Although Steve Coogan may well be primarily known for being Alan Partridge (insert Aha! here), the British comedian has quietly but confidently been carving out an impressive film career, that has seen him rack up over 140 film credits to date.

His latest, based on a true story, sees him do the double, as he breaks two of the most prominent rules of acting at once, by working with both children and animals.

Argentina, 1976, and just arriving at St George’s College is Tom Michell (Coogan). He’s there to be the new English teacher, educating the young minds of prominent and wealthy Argentineans.

With the country in political turmoil, a coup d'état takes place, which effectively gives Tom a week off. So he, and his new colleague Tapio (Björn Gustafsson), head off to safer grounds in Uruguay for some fun.

Tom gets more than he bargained for however, when he also manages to pick up a penguin, which he saved, finding it on the beach covered in oil.

Although not crazy about it, he finds himself having to smuggle it back into the country and into his school room, with the college having a strict no pets policy.

Tom then goes about trying to get rid of it, but try as he might, he finds the penguin soon becomes attached to him, and Tom, somewhat remarkably, starts to feel the same way.

Peter Cattaneo’s film, based on Tom Michell’s 2015 memoir of the same name, is like a classic live action Disney film with a political edge.

Coogan is perfect as the disillusioned Englishman abroad, he starts off most definitely not wanting to rock the boat, and just have a quiet life. He brings a light comedy touch to proceedings, in what occasionally feels like a Dead Poets Society adjacent film – but with a penguin.

The comedic actor is fully aware however, that his aquatic bird sidekick will – and does – upstage him in every scene. It’s something he accepts fairly graciously, but still gives his own character enough depth to stand out.

Cattaneo is adamant that the penguin doesn’t get it all his own way however, as he slowly brings the country’s volatile political situation to the fore, with the mothers of the disappeared adding another layer to proceedings.

The historical context is interesting but it’s still not enough to shift the focus away from the penguin, that was mostly played by two life partner penguins that were used interchangeably throughout - which must have been a nice couples thing for them to do, with a robot penguin and puppet penguin used for more challenging shots.

The Penguin Lessons is a wonderful example of an eccentric Englishman abroad, with Coogan once again flexing his acting muscles on the big screen, which he should be commended for, despite breaking those two golden rules.

It’s the type of film that will appeal to family audiences, whilst at the same time being quite informative with its accompanying history lesson, which means that it certainly makes the grade on the edutainment front.

And let’s face it, who doesn’t love a penguin?