because you’re bound to shed a tear (and if you don’t your daughter will).