Happy Feet (2006)

Genre

Animation | Comedy | Musical | Romance

Director

George Miller

Country

USA | Australia

Voice Cast

Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Brittany Murphy, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Hugo Weaving, Fat Joe, E.G. Daily, Alyssa Shafer, Cesar Flores, Anthony LaPaglia, Magda Szubanski, Miriam Margolyes, Steve Irwin, Carlos Alazraqui, Lombardo Boyar, Jeffrey Garcia, Johnny Sanchez, Roger Rose

Storyline

Like other emperor penguins, young Mumble (Elijah Wood) needs to be able to sing to attract a female, but he has a terrible voice. Instead, he's got a dancing talent.

Opinion

I remember being pretty excited about this film when it came out, so excited that I begged my parents to take me to the movies. It never happened, but I was able to catch up with it months later when the DVD came out, and I thought it was okay. Now, as an adult, I decided to rewatch it, and in spite of winning an Oscar for Best Animated Feature, "Happy Feet" isn't great but it still is a quite enjoyable kids movie that delivers several messages.

The story isn't completely original. Although this is the first time a penguin can't sing but dances instead, the story is in fact pretty much like Andersen's "The Ugly Duckling". It is fun to watch though and it delivers the importance of being different, not an original theme still very important in a world that continuously pressures us to conform.

Other than teaching to accept people who are different, the film also delivers important environmental messages - the negative effects of pollution and over-fishing - in a way that is easy for kids to understand. It may look like a stupid way to some, but remember, this film targets kids.

Because of that, the film is maybe a little too heavy and serious for kids, but there is enough humour to make children laugh, and the characters are quite funny and lovable as well, especially the hispanic penguins.

And lastly, the music plays an important role in the film as it shows how powerful both music and dance can be, and how helpful they both can be to cross cultural barriers. Also, the score is great.