My Penguin Friend is a 2024 English-language Brazilian/American family adventure film directed by David Schurmann, written by Paulina Lagudi Ulrich and Kristen Lazarian, and starring Jean Reno and Adriana Barraza. It is based on the true story of fisherman João Pereira de Souza and Dindim the penguin, which went viral in 2016.[3] It was first released in France on August 7, 2024, and was released in the United States on August 16, 2024. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics.
Plot[]
Brazilian Fisherman João Pereira de Souza discovers an injured penguin drifting alone in the ocean, near death and covered in oil from a spill. João rescues the animal and rehabilitates it, forging an unconventional lifelong friendship.[4]
Cast[]
- Jean Reno as João Pereira de Souza
- Adriana Barraza as Maria
- Rocío Hernández as Stephanie
- Nicolás Francella as Carlos
- Alexia Moyano as Adriana
- Thalma de Freitas as Calista
- Pedro Urizzi as young João
Release[]
The trailer was released on May 17, 2024. The film was first released in France on August 7, 2024, and was released in the United States on August 16, 2024.[5]
Popularity on TikTok[]
On August 11, 2024, TikTok user KindPenguins (@pudgykindness) posted a video in which he randomly joined the livestream of Twitch streamers with no live viewers. During this, he came across the livestream of producer Jonathan Lim. Lim went on to discuss his professional background and what led to him producing the film.[6] The video went viral, garnering thousands of comments and shares, 11.2 million likes and 58.2 million views, as of August 16, 2024.[7] It also brought Lim's personal TikTok account from less than 100,000 followers to over 1.3 million.[8]
Reception[]
Box office[]
In the United States and Canada, the film made $1 million from 1,083 theaters in its opening weekend.[9]
Critical response[]
Template:RT prose[10] Template:Metacritic film prose[11]
Christy Lemire of RogerEbert.com gave the film three out of four stars and wrote, "There's something radical about the old-fashioned approach of My Penguin Friend. It's an earnest, crowd-pleasing family film – nothing snarky or self-referential, no on-the-nose needle drops - just a sweet, beautifully made movie that earns the emotion it'll surely draw from its viewers."[12]
External links[]
References[]
- ↑ https://mubi.com/en/hk/films/my-penguin-friend
- ↑ My Penguin Friend.
- ↑ "Biotech Entrepreneur Jonathan Lim Launches City Hill Arts; Unveils Slate Of Projects With Stampede Ventures & More", Deadline, 19 April 2022.
- ↑ "Roadside Attractions Takes U.S. Rights To Family Adventure 'The Penguin & The Fisherman' Starring Jean Reno", Deadline, 15 February 2024.
- ↑ "My Penguin Friend Trailer Previews True Story Based on DinDim", Coming Soon, 17 May 2024.
- ↑ KindPenguins [@pudgykindness] (August 11, 2024). "out_on_a_lim ❤️". via TikTok. Retrieved on August 16, 2024.
- ↑ The Collision (August 14, 2016). "'My Penguin Friend': A Conversation with Jonathan Lim (Producer & Founder of City Hill Arts)". via YouTube. Retrieved on August 16, 2024.
- ↑ out_on_a_lim TikTok Stats Summary Profile. Social Blade. Retrieved on August 16, 2024.
- ↑ Domestic 2024 Weekend 33.
- ↑ My Penguin Friend.
- ↑ My Penguin Friend.
- ↑ Lemire, Christy (16 August 2024). My Penguin Friend.