Happy Feet

This film is very difficult for me, because i do personally love the film. I think its fun, original and dare i say this word... groovy. But, a lot of people who watch this film with me, except for my friend who adores it, then again she loves penguins, they always tell me that they didn't like the story. And thinking about it, i would have to agree. The story is very random and weak. Nothing much really happens, then its all dotted around. A penguin who cannot find he belongs one minute, then a love story, then all of a sudden its one of those drama films when they have to put up with a whole new tragedy, then we go back to it being a fun animation. I really wish that i could just love this film how it is, but after watching it a few times, it becomes a bit bland and uninteresting.

As a rule of thumb I try to avoid animated films, however there are a few exceptions to this such as Shrek 2 and Shark Tale. Sadly Happy Feet isn't as good as either of these, with the problem being it's just not funny enough coupled with the films bizarre twist towards the end.

The plot ain't rocket science, we see the penguins during the season where the eggs hatch and then our hero, Mumbles is born. His dad dropped the egg during the hatching process and sadly poor Mumbles is a little different to the other penguins. He has a funny walking technique and is incapable of singing - all the penguins can sing except him.

Thanks to this he becomes an outcast following a fall out with the other penguins and finds himself alone and in danger. He befriends a different breed of smaller penguin who instantly like his unorthodox ways and teach him how to dance.

A happy Mumbles returns to his clan and wins over all the younger penguins with his slick dance routines - including the heart of unrequainted love Gloria. However the Penguin elders are furious and blame the recent fish drought on Mumbles and his new found ways. While on his adventures, Mumbles had become convinced that aliens (humans) had become responsible for the drought. After being kicked out of the clan again he heads out to the big wide world to prove the elders wrong.

It's in the final 15 minutes that the movie takes a strange twist - by changing the setting and getting all eco-political on the audience - something that will go over the heads of the kids - the films target audience.

Despite stellar CGI and cute penguins, this story doesn't really have the characters to win you over. Maybe the kids will love it but there were few jokes for the adults which was a shame - I would narrowly recommend this but it ain't no Shrek or even Shark Tale.