{"id":3387,"date":"2011-12-15T16:47:16","date_gmt":"2011-12-16T00:47:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=3387"},"modified":"2021-04-22T23:05:27","modified_gmt":"2021-04-23T06:05:27","slug":"review-mrpopperspenguins-bd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2011\/12\/review-mrpopperspenguins-bd\/","title":{"rendered":"Mr. Popper’s Penguins Blu-ray Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Mr. Popper\u2019s Penguins<\/em><\/strong> is a fun movie for the entire family. Sure, the plot is nonsensical and silly, the acting by the kids is pretty bad and the jokes are easy, but I managed to laugh a few times.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>
\nMr. Popper’s Penguins (2011)<\/strong><\/p>\n


\nREVIEW NAVIGATION<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe Movie<\/a> | Special Features<\/a> | Video Quality<\/a> | Audio Quality<\/a> | Overall<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Genre(s): <\/strong>Comedy, Family
\nFox | PG \u2013 94 min. \u2013 $39.99 | December 6, 2011<\/p>\n

MOVIE INFO:<\/span>
\nDirected by: <\/strong>Mark Waters
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>Richard Atwater & Florence Atwater (novel); Sean Anders & John Morris and Jared Stern (screenplay)
\nCast: <\/strong>Jim Carrey, Carla Gugino, Angela Lansbury, Ophelia Lovibond, Clark Gregg<\/p>\n

Theatrical Release Date: <\/strong>June 17, 2011<\/p>\n

DISC INFO:<\/span>
\nFeatures: <\/strong>Featurettes, Deleted Scenes, Gag Reel, BD-Live, DVD Copy, Digital Copy
\nNumber of Discs: <\/strong>3<\/p>\n

Audio: <\/strong>English (DTS-HD MA 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
\nVideo: <\/strong>1080p\/Widescreen 1.85
\nSubtitles: <\/strong>English SDH, Spanish
\nCodec: <\/strong>MPEG-4 AVC
\nRegion(s): <\/strong>A<\/p>\n

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THE MOVIE<\/strong> \u2013 3.75\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Thomas Popper (JIM CARREY) is a successful realtor working for a firm, buying up property to be torn down or converted for the company. Of course, having success means he\u2019s also divorced from an ex-wife (CARLA GUGINO) and is a bit detached from his kids (MADELINE CARROLL, MAXWELL PERRY COTTON), overlooking the simpler things in life. As a kid, his own father wasn\u2019t around very much, traveling around the world communicating only through a CB radio, but even then that fades and he never got to see or speak to him.<\/p>\n

When Popper\u2019s father dies, the only thing he\u2019s left in the will is a large crate delivered to the front door of his posh, modernistic NYC apartment. As you might guess, inside this crate is a penguin and despite his efforts to send it back, the next morning another crate arrives with five more penguins inside. Conveniently, inside the first crate was a letter from his father that falls idly underneath a table to be found in the third act, but I\u2019ll get to that in a moment. At first Popper is horrified by the situation which comes at the worst possible time. He\u2019s close to making partner at the firm but needs to buy up one more property: Tavern on the Green owned by a tenacious old woman Mrs. Van Gundy (ANGELA LANSBURY).<\/p>\n

Popper\u2019s vigor for getting rid of the penguins subsides when the family comes over for his son\u2019s birthday party when they discover the penguins and his son assumed they were his birthday gift. Now he has a problem as his son and teenage daughter, whom he\u2019s had trouble connecting with, have grown attached to the penguins. Each of the penguins have their own unique personalities and are named such: Captain (the first to arrive), Nimrod (because he\u2019s clumsy), Stinky (greets people with gas), Lovey (affectionate to others), Loudy (for obvious reasons) and Bitey (again, for obvious reasons). Well, he\u2019s now got to keep them around or else let down his kids but wouldn\u2019t you know it, he\u2019s grown attached to the critters.<\/p>\n

Of course, every family film has got to have an antagonist and for Mr. Popper\u2019s Penguins<\/em><\/strong> that job goes to venerable everyman actor, Clark Gregg as a New York Zoo official who is after the penguins because they\u2019re a rare and special breed. At first he\u2019s unsuccessful but we know what will happen in the third act.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t quite pain me to write this, but it is surprising that I thought Mr. Popper\u2019s Penguins<\/em><\/strong> wasn\u2019t a bad movie. It made me laugh at the obvious jokes (but I\u2019m an easy target) and even though the plot devices are at the very least inane but Jim Carrey makes the material work.<\/p>\n

The story doesn\u2019t make a lick of sense when you consider the circumstances. In fact, at one point Popper\u2019s bosses stop by, barge in and see the insanity Popper\u2019s life has devolved to. And yet we as an audience are supposed to pooh-pooh their comments? How is it no other adults took Popper aside and suggested that perhaps the penguins belong in the arctic? Only in Hollywood would somebody keeping penguins as a pet in their igloo apartment would be normal and even acceptable.<\/p>\n

