Hollywood is perpetually slow on the upkeep. Do you know how many pet owners there are out there? And yes, there’s a decent amount of movies about dogs now, but do you know how underserved other animals are in the movie world. One Free Willy can become a hit instantly…if you make the animal cute enough. So why the HE double hockey sticks hasn’t anyone tried to put real life penguins as the star of a movie for over a decade now? Well My Penguin Friend, I hope we’re at the start of more penguin pop culture, which will make everyone happy.
All of the sadness of this movie comes out in the first 15 minutes, setting up the tragic life of Joao Perei de Souza (Jean Reno) and his wife Maria (Adriana Barraza). Years pass, and Joao and Maria are barely existing, content to pass away in peace on their beautiful Rio de Janeiro adjacent beach. Lo and behold, a penguin migrating north for the winter (as you do in the Southern Hemisphere) veers off course and ends up weak and hungry on Joao’s beach. I’m guessing this penguin is probably going to heal this broken home and get a cute name, like say, Dindim?
My Penguin Friend delivers on that title. And in reality! This isn’t some Mr. Popper’s Penguins CGI monstrosity. Most of this film that’s a real penguin, walking around, just innately looking and acting adorably. The movie doesn’t even try to pretend it’s going for something grounded, and literally has Dindim become the greatest penguin that ever existed (there are 10 Dindims, for the record). Get this: he follows a random person in the town, pops a bike tire and amusingly jumps out of its way, then lets every person pet it while patiently taking 1000 selfies. Not good enough? How about when it breaks out of a cage AND a car as Dindim is being taken to a university to be studied. Or my personal favorite: to help his best pal Joao, he finds the ONE item locked in the secret room of dark secrets that forces Joao to confront his buried sadness. And when Dindim’s not driving plot, spending an hour watching a penguin swim, saunter, or shake its adorable head during a majestic Brazilian sunrise is as good a time as any you’ll have at the movies this year.
I don’t need to say more. Just get the fam, buy some food, and introduce My Penguin Friend to the kids, making them clamor for a pet Dindim of their own. Remember, there’s 10 of em out there!