You might think this is a gritty action thriller. Maybe a sci-fi epic where Freeman commands a spaceship with his dulcet tones. Nope. Close your eyes and imagine a man in his eighties befriending a penguin. Now open them. That’s the entire plot.
It’s based on a true story about a Brazilian fisherman who saved a Magellanic penguin soaked in oil. The bird later visited him every year for a decade, swimming 5,000 miles just to see him. I’d swim 5,000 miles for Morgan Freeman too, but let’s be honest—I’d probably drown.
But Why Is This Funny?
Imagine the most regal human alive wearing a floppy fisherman’s hat while a tuxedo bird waddles behind him. That’s half the movie. The other half is Freeman narrating the penguin’s inner thoughts in that voice. You know the one: “The fish. It is good. I shall return tomorrow.”
It’s so wholesome it might cause cavities. Critics are calling it “charming” and “heartwarming,” which is code for “I cried into my popcorn.” I dare you to not laugh when Freeman, playing a grumpy old man, says, “I didn’t save the penguin. The penguin saved me.” Then he winks. At a penguin.
