By Susan Granger
Special to WestportNow
Let’s all agree that penguins are adorable. In cinema, they’ve been immortalized in “March of the Penguins” and “Happy Feet,” among others.
Now Disneynature presents “Penguins,” a coming-of-age documentary, revolving around 5-year-old Steve (voiced by Ed Helms), a small Adelie who’s ready to mate and father some young ‘uns.
Clumsy Steve’s a bit of a latecomer to the icy nesting grounds, so he has to make do with available space and leftover rocks, while vocalizing mightily, hoping to attract a mate.
When Adeline appears, they perform an affectionate coupling dance to REO Speedwagon’s “Can’t Fight This Feeling.” Soon, Adeline is conscientiously guarding two eggs as Steve forages for food.
But danger lurks around the ice floes in the Southern Ocean — like hungry leopard and elephant seals, plus predatory killer whales.
Directors Alastair Fothergill (“Bears,” “Chimpanzee”) and Jeff Wilson and their crews spent three summers in Antarctica, battling katabatic winds, while patiently capturing stunning footage near the South Pole, where it stays dark six months of the year.
Out of that video material, David Fowler (“Born in China,” “Growing Up Wild”) wrote the screenplay, in which he not only anthropomorphizes but also infantilizes the Adelie penguins.
Disneynature spokeswoman Dr. Jane Goodall (best known for her chimpanzee work in Africa) observes: “Penguins are just comic. It’s the way they walk … they make you smile. And then, suddenly, they’ll come to a nice, smooth piece of ice, and they’ll just barrel down on their tummies.”
Disneynature’s mission is to educate viewers about the ecology of our planet. “The sea ice is breaking up earlier and earlier,” Goodall notes. “The greenhouse gases are increasing, trapping the heat of the sun and causing changes in weather patterns all over the world. We must take action before it’s too late.”
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Penguins” waddles in with a short, simplistic 7, relating family-friendly entertainment for Earth Day.
One of the most effective in the mini-genre of Christian faith-based films, “Breakthrough” relates the story of John Smith (Marcel Ruiz), a 14-year-old who was submerged in frozen Lake Sainte Louise in St. Charles, Mo. for 15 minutes before being rescued and transported to the ER, frigid and without a pulse.
John’s devoted mother Joyce (Chrissy Metz) — who adopted him as an infant from Guatemala — rushed to nearby St. Joseph’s hospital. When the doctors told her that comatose John might never recover, she rejected their negativity and prayed — loud and long — at his bedside.
“The minute I prayed ‘Holy Spirit, please come and give me back my son!’ his heartbeat started,” Joyce recalls.
Airlifted to Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, John suffered multiple organ failure and little sign of neurological function. Meanwhile, overwrought Joyce continued her prayer vigil, Joined by her husband Brian (Josh Lucas), Pastor Jason Noble (Topher Grace) and John’s classmates.
Miraculously, John walked out of the hospital less than three weeks later. Now 18, he travels the country speaking to young people, and he plans to attend a Christian college in the fall.
Based on “The Impossible: The Miraculous Story of a Mother’s Faith and Her Child’s Resurrection” by Joyce Smith, it’s cloyingly adapted by Grant Nieporte and melodramatically directed by Roxann Dawson.
There’s an inordinate amount of insipid dialogue devoted to the Golden State Warriors, which is not surprising since the team’s star, Stephen Curry, is executive producer.
FYI: Emergency responder Tommy Shine, who risked his life to save John, claims — in actuality — he never heard the “voice of God;” that’s totally fictionalized, along with his subsequent religious conversion.
On the Granger Gauge, “Breakthrough” is a shallow, yet inspirational 6, aimed directly at an evangelical Christian audience.
We’ve seen the classic body-swap concept many times before: “Big,” “13 Going on 30,” “17 Again,” “Freaky Friday,” “Vice Versa,” etc.
But “Little” is a bit different because it involves a nerdy African-American teenager, Jordan Sanders (Marsai Martin), whose self-confidence is shattered when a Caucasian cheerleader (Eva Carlton) humiliates her at a middle-school talent show.
From that moment on, Jordan is determined to become successful, rich, and mean — because “nobody bullies the boss.”
True to her word, adult Jordan (Regina Hall) is a real bitch, an Atlanta tech CEO who enjoys making life miserable for her assistant April Williams (Issa Rae) and everyone else. Until one day, a little girl wishes Jordan were “little,” so she couldn’t get away with such obnoxious behavior.
Sure enough, when Jordan awakens the next morning, she’s an awkward 13-year-old (Marsai Martin), facing dreaded eighth grade. Gone are her designer clothes, BMW sports car and the ability to unwind at the end of the day with a glass of rose. Her outrageous flirtation with a horrified teacher (Justin Hartley) is one of the memorable moments.
Even with April as her legal guardian, learning the lesson of humility doesn’t come easily to Jordan. Eventually, she concludes: “Everyone thinks you have to grow up to know who you are, but kids already know who we are … The world just beats it out of us.”
Scripted by Tracy Oliver and director Tina Gordon Chism, it’s an allegory about the long term effects of adolescent bullying. As executive producer, 14-year-old Marsai Martin came up with the idea, and her confident performance evokes her appeal as Diane Johnson on ABC’s “Black-ish.”
Yet, it’s a shame that — early on — there’s an unnecessary transphobic joke — when adult Jordan incorrectly calls a neighbor’s young daughter a boy, she then blurts: “Oh, I get it. He’s transitioning!”
On the Granger Gauge, “Little” is a formulaic 5 — far too predictable.
(Editor’s Note: Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has been on radio/television as an anchorwoman and movie/drama critic for many years. See her reviews at www.susangranger.com.)
