Penguin Town
By Ashley Moulton,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Charming nature docu has death, mating, cheeky language.

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Penguin Town
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A documentary for everyone
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What's the Story?
In Penguin Town, viewers get a glimpse into the lives of the cape penguins that live in Simons Town, South Africa. This reality-show-style nature documentary is narrated by comedian Patton Oswalt (The Goldbergs, The King of Queens), and follows the real life drama of several penguin families. The series starts with hundreds of penguins coming ashore in this tourist town and competing to find mates and nesting spots. The families are named after their nest locations, and so the show follows "The Bougainvilleas," "The Courtyards" and others on their quests to build their penguin families. Cape penguins are endangered, and so the series also follows several injured penguins like "Junior" who are taken into captivity and nursed back to health. Penguin Town shows the ups and downs of nature as penguins face dangers like seals, egg-stealing predators, and foul weather as they try to help their chicks grow large enough to thrive on their own.
Is It Any Good?
Penguin Town successfully uses reality-show-style storytelling that quickly gets viewers emotionally invested in the lives of South African penguin families. The narration anthropomorphizes the birds, making the drama feel very relatable to us humans. Kids will enjoy learning about the lives of penguins, and feeling like they're right there with the penguins as they hunt for fish or care for their eggs. The penguins are super cute waddling through the town where they live, and the fuzzy penguin babies will make animal-loving kids squeal with delight. Kids will likely become hooked and want to keep watching to find out what happens to their favorite feathered friends.
Grown-ups will enjoy this show too, and it may be useful for parents to watch alongside their kids so they can calm worries about scary moments or field questions about mating. Some grown-ups might be less-thrilled about the way the series talks about penguin romance and some of the cheeky language narrator Oswalt uses to tell the story. But overall, the show is educational and entertaining, and great for family viewing.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about penguin families. In what ways are they like human families? In what ways are they different? Do you have a favorite penguin family?
Did anything in this show surprise you or scare you? Is there anything you'd like to talk about?
The special penguin veterinarians help the sick penguins get back to the wild. Do you think you would like a job helping animals get better? Why or why not?
TV Details
- Premiere date: June 16, 2021
- Cast: Patton Oswalt
- Network: Netflix
- Genre: Reality TV
- Topics: Ocean Creatures, Science and Nature
- TV rating: TV-PG
- Award: Common Sense Selection
- Last updated: February 18, 2023
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