Visually stunning and downright adorable

Rating: 6/10 (20 November 2006)

As you leave the theater, "Happy Feet" gives you exactly what its title offers. This movie is clearly intended to be nothing but fun and it delivers exactly that.
Probably the most enjoyable part of the film is its uniqueness. It breaks much of the mold that every CGI film in the last few years has stuck to unflinchingly through song and dance that while not presented in a musical movie style still make the film incredibly fun. While the plot is ultimately insignificant to most of the movie, it is still engaging through the action and especially the characters. While some of the action sequences feel straight out of "Finding Nemo" or "Ice Age," the characters--namely the amigos, or a band of small penguins led by Robin Williams--are what saves this film. In fact, the film is nothing but cute until the amigos come along and add some personality and humor.
The most impressive aspect, however, are the visual effects. The penguin fur is remarkable and one can only sit in awe at the realism of the penguins' breathing. The non-animal elements were also incredibly realistic, like the settings, as well as the incorporation of live action footage which was a much better choice than making the humans CGI. The visual choice here was a much better choice compared to some of the more cartoon-like computer animated films like "Madagascar."
While the film is not better than those computer-animated films that have the formula down to a tee, its unique style makes it much better than the films that have merely tried to imitate with mediocrity rather than innovate, which "Happy Feet" truly does.