For being based a silly children's book, Mr. Popper's Penguins is getting a pretty solid cast from front to back, including the likes of Jim Carrey, Carla Gugino, Philip Baker Hall, Clark Gregg, and Ophelia Lovibond. Now the film is getting a heafty dose of gravitas. Variety reports that Angela Lansbury has joined the cast of the Mark Waters film. In the movie Lansbury will play Mrs. Van Gundy, the owner of a local tavern that Mr. Popper (Carrey) is trying to buy.

The actress hasn't done a live-action film since 2005, when she played a supporting role in Nanny McPhee, but considering that her role as Mrs. Iselin in The Manchurian Candidate is one of my favorite villains of all time, it will be great to see her back on the big screen. Who says there aren't roles for 85 year old women anymore? The movie is currently in the midst of production in New York and will arrive in theaters on August 12 of next year.