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Who knew 2024’s sweetest friendship would be between a Brazilian bricklayer and a Magellanic penguin? This is the 1st trailer for Roadside’s My Penguin Friend.
Inspired by true events, the trailer begins in a sleepy Brazilian town. Retiree Joao Pereira DeSouza (Jean Reno) discovers a penguin injured from a nearby oil spill. After he nurses it back to health, the penguin captivates the local community, who name him DinDim.
My Penguin Friend (2024) – source: Roadside Attractions
As the seasons change, DinDim soon swims away. But much to Joao’s surprise, he begins returning to his human friend every year, and a lifelong friendship begins.
But as more and more people become aware of DinDim, Joao must embark on a perilous journey to save his feathered friend from falling into the wrong hands.
Evoking the quiet charm of old-school Disney films like Eight Below, My Penguin Friend seems like a film guaranteed to bring out the tissue box. Reno, ever the reliable character actor, busts out a powerhouse lead performance in this trailer. His quiet kindness anchors a tear-jerking premise about the powerful bond between humans and animals.
In today’s culture where brooding antiheroes reign supreme, it’s nice to see a simple story of friendship and hope. If the film lives up to this first trailer, Roadside may have found itself a new family-friendly classic.
My Feathered Friend is directed by David Schurmann and is set to premiere in the US on August 16th, 2024. The film stars Jean Reno and Adriana Barazza.
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