Bad Vocals But Happy Feet

Rating: Null/10 (13 January 2009)

Happy Feet' is a delightfully cheerful little movie about an emperor penguin who has an unappreciated gift of tap dancing and his inability to sing causes others to look down upon him. While the penguins suffer from food shortage, he aims to rescue the fish that serves as their daily meal. The animation is excellent. Very few such CGI animated films have looked so real to me but in 'Happy Feet' it is almost hard to tell. The characters are fun (though a little out of place and unnecessary at times). The voice-casting is great with Robin Williams and the Hispanic adelaides stealing the show. Nicole Kidman lends her beautiful voice as the loving mother while Hugh Jackman's dad character is a little clichéd. Elijah Wood and Brittany Murphy are annoying but you get used to it. The story could have been better developed as there are a few plot holes now and then and the ending is a little too optimistic, too unrealistic and too abrupt. 'Happy Feet' is meant to be a family film but it could have been a stronger movie and at the same time remains enjoyable to the family had the story been given a little more focus. There are a range of songs, most of which are popular numbers. Even though the visualizations were fun to watch, they were at times distracting and deviating from the main plot. Yet, 'Happy Feet' was still an entertaining flick and it had that adventurous feel. There was not one boring moment and the viewers wonder how Mumble will rescue the fish from being stolen (I just wished that the conclusion was done differently).