Makes you wonder why more films don't have tap-dancing penguins in them - 82%

Rating: 8/10 (3 March 2008)

Going over the last few movies I've seen, I noticed a worrying pattern. "PS - I Love You", "Monster's Ball" and "The Horse Whisperer" are very female-friendly, dramatic movies with little room for light humour. So I was looking forward to this as nothing says 'light humour' more than tap-dancing penguins and once you get used to the rather unconventional set-up, "Happy Feet" reveals itself to have a traditional fairy-tale at its heart and a stark ecological message wrapped around it. Oh and lots of funky musical numbers.
Elijah Wood voices Mumble, a fluffy Emperor penguin who is unable to sing like all the other penguins in his community. His parents Memphis (Hugh Jackman) and Norma Jean (Nicole Kidman) try their best to encourage Mumble to sing but his real talent lays in tap-dancing which upsets the elders who then force Mumble into an icy exile. Stumbling across a group of Adelie penguins with Hispanic accents, Mumble finds his gift for dance is treasured instead of feared and his quest for acceptance is complete. But Mumble isn't content with that - determined to win the heart of Gloria (Brittany Murphy) and the acceptance of his own kind, Mumble and his new amigos are joined by Rockhopper penguin Lovelace (Robin Williams) in a quest to discover the reason for the shortage of fish which threatens the extinction of all life in the Antarctic.
Like I said, it's an unusual world we're introduced into but once you're used to the sight of singing penguins and Broadway-style dance numbers, "Happy Feet" has plenty to offer for viewers of all ages. Kids will love the fast-paced action scenes, the comic touches between the Adelie Amigos (primarily supplied by Robin Williams as Ramon) and the sheer energy and enthusiasm of Mumble as he taps, moonwalks and boogies his way through the film. Whether the message that being different is OK will go down is up to them - it's pretty much rammed down your throat from the off so only the stupid can miss it. Adults will appreciate the ecological moral of the story as well as the truly fantastic levels of animation. At times, it's impossible to tell what is live-action and what isn't - until the montage of bickering humans appeared, I thought it was all animated. It's so good that you forget its a cartoon and although I'm reluctant to admit it, it looks better than anything Pixar has so far produced including their latest effort "WALL-E".
It might be "The Ugly Ducking" on ice but "Happy Feet" is as good a family film as I've seen in recent months. The music is superb and performed with reasonable competence though Murphy's voice cannot match that of Freddy Mercury during her version of "Somebody To Love". But unless you're in a straight-jacket, you'll find it impossible to stop yourself tapping your feet or even singing along with our feathered friends on screen. It's cute, it's smart and it looks absolutely fabulous. The only real issues I have are with character recognition - nearly all the penguins look the same with the exception of Mumble, Lovelace and the Amigos. The other problem is with Williams - voicing two characters in the same film was always going to lead to them sounding similar and throw in his trademark machine-gun delivery and it's very difficult to understand what he's actually saying - Ramon is practically incomprehensible though Lovelace is much clearer. But "Happy Feet" is still a quality family film, filled with enough adventure, excitement and reflection to satisfy younger viewers and their parents.