In 1976, as Argentina descends into violence and chaos, a world-weary English teacher regains his compassion for others thanks to an unlikely friendship with a penguin.
Ratings
Curator score: 4.2/10
IMDb: 7.1/10
Letterboxd: 3.48/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 78%
Metacritic: 52
TMDB: 7.1/10
Director
Peter Cattaneo
Production
42, Nostromo Pictures, Rolling Dice, Intake Films, Aperture Media Partners
Cast
Steve Coogan, Jonathan Pryce, Vivian El Jaber, Björn Gustafsson, Alfonsina Carrocio, David Herrero, Micaela Breque, Tomás Pozzi, Ramiro Blas, Juan Barreiro, Aimar Miranda, Nicanor Fernandez, Hugo Fuertes, Bruno Blas, Julia Fossi, Brendan McNamee, Joaquín Lopez, Miguel Alejandro Serrano, Gerardo Maleh, Francesca Vaccari
Where to watch
Netflix
Curator Review
Verdict
A warm, crowd-pleasing dramedy with an appealing central conceit and an easy emotional payoff, but it leans heavily on familiar inspirational-beat storytelling. The political backdrop gives it more weight than a simple animal-friendship movie, though the film’s tone stays broadly accessible rather than especially daring.
Best for
viewers who like gentle prestige dramedies
fans of odd-couple animal stories
audiences looking for a feel-good historical setting
people who enjoy British-led character comedies with sentiment
Skip if
you want a hard-edged political drama
you dislike sentimental or formulaic inspiration arcs
you’re looking for deep historical complexity
animal-cute factor alone won’t carry a movie for you
Overview
The Penguin Lessons is built on a very effective hook: a weary teacher, a volatile country, and a penguin that slowly becomes the emotional center of the story. Peter Cattaneo keeps the film approachable and lightly comic, and Steve Coogan gives it enough dry wit to stop the sentiment from becoming cloying too early.
Worth noting
What gives the film its extra lift is the Argentine setting in 1976, where private compassion and public danger sit uneasily beside each other. The movie wants to be both a small human fable and a reminder of political instability, and it mostly balances those aims without becoming too heavy.
Bottom line
Still, the shape of the film is familiar. It plays like a polished inspirational drama with a strong novelty element, and some viewers may find the emotional turns predictable. If the premise appeals, though, it’s an easy watch with a sincere heart and a memorable animal performance.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Edie (3.5★) · 1061 likes
Dead Poets Society meets Mr Popper’s Penguins
Laurence Pevsner (3.5★) · 960 likes
This penguin kills fascists
Olivia Craighead · 837 likes
you might think there’d be diminishing returns on how funny it is to see a penguin walk around inside, but you’d be wrong. in fact it gets funnier as the movie goes on. you don’t even see him hop out of a car until an hour in, and that is really good.
2015 · Comedy, Drama · 1h 56m · PG-13 · Curator 7.6/10 (128.9K ratings) · Where to watch: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, OVID, Netflix Standard with Ads, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
For the gruff-man-softened-by-connection dynamic, with a strong balance of melancholy and warmth.