Film Review – My Penguin Friend

“My Penguin Friend” is “inspired by a true story,” and one that originated as a news report that went viral eight years ago, spotlighting a special relationship between an older Brazilian fisherman and the penguin he befriended. It’s the stuff of a Disney movie, and there’s plenty of cute in the film, but screenwriters Paulina Lagudi Ulrich and Kristen Lazarian try to maintain a stronger emotional presence in the feature. “My Penguin Friend” explores the darker side of loss and mourning, hoping to become a heartwarming study of soulful repair. Director David Schurmann gets most of the way there with the picture, which easily charms with its animal antics and cuts a little deeper with character pain, though it remains a sunny examination of friendship and askew therapy from an unlikely source of comfort. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com