Mr. Popper's Penguins
A 2011 Jim Carrey film based on the children's book of the same name.
Jim Carrey stars as Mr. Popper, a workaholic realtor, who gets a surprise from his recently deceased father, a gentoo penguin. Upon trying to return it, a miscommunication is made and is sent five more penguins instead. He tries everything in his power to be rid of the penguins, but when his children fall in love with them, his tune changes. Throughout the course of the movie, Mr. Popper becomes close to the penguins and learns that the most important thing in life is family.
Tropes used in Mr. Popper's Penguins include:
- A Boy and His X: Mr. Popper and his penguins. An odd variation, considering he's a grown man at the time.
- Alliteration: Pippi, concurrently with I Am Very British.
- At the end, she falls for a man named Quint who does the same thing, but the letter Q instead of P.
- Amicably Divorced: Mr. Popper and his ex wife get along great, and even start dating.
- Artistic License: Biology: From front to finish, but hey it's a kid's movie. Particularly jarring though is how the often the eggs are left unprotected by the birds. And then, the family trekking through Antarctica at its coldest season in some loose winter coats with no supplies.
- The Cat Came Back: Mr. Popper's initial attempts to get rid of the penguin turn out like this.
- The Determinator:
- When Mr. Popper decides to keep the penguins, he doesn't let anything get in his way.
- He also has the same attitude when it comes to his work.
- Divorce Is Temporary: Mr. Popper begins the movie divorced, but begins to reconnect with his ex wife during the course of the film.
- Everything's Better with Penguins
- Inspiration Nod: Mentioning Morgan Freeman's voice. Much of the penguin behavior seems to have been inspired by March Of The Penguins.
- Nearly-Normal Animal: The penguins.
- No Animals Were Harmed: Mentioned during the end credits that the penguins were not harmed, although Jim Carrey had not been so lucky.
- Pet Baby Wild Animal: Many times during the film, Mr. Popper is told that he can't raise the penguins in his apartment, although it's by a zookeeper who wants to trade the penguins off to another zoo. In the end, Mr. Popper returns the penguins to their natural habitat.
- Romantic False Lead: Mr. Popper's ex wife's boyfriend
- Shown Their Work: The depiction of the penguins are fairly accurate, with several characters spouting off fun facts about the penguins.
- When You Coming Home, Dad?: Mr. Popper's father was always away on trips and has missed several of his birthdays. Mr. Popper seems to have inherited this trait in the way he treats his own kids. He gets better by the end of the film.
- Your Tomcat Is Pregnant: Three of the six penguins, all assumed to be boys, lay eggs.