Disappointing

Rating: 3/10 (19 January 2007)

After all the hype about Happy Feet, I'm beginning to wonder if I saw the same movie as everyone else. The storyline was poorly constructed, and no matter how good your actors are, a shallow and predictable story makes for a shallow and predictable movie. No matter how much I tried, there were huge clumps of story missing that could not be explained no matter how much thought I put into it. How did Mumble find his way back to the Emperor Penguins so quickly? How did he escape from that glass tank? Questions like these will remain with those of the Yeti and Loch Ness monster - complete mysteries. As my enthusiasm and interest in the film waned, I noticed what the children in the row in front of me were doing... one asking his mother repeatedly if the film was over yet, two walking out half way through and two who remained silent throughout the whole film. In fact, so silent were they that they did not laugh at any jokes or comment on anything at all. I did not despise the film, I was just underwhelmed. Given that the Shreks, Over the Hedge (a film far shorter, yet far more engaging) and Cars had preceded Happy Feet in the animation genre, I'd gone along expecting another A-Class film. No matter how much I saw Hollywood Gold in the stab at religious leaders and their extremist treatment of those deemed to be "different" (the Emperor elder is a striking caricature of the Pope), its sparkle alone did not make up for the otherwise bland storyline. On the whole, I was disappointed.