‘My Penguin Friend’ Ending Explained And Movie Recap: Is Dindim Alive?

0 COMMENTS

Most Popular

David Schurmann’s My Penguin Friend, is an incredible true story of a fisherman named João whose life changed for good when a penguin arrived at his seaside home in a Brazilian village named Ilha Grande. And the most remarkable part of the story was that this penguin swam 5,000 miles to visit João, and did this every year for eight years straight. The heartwarming friendship between João and the penguin touched many people’s lives and that is what we will explore in this explainer of My Penguin Friend.

Spoilers Ahead


What happened when the penguin came to João? 

João and Maria lived in a village called Ilha Grande in Brazil with their little son, Miguel. On Miguel’s birthday, he wanted to go fishing with his fisherman father as a birthday gift, but João was not so sure because the weather was really terrible, it was stormy, rainy, and really dangerous. However, Miguel was determined, so João gave in and decided to take him as a birthday treat, but unfortunately, the sea turned wild with massive waves, and their fishing boat started to rock so violently that João and Miguel both fell into the water. Even though João managed to hold onto the boat, Miguel couldn’t and tragically drowned. This heartbreaking incident changed the couple’s lives forever as nothing felt the same after that, and they struggled to find happiness again. They went about their daily routines where Maria stayed home and cooked, while João continued fishing, but deep down they were lonely, and obviously they missed their son every day.

Many years later, one day, while João was by the shore in front of his house, he spotted a penguin covered in oil and cooing softly as if it wanted some attention. Actually, the poor penguin had lost its way while swimming in Patagonia, Argentina, and ended up there. João thus felt sorry for the little animal and immediately began to take care of it. He cleaned the penguin, fed it fish, and made a comfortable place for it to rest. Maria wasn’t too thrilled at first, because caring for a penguin wasn’t easy, and they didn’t know much about how to do it really. But João understood that all the penguin needed was love and care, and they tried to provide that. João even started to carry the penguin around the village to surprise everyone and let them meet his new friend, where a little girl named Lucia gave the penguin the name Dindim so the penguin would feel like part of the community. What was amazing about Dindim was that even though he wandered around the village, he always recognized João’s house and returned there. Over time, João began to feel that, after losing Miguel, he had found a friend and even a son in Dindim as this penguin filled the empty space in his heart and brought him happiness like he hadn’t felt in years.


What did Adriana do? 

In Patagonia, Argentina, a group of marine biologists studied penguins and their habitats. They noticed something unusual about this one penguin, which was none other than Dindim, as he was different from the others and he interacted with humans as if they were his best friends. Every year, like clockwork, Dindim would leave in June and return in December and his bond with humans was so unique that it stood out to the researchers, as they realized that he was not an ordinary penguin, and seemed to have the highest IQ among them. One day, the marine biologists heard about a penguin named Dindim from a news outlet and his incredible friendship with a man named João in Brazil. Adriana, one of the biologists, wasn’t sure if it was the same penguin they had been studying, so to confirm, she sent a reporter named Paulo to João’s house to investigate. When Paulo arrived and interviewed João and Maria, it became clear that this was the same penguin!

Dindim traveled 5,000 miles each year to be with João and stay with them from June to December before going back to Argentina. The story went viral, and soon Adriana and her team were offered a grant from a university to study Dindim’s relationship with humans as they wanted to keep him in a lab to learn more. Adriana was confused because she knew the money was important for their research, but she also knew Dindim loved his freedom and his connection with both people and penguins. Despite agreeing at first, she hesitated as they prepared to take him away for study. So, as they were going to the university to leave the penguin at the lab, something amazing happened as Dindim cleverly unlocked his cage and escaped. Adriana watched in awe as he waddled off as she realized it was time for Dindim to return to João. That is why she didn’t try to stop him, instead, she understood that Dindim was meant to live freely and wanted to enjoy his life between both his homes, rather than being caged and studied and that’s what made him truly special.

Even though Dindim was far away from Brazil, still he dived into the water, as he was eager to return “home” to João.  On the other hand, João was just as excited to see his friend again with the whole village because, by then, the penguin had become a part of their community. Even the reporter Paulo and his crew were there and were ready to capture the penguin’s return to the coast. But days went by, and Dindim didn’t come back, so naturally João started to fear the worst as he thought something might have happened to his beloved penguin. It reminded him of his son Miguel and how much Joao was in pain and how he still felt responsible for what happened to Miguel and what if Joao could save his son. Maybe Joao wouldn’t have taken the same risk now, but seeing João in so much pain, the villagers decided to help, so with his fisherman crew, João set out on a boat to search for Dindim. After hours of searching day and night, they finally spotted a glimpse of the penguin. But when they reached Dindim, he looked lifeless as he was exhausted from all the swimming. However, Dindim slowly opened his eyes, and everyone quickly fed him fish to help him regain his strength, and as Dindim came back to life, the whole crew celebrated and brought him back to shore, where the entire village partied as he returned to them along with João, as he was overjoyed to finally reunite with his dear friend. 


Sutanuka Banerjee
Sutanuka Banerjee
Sutanuka, a devoted movie enthusiast, embarked on her cinematic journey since childhood, captivated by the enchanting world of the Harry Potter series. This early passion ignited her love for movies, providing an escape into the magical realms of cinema. She is currently pursuing a master's degree in media science, combining her academic pursuits with her unwavering passion for the silver screen.


 

 

Latest articles