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Happy Feet

Penguins are not the nimblest of creatures, at least not on land. Most of the time, they are seen waddling around slowly and deliberately. But in director George Miller’s animated film, Happy Feet, he shows that penguins are more than just listless animals that are cute to look at.

Happy Feet owes much of its success to the myriad of star power they employed to lend their voices to their characters, including Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Robin Williams, Elijah Wood, and Brittany Murphy.

While attaining all of these big name stars, however, Happy Feet seemed to forget about the importance of a solid plotline.

The film begins well with a creative song and dance number led by Norma Jean (Kidman) and Memphis (Jackman). The story then begins to focus on their child, Mumble (Wood), which is also a highpoint of the movie because of the irresistible scenes of baby Mumble dancing. But when the film jumps to Mumble’s teenage years, it begins to lose its creativity and fluidness.

The only thing that holds the movie together during this time is the comical ingeniousness of Williams, who voices two characters, Ramon and Lovelace. Ramon is the unspoken leader of a group of penguins who have Spanish accents. The group becomes very close with Mumble and their interactions are very humorous. His other character, Lovelace, is a fake guru who claims to have the answers to any and all questions. With both characters, Williams is quick on his feet and relentless in eking out a laugh from even the most stubborn of people.

The plot begins to stall when Mumble is exiled because his tap dancing is seen as a rebellious act against the emperor penguins’ traditional ways. During this time, the movie's bread and butter, dancing, is nowhere to be found. It is not until the end of the movie that Mumble’s tap dancing returns.

Despite a mediocre plotline, Happy Feet still manages to entertain through witty dialogue, realistic animation, and, of course, dancing. There are also several bonus features on the DVD, including two additional scenes and a private dance lesson from the movie’s choreographer, renowned tap dancer, Savion Glover. I would definitely recommend this movie to people of all ages looking for a feel-good movie experience.

Written by: Brian Kebel

Reviewers Rating: 7
Reader's Rating: 10.00
Reader's Votes: 1

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