365 Days. 365 Films.

When Mr. Popper Sr. dies, he sends his son a penguin as a souvenir of his travels through his life, and by some incomprehensible mistake, Mr Popper (Carrey) ends up ordering five more penguins. Initially the penguins are a burden upon his hectic work-life, until they bring him closer to his son and daughter, both of whom are living with Popper’s ex-wife. Popper turns from a career driven, seemingly soulless man, to a loving and doting father, all thanks to six penguins.

I would dearly love to say I was disappointed by this film, but I was expecting the very worst from watching the trailer several months ago, so it wasn’t quite as bad as I had imagined it would be. It’s never going to be a memorable film and I would be surprised if parents were still showing it to their children in a couple of years time, but it is important to remember that it’s a film for kids through and through. If you’re thinking of watching this film for Carrey’s shtick, you’re not going to be at all impressed. Carrey’s cartoon-like goof is still there, but the comedy is mild to accommodate an expectedly young audience.

As a family film, it’s bearable and there’s nothing specifically wrong with it apart from a weak plot and lack of human emotion, but some parts are genuinely funny – then again, I don’t know whether that’s just my moronic sense of humour. At the end of the day, I love family films and kids’ films so this is something that I was bound to squeeze at least a little bit of enjoyment out of. If you have kids or too much spare time (like me), go for it, but otherwise, I wouldn’t really bother.