Movie Review: Happy Feet

Film Title: Happy Feet (2006)

Genre: Animated Musical/Adventure/Comedy/Family

Directors: George Miller

Two most Important Member of the Cast: Elijah Wood (Mumble) and Brittany Murphy (Gloria)

Review

Happy Feet tells the story of Mumble (Elijah Wood), a penguin who has a little difference from the rest of the penguins because he is born without the ability to sing; thus he is not capable of belting out his own unique song. Because of such incapability, he cannot deliver his distinctive mating heart-song; so he cannot attract a soul mate. His parents, Memphis (Hugh Jackman) and Norma Jean (Nicole Kidman), are worried about it because in the land of Emperor Penguins, deep in Antarctica, one is nobody unless one can sing.

This is unfortunate for Mumble because he is the worst singer in the land. Despite such case, he knows how to tap-dance which he uses to learn about life and save Antarctica from the predators of two-legged aliens, the human. Similarly, Happy Feet follows Mumble on his journey of discovery both within himself and the world.

One of the most entertaining stuffs of this movie is the music. Its story established rock and pop songs into musical numbers. The music here is used to convey emotions through imaginative interplay between the computer-animated creatures. Similarly, such musical numbers are vividly choreographed and orchestrated. Further, the musical elements are extraordinarily diverse in style. As a result, the music brings out yearning that move audience’s body with its rhythms.

Another thing which contributes a lot to the great aesthetic value of the film is the animation. The scenes seem to be a stolen intact from actual wildlife footage rather than being created in a computer. And the penguins look very realistic. Additionally, the little bowtie in Mumble’s feathers and the Marilyn Monroe-like black dot on Norma Jean’s white feathers also make such characters look unique which added fun-touches among these characters. Equally, like the penguins, the environment also looks very realistic and Antarctica seems to be a real landscape. With enough texture, light and shadows, one can feel the cold of the place. Likewise, the three-dimensionality of the frozen landscapes will surely amaze the viewers.

Like animation and musical, the character performances are also fantastic. Hugh Jackman dubbing Memphis, Mumble’s father does a great Elvis Presley intuition. On one hand, Nicole Kidman as Norma Jean, Mumble’s mother, portrays Marilyn Monroe impression. Robin Williams who voiced three characters in the film did it well by bringing something distinctive and comical to each character’s performance. Moreover, Brittany Murphy playing Gloria delivers an implausible vocal performance. Also, Elijah Wood (Mumble) acts as a great straight man for them.

Considering those features, Happy Feet is arguably another animated work of a real filmmaker. Its composition, the camera movement and editing as well as the pictures which can be conceived as a real movie shows that it is one of the best directed animated films in history. In addition, the camera movement and the close-ups to extreme long shots give Happy Feet a greater movie sense than animated films usually have.

These result in the heightened classiness and meticulousness of the film. Such factors also give a strong sense of space to the film. Besides, there are enough action sequences like the tumble of penguins in towers of ice to escape predators and flee avalanches which entertain the viewers especially the young and the children. Correspondingly, the successful use of the motion-capture technique approaches and captures it like a live-action film.

In my opinion, the only comments which may put negatively to this movie is that it has many sequences and plot devices which are similar to those in the March of the Penguins, a French documentary released last year since they both follow the natural history of the lives of the penguins. However, despite such similarities, both films were in production already before details of either were announced.

What is good in the movie is that it aimed for something more than an appealing children’s cartoon. Happy Feet is inevitably serious on both personal and societal levels. It is a story that mirrors real life.

The ecological crisis captured in the story of the disappearing fish is addressed in the film. It depicts that penguins are increasingly threatened by human activities such as over fishing and other forms of human intrusion. It also illustrates that global warming and oil spills also threats these creatures.

In the same way, the film presents the message about human’s disastrous actions that could and may obliterate the world and population not only of the penguins but also the seals, whales and other creatures living in the various continents of the planet. And even if the environmental themes are already familiar, Happy Feet manifests such themes in a concrete and compellingly poetic manner.