With his big budget, animated "Christmas Carol" failing to make a splash at the box office and his indie "I Love You, Phillip Morris" barely seeing a release, Jim Carrey appears to have gone back to the basics in his new comedy "Mr. Popper's Penguins" -- and that might not be a bad thing.

The movie is loosely adapted from the classic 1938 children's book of the same name, taking the premise of a man finding himself with 10 penguin roommates and transporting it to a high rise in New York City. The teaser doesn't shed too much light on the how or why, but reveals that getting used to a house full of arctic birds might be an uphill battle.

While not quite in the same vein as the kill-the-pests antics of "Mousehunt," "Mr. Popper's Penguins" should offer Carrey the chance to do what he does best: get physical. 

Fandango debuted the first clips from the film and in the teaser alone, Carrey dines with the birds, finds them in his bed, has a roadside argument with one of the penguins and fills his house with snow. Silly? Absolutely -- but if anyone can pull off the absurd plot and still make us care, it's Carrey.

Directed by Mark Waters ("Mean Girls," "The Spiderwick Chronicles") and co-starring Carla Gugino ("Watchmen") and the legendary Angela Lansbury, "Mr. Popper's Penguins" is set to hit theaters June 17.