Happy Feet

I know this is not a Christmas film, but my family likes to watch it at Christmas as it frequently airs on TV during the holidays. Anyway, released in 2006, this would become a success, earning roughly $385 million worldwide. Featuring an ensemble cast of Elijah Wood, the late Brittany Murphy, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman & the late Robin Williams, it ended up winning an Oscar for Best Animated Feature, beating Cars & Monster House (I get why cos this is probably the best out of them). Anyway, can this film make me tap my toes out of joy like Mumble, or do dancing penguins not work at all in animation? Let's find out!

Story: When getting down to it, the story is like the generic underdog tale with Mumble being a tap dancer & having no heart song (which is important for emperor penguins as it determines who their mate is) making him an outcast to everyone including his father as he grows up, and it turns into a buddy quest story as there's another subplot with fish running out around the Antarctic due to overfishing which leads to a huge government crisis thing by the end as the penguins manage to use dancing to communicate to people. Yeah, it is an environmental film & it does feel pretty in your face, I'll admit, but it kinda makes sense in a film like this unlike others when it would have nothing to do with the plot whatsoever. And there's also a romance subplot with Mumble & his best friend Gloria who had always stuck by him even after he was ridiculed as a kid over not being able to sing despite her being the best singer in the group. It's pretty predictable, sure, but it's nice to see a main couple know each other since they were children rather than having just met. However, the thing that stops the film from being a disaster in the story department is the execution. Even if we know what's going to happen from the start, the film does take the opportunity for heartwarming, dramatic & funny moments, suceeding for the most part. Sure most of the plot is generic even if they try & put their own twist on it with the setting, but the emotional & comedic elements really save this film & make it enjoyable to watch!

Animation: You know when I say that I'm not a huge fan of motion capture animation? Well, this movie is an example of how to do it right! The fact it's only used in certain scenes, in particular the dance numbers, is really what avoids it being distracting as it's actually used when it's needed rather than just infesting the film with overtly realisitic movements. Speaking of the character animation, they do a pretty good job considering they have to deal with different breeds of birds along with elephant seals & orcas, and it's very well done in chase scenes or just when the penguins are swimming or sliding on snow. As for the texturing, in particular on the feathers of the penguins & the snow, it's really well done as it looks very realistic, but not too much for it to be confused as live action. As for the character designs, they do manage to make each penguin distinguishable, in particular with the males and females with the women having...well...pretty disturbing chests. Yeah, that's literally the only thing that makes you tell which gender if which & it's pretty creepy! Anyway, other than that, they manage to make them look individual since they have small features like Norma Jean having a mole like Marilyn Monroe or Memphis kinda looking like Elvis Presley in a very weird way...and Mumble looking his he's wearing a suit & tap shoes even if his down feathers finally start going by the end (well, until the sequel when they retcon it). Another part I liked was the use of live action people for the sections with the humans at the end . If there is one criticism I have, it would be when they use motion capture on the people in the zoo scenes. They just looked creepy in comparison to the realistic look on the penguins with that uncanny valley look to them & it really doesn't look right given that they also use live action people in the very same scene. Still, other than that, the animation looks amazing & shows how to use motion capture right & make it look realistic without it being confused for live action!

 

Characters: If there is one thing that's, then the characters would be the. Although Mumble, voiced by Elijah Wood, may seem like a generic underdog due to having a talent for tap dancing & not being able to sing, he does have a likeable personality, even if I can be honest, he's probably the weakest character in the cast. As for Gloria, voiced by the late Brittany Murphy, she proves she can be more than just Mumble's friend/love interest &. Mumble's parents, Norma Jean, voiced by Nicole Kidman, & Memphis, voiced by Hugh Jackman, are mostly just the generic loving & open minded mother & closed minded & disappointed dad, but with the latter, it mostly comes from the guilt of when he accidentally dropped Mumble when he was still in his egg & it makes him much more sympathetic despite his rather cold exterior as he grows to embrace his son's talents by the end. But then comes possibly the best characters in the film, the Amigos: Ramon, Nester, Raul, Lombardo & Rinaldo, with Ramon being voiced by the late Robin Williams. I mean it when I say I always laugh hysterically whenever they appear onscreen, rather it's their eccentric yet fun personalities or just Robin's over the top performance as Ramon! Same goes to Lovelace, also voiced by the late Robin Williams, being a so called shaman since he has plastic rings around his neck from a 6 pack of I'm guessing beer or coke, whose really just a crook who joins Mumble on his quest over the fish. Oh yeah, and he also narrates the movie, I forgot to mention that! Even the minor characters are pretty memorable like Miss Astrakhan with her over the top nature, & Trev, voiced by the late Steve Irwin, an elephant seal who helps Mumble on his quest over the shortage of fish. Oh yeah, and there's also Noah The Elder, the kind of villain of the film, who's really just there to represent the prejudice against Mumble & is the leader who reforms by the end. Not much to him, but thanks to a colourful cast of funny & memorable side characters, they thankfully even out the weaker characters along with some really great voice acting!

Songs; I know, it's a jukebox musical & therefore has established pop songs mostly from the 70s, but they kind of work & it is advertised as a musical. Mostly it's either the characters singing or are used for the dancing scenes, like Boogie Wonderland or a Spanish version of My Way and to their credit, they're really good and make me feel like dancing and singing along thanks to the very fun atmosphere in each one. In fact, it kinda reminded me of Moulin Rouge (which kinda makes sense since Nicole Kidman was also in that film). Songs like/ If I had to choose my favourite covers, it would probably be Gloria's versions of Somebody to Love & Boogie Wonderland, with the latter being very fun & the former showing off Brittany Murphy's powerful vocals to success! Considering she hardly sang in public, this was a surprise to me! Even Hugh Jackman & Nicole Kidman were also very good together during the mash-up of Kiss & Heartbreak Hotel at the beginning of the film & the reprise at the end is also really fun to listen! They do reference other songs like Hello, I Wish, If You Leave Me Now, and probably the weirdest one out of them all, Let's Talk About Sex Baby (yeah, obviously they change the lyrics to fit with the emperor penguins by changing it to 'eggs') Still, other than that, the songs surprisingly go well with the film & make it really enjoyable to watch along with the numerous dance numbers!

 

Sure, Happy Feet does have it's flaws which avoids it being an amazing film with a pretty predictable story & weak main character, it's positive qualities are so good like funny & memorable side characters, amazing animation & a surprisingly good soundtrack despite the odd choices made. As for the sequel...I'll be reviewing it next year & let's just say it's a different story to this! Despite it's problems, my family likes to watch this every Christmas & it always makes us laugh no matter how many times we watch it!
Story: 6/10
Animation: 9/10
Characters: 8/10
Songs: 8/10
Overall: 7/10