on the big screen.

(From Grimsby Evening Telegraph)

Mr Popper's Penguins Certificate PG Genre: Family/ comedy Stars: Jim Carrey, Carla Gugino, Angela Lansbury, Madeline Carroll, Maxwell Perry Cotton, Ophelia Lovibond, Clark Gregg, David Krumholtz, Philip Baker Hall, Dominic Chianese and William C Mitchell. Director: Mark Waters.

Plot: Based on the children's book by Richard and Florence Atwater, Mr Popper's Penguins is a cutesy tale of errant fathers, emotionally damaged offspring and feathered friends, whose fates collide in wintry New York City.

A Christmas release would have better suited Mark Waters's whimsical confection, when the lashings of sticky sweet sentiment are easier to swallow, and the chill outside mirrors the swathes of snow and ice on the big screen.

The film opens in 1976 with young, rosycheeked Tommy Popper communicating with his explorer father in Antarctica using a CB radio and the handles Tippytoes …