Why is “The Penguin Lessons” rated PG-13? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “strong language, some sexual references and thematic elements.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a kiss, discussions of infidelity, a couple of sexual references, people being grabbed on the street and taken away for disagreeing with the government, people protesting government activity, a couple of bombings in the distance, an oil spill that leaves many penguins dead from being coated with oil, discussion of wealth and privilege, a few arguments, and at least 2 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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Inspired by true events: A man (Steve Coogan) begins a job teaching English in a private school in 1970s Argentina, and while he finds it difficult to reach the pupils and struggles with the headmaster (Jonathan Pryce) over his chosen curriculum, he has a chance encounter with a penguin that he saves and it teaches him how to make a difference. Also with Björn Gustafsson, David Herrero, Aimar Miranda, Nicanor Fernandez, Hugo Fuertes, Joaquín Lopez and Miguel Alejandro Serrano. Directed by Peter Cattaneo. Several lines of dialogue are spoken in Spanish with English subtitles. [Running Time: 1:50]

The Penguin Lessons SEX/NUDITY 3

 – A man and a woman kiss tenderly and she says that she has to leave because she is married; he says that he is pragmatic about these things and she leaves. A man and a woman hold hands while walking on a beach.
► A woman removes her stocking while a man watches her and we see her bare leg to the upper thigh. People dance in a bar dance club.
► A man tells people that he helped a penguin to impress a woman that he wanted to have sex with (he did not have sex with her). A man talks about wanting to take a trip to Uruguay to smoke and drink and find a couple of ladies. A man talks about losing his wife to his best friend. A young woman tells a man that a woman’s husband left her for a “fat woman.” When talking about his distaste for rugby, a man says, “I like my balls round.”

The Penguin Lessons VIOLENCE/GORE 3

 – A young woman is grabbed on a sidewalk by two men, put in a car and a bag is placed over her head as she calls for help; a man watches in terror. A man is arrested by two men on a street and we see him being released later with bruises and bloody abrasions on his face. A man and a woman come upon sludge from an oil spill on a beach where numerous penguins have washed up dead and covered with oil; one penguin flips its flipper and the man and the woman take it to a hotel to clean it (the penguin revives). While cleaning a penguin from oil, a penguin bites a man’s hand and he yells. A young woman gets out of a car and we see her with blood and bruises on her face and legs after being beaten and imprisoned.
► An explosion sounds in the distance and a man flinches; a security guard points a gun at the man and asks for identification. Police threaten to arrest a man if he doesn’t take a penguin with him in a few scenes. A woman seems weak and falls back onto a bench.
► A young woman says that she protests the government because it is the right thing to do and when people do nothing she wants to “punch them in the face.” Women march in a town square demanding information about where their family members are after they have been taken by the government for protesting. A man confronts another man in a café and tries to get information about a young woman he took prisoner; the second man threatens the first man and tells him to leave. A woman is startled by a man entering the room and she hits him in the head with the lid of a cooking pot; he falls to the floor but is OK. Boys tease another boy, take off his tie and tie his hands behind his back while calling him names. Boys are sent home after a military coup. A woman removes her stocking and ties it around a penguin’s beak to keep it from biting.
► A penguin lies motionless on the floor and a man picks it up tenderly; he buries the penguin under a tree later and people gather and grieve. A man takes a penguin to a zoo and we see cages where other penguins are held; he is told that the penguin will stay in quarantine for 6 weeks in a cage (he does not leave the penguin). A man tries to release a penguin back into the ocean but it keeps coming out and following him. A man tries to feed a penguin canned sardines, but the penguin smells the food and defecates (we hear the sound).
► A man says that his 13-year-old daughter died after being struck by a drunk driver. We hear that a woman died of breast cancer. A woman says that her husband is gone, implying that he is dead (he is not). A man wishes for another man to die in a fatal accident to get his wife back. A man accuses another man of having a breakdown. We hear about a military coup taking place. A man is awakened by military music playing on the radio every morning.
► We see penguin feces on the floor and rug in a few scenes. A man urinates and we hear the trickle.

The Penguin Lessons LANGUAGE 5

 – About 2 F-words, 11 scatological terms, 2 anatomical terms, 5 mild obscenities, name-calling (bastard, chaos, pet peeve, privileged and spoiled, mommy’s boy, weird, weird pet, old, cynical, idiots, insanity, unsanitary, weird pet, dozy burk, antagonistic, filthy business, dictator, bastard, left-wingers, tart, pig, fat, fascist, brute, bad reputation, sordid, fussy eaters, old-fashioned), exclamations (bloody, tit-for-tat), 7 religious exclamations (e.g. oh my God, Jesus Christ, what in God’s name, good God, for Christ’s sakes). | profanity glossary |

The Penguin Lessons SUBSTANCE USE

 – People drink wine at a meal, people drink in a bar, a man asks another man if he has any vodka and he says he has gin, and a man drinks a glass of gin. A man tells a man that there is no smoking on the campus of a private school.

The Penguin Lessons DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Revolution, 1976 Argentina, military coups, politics, Nazis, Mengele, freedom, drunk driving accidents, empathy, oil spills, tyranny, democracy, dictatorship, jealousy, bartering, kidnapping, breast cancer, the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo.

The Penguin Lessons MESSAGE

 – Fear causes inaction.