Jim Carrey Compares 'Mr. Popper's Penguins' to 'Ace Ventura' (Video)

Jim Carrey didn't have to look far for inspiration for his newest movie role, Mr. Popper's Penguins.

He jokes that he already has a special bond with animals thanks to his 1994 hit, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.

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"It's like, an energy thing. Any animal, I just kind of get their energy somehow," Carrey told MTV News of the Penguins, which hits theaters Friday. "I can't explain it."

"I do have a special affinity for animals because I'm Ace Ventura, Pet Detective," he joked. "So, you know, that's something I like to revisit every once in awhile."

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Carrey said he was interested in starring in the big-screen adaptation of the classic children's book, written by Richard and Florence Atwater. Or at least he was into the subject matter: penguins.

"I have this weird manifestation thing in my life. If I say I like something, the next thing you know, I'm getting a script about it," he said. "It's just what happens. I was Twittering about [penguins], and it was on my website, 'I really like penguins,' out of nowhere, a non-sequitur. And then the script comes to me, and I go, 'Well, if it's not a bad script, I'm going to make it work.'

"My managers are like, 'A penguin movie? Really?' " he went on. " 'Does that fit into the rock-and-roll kind of deal of your life and career?' I go, 'I gotta go with it.' "

"I think we got the best of all worlds in this," Carrey said of the movie's appeal to children and parents. "It's not without an edge. It's got cool, funny stuff in it, and it's kinda touching."