Ben Stiller And Noah Baumbach Reteaming For Mr. Popper’s Penguins?
By Russ Fischer/April 2, 2010 12:33 pm EST
The new film would be based on a children’s book: Mr. Popper’s Penguins, by Richard and Florence Atwater. It’s not a huge stretch for Baumbach, who co-wrote Fantastic Mr. Fox, but in the wake of Greenberg, it might look like a real left turn.
Poor Mr. Popper isn’t exactly unhappy; he just wishes he had seen something of the world before meeting Mrs. Popper and settling down. Most of all, he wishes he had seen the Poles, and spends his spare time between house-painting jobs reading all about polar explorations. Admiral Drake, in response to Mr. Popper’s fan letter, sends him a penguin; life at 432 Proudfoot Avenue is never the same again. From one penguin living in the icebox, the Popper family grows to include 12 penguins, all of whom must be fed. Thus is born “Popper’s Performing Penguins, First Time on Any Stage, Direct from the South Pole.” Their adventures while on tour are hilarious, with numerous slapstick moments as the penguins disrupt other acts and invade hotels.
