Double Review: The Last Unicorn and Mr. Popper's Penguins

 

So I was able to finish two books on the same day. They are: The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle and Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater. 

I'll try to keep it as short as possible.

I actually watched The Last Unicorn movie first, way back when I was a kid. I'm glad to report that the movie is 99% just like the book!

The Last Unicorn is a fantasy novel that follows a unicorn who, for a long time, did not know she was the last unicorn on Earth. All the other unicorns were driven out by a monster named the Red Bull, for reasons the unicorn will later find out. With the help of a magician named Schmendrick and a cook named Molly, the unicorn goes on an adventure to find out what happened to her kind and bring them back. An evil king named Haggard and his kindly son Lir also get involved in the unicorn's mission. 

This was such a magical and thoughtful book! Peter S. Beagle is a writer with great, lyrical prose. If you liked the movie, you'll also like the book. Additionally, the reason the movie is almost identical to the book is because of Peter's heavy involvement with the movie. Even if you have never seen the movie, this is a must read classic for fantasy lovers. 

However, I did give this 4.5 out of 5 stars. This was mostly because Prince Lir's characterization is very different from the movie. Lir in the book is a lot more possessive of the unicorn in her human form (when she is named Lady Amalthea). He is obsessed with satisfying his idea of "what it means to be a hero" and he thinks that means falling in love and marrying a pretty girl he just met. It's really odd because he's generally pretty friendly and polite to everyone else (including the unicorn/Lady Amalthea), but his possessiveness didn't sit well with me. It's a good thing they don't end up together! If you know the movie version, he's a lot more respectful and approachable. That's one thing the movie did better than the book. He still doesn't end up with Amalthea/the unicorn, obviously, but he's happy to just remain her friend and for her to go back to the wild with the other unicorns. 

Now for Mr. Popper's Penguins.

Mr. Popper works as a house painter, and he has an obsession for all things Antarctic. He has a radio show he likes to listen to about travelers in the Antarctic, and he admires Admiral Drake, one of the explorers. One day he sends an order in the mail for a penguin, and Mr. Popper gets gifted a penguin from Drake, whom he names Captain Cook. Mr. Popper and his whole family come to love and care for the penguin, and they eventually turn their whole house into winter wonderland for him to survive in. When Captain Cook gets lonely, they bring in a penguin from the aquarium named Greta, and they soon mate and have a bunch of penguin chicks. Mr. Popper and his family realize caring for penguins is tough and a lot of money, so they start finding ways to earn more money to care for them. They soon start training the penguins to do tricks, and eventually they get recruited by an entertainer named Mr. Greenbaum to travel with their penguins and perform all over the country. 

This was a quick, charming little middle grade book from the 1960s. It was a lot of fun to read! If you want a quick, fun read, this is a good recommendation. 

But I did give this 4 out of 5 stars. You know, being an older book from the 60s, there are some minor things that haven't aged too well, like I remember there was one part where Mr. Popper takes some paint to label the penguins on their backs so he remembers who is who. It didn't sit too well with me to put paint on the penguins, but that's just me. Again, your mileage may vary. 

Oh yeah, this has a movie adaptation, too, with Jim Carrey in it. I haven't seen it yet, though.

So my questions for today are: have you ever finished two books at the same time? Or have you ever seen a movie adaptation of a book first before reading the book?