Happy Feet [2006] - DVD ( - Dir: George Miller)

For anyone who thought the Oscar-winning documentary March of the Penguins was the most marvelous cinematic moment for these nomads of the south, you haven't seen nothing yet. Here's an animated wonder about a penguin named Mumble who can't sing, but can dance up a storm. George Miller, the driving force behind the Babe (and Mad Max) movies, takes another creative step in family entertainment with this big, beautiful, music-fueled film that will have kids and their parents dancing in the streets. From his first moment alive, Mumble (voiced by Elijah Woods) feels the beat and can't stop dancing. Unfortunatly, emperor penguins are all about finding their own heart song, and dancing youngster--as cute as he is--is a misfit. Luckily, he bumps into little blue penguins, a Spanish-infused group (led by Robin Williams) and begins a series of adventures. Miller has an exceptional variety of entertainment, Busby Berkley musical numbers, amusement park thrills, exciting chase sequences (seals and orca lovers might like think otherwise), and even an environmental message that doesn't weigh you down. Best of all, you don't know where the movie is going in the last act, a rare occurrence these days in family entertainment. A fusion of rock songs, mashed up and otherwise are featured; this movie is as much a musical as a comedy. Mumble's solo dance to a new version of Stevie Wonder's "I Wish" by Fantasia, Patti and Yolanda may be the most joyful moment on camera in 2006. --Doug Thomas

Customer Reviews of Happy Feet [2006]

izumi
Worcs
1st January 2009

A difficult one this one - either love it or hate it perhaps?
Writing the review for HAPPY FEET is perhaps one of the hardest I have had to do. I came to the film with high expectations; I love cute films and realise that often disney films for kids can be just as good as those for adults. Knowing a little about the story - a penguin who, unlike the others cannot sing but can dance - I was also intrigued to see how the film makers handled such a subject to make it exciting for children. Now, having seen it, I have come away feeling unsure of how I really feel about it.
On the one hand, as another has said, there are two very good messages within this film. The first being about how society treats those who do not live upto the norm of their community, and the second about how we treat the world and the environment we live in. Personally, I believe that the first of these messages is the most successfully dealt with.
The imagery is also second to none. The landscapes and mood of the film are all created beautifully.
However, my main problem with this film is that, despite the weight of the two messages it contains, for some reason the film felt insubstantial. I can easily see why young children would become bored quite quickly.
So, mixed feelings really. Whilst HAPPY FEET is a success on some levels, I came away disappointed, not being as entertained as I had hoped I would.

Jason Thorne
England / Oxford
23rd December 2008

FAR TO LONG FOR YOUNG ONES!!!
Bought this for my two little ones and they both lost interest very quickly I carried on watching it and I afraid this was not as good as I thought. It was far to long and the story was poor and nothing really happened we have seen it all before but there are far better films one out there. If you see it cheap it's worth a watch but don't expect to much from the little guy.

A. Walker
Scotland
13th December 2008

Boring
Was really disappointed with this film. I bought it as my 2 year old loves penguins, and I thought he would enjoy it. But he lost interest really quickly, and I don't blame him!

J. M. Simpson
Edinburgh
4th December 2008

You don't have to be cool...
Happy feet is a truly stupendous film.

First up, it is absolutely entertaining. I'm not a huge fan of musicals but there are so many good tunes here, taken from popular culture and reworked, in a kind of moulin rouge style (but with penguins). The songs are numerous, high quality and very catchy, especially with the ace tap dancing and "choreograpy". To a lesser extent, the chases involving various penguin-eating animals are good too - they are predictable, of course, but still breathtaking.

The complicated second half contains some thought provoking dark material. There is a similar tone to the better aspects of the third "Matrix" film, as Mumble sets off alone on his impossible quest, with no plan except to reason with the unknown enemy (see also Hugo Weaving's role as the auxiliary bad guy). In this, we get to the real darkness in the film. Mumble is in the zoo, and is shown to be losing his mind, before the camera rapidly pans out to show the whole world. This can be seen as the effective end of the film, with the remaining (wildly uncredible) finish being merely delusion - similar to the end of "Minority Report", for example. Although this is only one interpretation of the film, there is no doubt that the zoo scene is particularly dark for a film aimed at children.

The final scene returns to the excellent dancing and singing. It's still uplifting. Very much a film of two halves, but both halves are excellent.

Some trivia, penguin fans - did you know the dancing was provided by Savion Glover, who used to tap dance on sesame street?

Roll on Happy Feet 2 - due in 2011!

chikkybelle
Eire
29th October 2008

we watch this every day!!
My 2 year old adores this film and will watch it every day if allowed!! She mimiks the penguins walking (Hilarious!) and even sings along to a lot of the songs. Even though I've watched it with her hundreds of times I haven't tired of it. It is truly a great movie.