Mr. Popper arrives home at the end of painting season and spends the evening reading about Antarctic explorers and penguins.

Admiral Drake broadcasts by radio from Antarctica, thanks Mr. Popper for his fan letter, and says 'Watch for a surprise.'

A box from Antarctica marked 'Keep Cool' and 'Unpack at Once' arrives by Air Express at the Popper home.

A live penguin jumps out of the delivery box and begins exploring every room of the Popper house.

Captain Cook falls ill, loses his appetite, and the visiting veterinarian warns the bird may not survive.

An aquarium curator sends a sick female penguin named Greta to the Poppers; both birds immediately recover.

Greta lays ten eggs in the cellar rookery and all ten chicks hatch successfully.

Mrs. Popper tells her husband that the family has almost no money left to pay its bills.

Mrs. Popper moves her piano to the cellar and the Poppers train all twelve penguins to perform tricks.

Theater owner Mr. Greenbaum watches the penguins perform and offers the Poppers a ten-week national touring contract.

Popper's Performing Penguins debut in Seattle to an enthusiastic audience and earn widespread acclaim.

Mr. Popper mistakenly brings the penguins to the wrong New York theater and is arrested for disturbing the peace.

Admiral Drake arrives at the jail and proposes that Mr. Popper give him the penguins to establish a North Pole colony.

Mr. Popper refuses a lucrative Hollywood film contract and agrees to give his penguins to Admiral Drake for the expedition.

Admiral Drake declares Mr. Popper the official keeper of the penguins and insists he join the voyage to the North Pole.

A dreamy housepainter named Mr. Popper receives a live penguin as a surprise gift from Antarctic explorer Admiral Drake after writing him an admiring letter. The penguin, named Captain Cook, nearly dies of loneliness until a second penguin named Greta is sent by an aquarium curator, and the two birds produce ten healthy chicks. When the family runs out of money caring for twelve penguins, Mr. Popper trains the birds to perform and signs a ten-week national theater tour. The penguins become famous across the country, but the warm climate and stress of performing begin to take a toll on the birds. A misadventure at the wrong New York theater leads to Mr. Popper's arrest and a timely visit from Admiral Drake, who proposes taking the penguins to the North Pole. Mr. Popper gives up his beloved birds for their own good and is rewarded when Admiral Drake names him the official keeper of the penguins and insists he join the voyage.

The headline events that drive Mr. Popper's journey from housepainter to Arctic explorer.

Mrs. Popper tells her children they will eat beans every day all winter because the family has no painting income.

Captain Cook eats the family's goldfish from the bowl on the dining room windowsill.

A refrigerator serviceman drills air holes and installs an interior handle in the family icebox, then flees when Captain Cook appears.

A policeman arrives after the frightened serviceman calls in a complaint but decides the penguin poses no real danger.

Captain Cook builds a rookery inside the icebox by collecting household objects like buttons and game pieces from every room.

Mr. Popper dresses in a black tuxedo coat, white trousers, and a derby hat to walk Captain Cook on a clothesline leash.

Captain Cook pecks at a neighbor's striped stockings during the walk, then pecks at crystals in a pharmacy window.

A local reporter interviews Mr. Popper on the street and a photographer snaps a picture of Captain Cook.

Captain Cook toboggans down three flights of barbershop stairs, dragging Mr. Popper behind him by the leash.

Newspapers across the country run the story and photograph of Mr. Popper and Captain Cook.

An engineer installs a freezing plant in the Popper cellar, and Mr. Popper builds an ice castle and swimming pool for the penguins.

The Popper family boards a public bus with all twelve penguins but the driver orders them off when passengers complain.

The penguins walk back onstage during a tightrope walker's act in Seattle, causing the furious acrobat to lose his balance.

An opera singer in Minneapolis refuses to perform with the penguins; the birds escape and hide under her skirts on stage.

Film producer Mr. Klein offers the Poppers a contract that would make them wealthy by sending the penguins to Hollywood.

Before the penguins become stage stars, life at 432 Proudfoot Avenue is a daily comedy of unexpected incidents. Captain Cook eats the family's goldfish, terrorizes a refrigerator repairman, builds a nest from household objects, and causes mayhem in a barbershop before a reporter snaps the photo that makes him nationally famous. Mr. Popper renovates the family cellar into an elaborate penguin habitat complete with a freezing plant, ice castle, and swimming pool, while Mrs. Popper worries about mounting bills. The Poppers' attempt to secure a theater contract begins with a chaotic public bus ride and ends with a triumphant performance before Mr. Greenbaum. As the tour unfolds, the penguins charm audiences from Seattle to New York, though not everyone — including a tightrope walker, an opera singer, and six performing seals — is equally delighted to share the stage with them. The tour concludes with a Hollywood producer offering the Poppers a life-changing contract for the birds.

The comic misadventures and behind-the-scenes moments that bring the penguins' story to life.

Mr. Popper announces he would like to own a penguin as a pet; Mrs. Popper objects to the expected cost and mess.

Captain Cook repeatedly investigates the family's open refrigerator and gazes at it with a pleading expression.

Mr. Popper pays the refrigerator serviceman with his last five dollar bill, feeling guilty about the food it could have bought.

Mr. Popper spends a long time on the phone seeking a license for Captain Cook before being transferred to the Automobile License Bureau.

Mrs. Popper paints the penguins' names in white letters on their black backs so she can tell them apart.

A blizzard fills the Popper living room with snow and Mr. Popper floods the floors with a hose to create an ice rink.

A recovered Captain Cook gives Mr. Popper one of the checkers from his rookery as a gesture of gratitude and friendship.

Mrs. Popper suggests the family might have to eat the penguins if no money is found; Mr. Popper immediately devises a theater plan.

Mrs. Popper suggests letting the penguins perform for the theater audience when the scheduled closing act fails to appear.

The Poppers use their first advance check to immediately pay off the cellar engineer and the fish delivery company.

The penguins excitedly climb the ladders into upper sleeping berths on the train, alarming all the passengers in the car.

Mr. Popper rushes the penguins off the Tower Hotel rooftop after the young birds crowd dangerously close to the edge.

Firemen arrive at the theater to find twelve penguins parading calmly in a square around six barking performing seals.

Mrs. Popper tells her husband that the decision about the penguins' future belongs entirely to him.

Mrs. Popper calls from the dock that the house will be easier to keep clean without him, and Mr. Popper sails away.

From the moment Mr. Popper first expresses his wish for a pet penguin, a series of small but consequential moments set the story on its course. Early turning points — Captain Cook's clear preference for the cold refrigerator, Mr. Popper's guilt over spending his last dollar on the bird, and his frustrating failure to obtain an animal license — reveal both the charm and the cost of caring for a wild creature. A winter blizzard transforms the family home into a penguin playground, and a recovered Captain Cook's gift of a checker signals the deep bond between bird and owner. Mrs. Popper's sharp suggestion to perform for a live theater audience, and the Poppers' immediate choice to pay off their debts with the first advance check, each mark decisive moments in the family's fortunes. As the tour reaches its exhausting climax — penguins on a rooftop, seals in a dressing room — Mr. Popper faces his greatest test, and it is Mrs. Popper who wisely insists the choice about the penguins' future belongs to him alone before sending him off to the Arctic adventure of his dreams.

The key decisions, discoveries, and emotional turning points that shape the Poppers' story.