In terms of the cast, like I said, Jim Carrey transcends the script and at times looks like his old comedic self. Unfortunately everyone else, including the lovely Carla Gugino, is relegated to thankless parts that are merely there to get the main character, and the penguins for that matter, from point A to point C. Heck, Gugino\u2019s character is so thinly written that it never rings true as to why she would want to get back involved with Popper again.<\/p>\n

In any event, I realize Mr. Popper\u2019s Penguins<\/em><\/strong> is a family movie made for kids and on that front it\u2019s harmless. There\u2019s enough laughs and funny jokes to keep the adults entertained while kids will be glued watching the zany penguins at work. It\u2019s not a great movie by any stretch but I laughed more than a few times and it\u2019s a good way to spend 90-minutes.<\/p>\n

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SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 3.5\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Blu-ray comes packaged in a standard case and a glossy slip cover.<\/p>\n

Audio Commentary<\/span><\/strong> \u2013 Director Mark Waters, Editor Bruce Green and Visual Effects Supervisor Richard Hollander sit down for an informative but laid back commentary track. The trio covers a variety of subjects in their respective fields and also gets into working with the cast and the penguins.<\/p>\n

Nimrod and Stinky\u2019s Antarctic Adventure (6:11; HD)<\/span><\/strong> is a (poorly) animated short that shows us what Popper\u2019s Penguins are up to and the zoo guy is back to capture them. Not sure exactly what \u201cadventure\u201d what Nimrod and Stinky were on since it involves all of them.<\/p>\n

Deleted Scenes (14:32; HD)<\/span><\/strong> includes 12 scenes not fit for the final version and really none of them are really special and were removed for pacing. This is accompanied with an optional commentary track.<\/p>\n

Gag Reel (2:05; HD)<\/span><\/strong> \u2013 As one can imagine, there\u2019s plenty on-set hijinks or line flubs when you involved Jim Carrey.<\/p>\n

The Legacy of Mr. Popper\u2019s Penguins<\/em> (4:04; HD)<\/span><\/strong> tackles history behind the award-winning 1938 novel and its authors. ** Blu-ray Exclusive **<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ready for Their Close-up (8:28; HD)<\/span><\/strong> is a short featurette, with comments by the cast and crew, focusing on working with the penguins and the challenges that goes with it.<\/p>\n

Ladies and Gentoomen (5:55; HD)<\/span><\/strong> \u2013 This educational featurette goes over the different species of penguins and what makes them unique over other species.<\/p>\n

Stuffy Penguin Theater (4:21; HD)<\/span><\/strong> montage covers using stuff penguins as a stand-in for the actors and visual effects animators to work with. ** Blu-ray Exclusive **<\/strong><\/p>\n

Penguin Pandemonium (3:12; HD)<\/span><\/strong> is similar to the previous featurette where they do walkthrough\/lighting references for the CGI penguins. ** Blu-ray Exclusive **<\/strong><\/p>\n

Previews <\/strong>\u2013 Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked<\/em>, Marley & Me: The Puppy Years<\/em>, Tooth Fairy 2<\/em><\/p>\n

Also included is the theatrical trailer (1:13; HD)<\/span><\/strong>, a BD-Live<\/span><\/strong> portal, a standard def\/retail DVD Copy<\/span><\/strong> and a Digital Copy<\/span><\/strong> (** Blu-ray Exclusive **<\/strong>) compatible with iTunes. Thankfully Fox hasn\u2019t turned to UltraViolet… yet.<\/p>\n

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VIDEO \u2013 4.5\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Fox gives the Blu-ray a fine looking 1080p high-definition transfer. Obviously for a new movie, you aren\u2019t going to get any flaws and although couldn\u2019t characterize this as an eye-popping visual feast, it\u2019s still well detailed throughout. Colors also seem well balanced, never looking blown out and the black levels look even.
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AUDIO \u2013 4.25\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The DTS-HD MA 5.1 track isn\u2019t great but gets the job done. Outside of some zany scenes, accompanied by Rolfe Kent\u2019s wacky score, this is primarily a dialogue driven film and on that front, it\u2019s crisp, clear and easy to understand. But during the more active sequences, although it sounds good, it doesn\u2019t exactly have much depth to it. The rear channels get some use mainly with background or ambient noises but most of the action takes place in the center and front channels.<\/p>\n

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OVERALL \u2013 3.75\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Overall, Mr. Popper\u2019s Penguins<\/em><\/strong> is a fun movie for the entire family. Sure, the plot is nonsensical and silly, the acting by the kids is pretty bad and the jokes are easy, but I managed to laugh a few times. The Blu-ray has good video and audio transfers while there are some decent, albeit forgettable, features. I\u2019d say give this a rental.<\/p>\n

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The Movieman<\/em>
\nPublished: <\/strong>12\/15\/2011<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mr. Popper\u2019s Penguins is a fun movie for the entire family. Sure, the plot is nonsensical and silly, the acting by the kids is pretty bad and the jokes are easy, but I managed to laugh a few times.    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[190,1203,514,1202],"class_list":["post-3387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blurayreviews","tag-carla-gugino","tag-clark-gregg","tag-jim-carrey","tag-mr-poppers-penguins"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3387"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3387\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25896,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3387\/revisions\/25896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}