penguins are cute

Rating: Null/10 (4 December 2006)

Penguins are so cute and human like, it must be irresistible to want to make an animated movie about them. Ever wonder what penguins do all day long down there in the Antarctic? Just stand around like folks at a bus stop? Not anymore. Thanks to Mumble, who was practically born tapping his feet, they now dance. Why? Well, the reason is a little confusing.......
Mmmm....lets see. Dancing is fun and most likely keeps the feet warm. Dancing also angers the elders, which in Hollywood is always a good thing. But besides that, I guess its just cute to an eight year old - an eight year old that can whisper in daddy's ear about how horrible it would be if something were to happen to these cute little critters. Heaven forbid! They must not be allowed to starve. After all, we need the entertainment and what other critters walk around on two feet like us, wear tuxedos and have such cute little chicks? But can cute and dancing save them all from annihiliation? Thats the million dollar question.
Anyway, I didn't really feel the need for much of a plot here. I can dig two hours of great animation and scenery and music with no plot at all. I loved Winged Migration for example, a movie that came to mind during a couple of scenes. So in otherwords, others can argue about the political message and the stereotypes and all that. But I was preoccupied more with things like the poor choice of musical numbers and how I really couldn't tell any of the tall penguins apart except for Mumble. And the dancing? It really wasn't all that inspiring. So in essence, what we were left with was a movie that was basically about penguins singing and dancing, but with neither inspiring music nor inspiring dance. Oh well......nothing like going with your best punches and then missing both of them.
So what memorable moments did this movie leave me with, then? What themes touched my heart? Those chicks were so cute in the beginning, I almost started to cry. And I also think that having another race of Latino penguins was a definite plus. But the love story, on the other hand, fell flat because I never bonded with any female penguin, and because Mumble did not really seem to be as interesting in attracting a mate as he was in saving his fellow penguins from starvation. And where was our hero's redemption in the end? His crowning moment of glory? It was mostly lost in a sea of gyrating penguins, who were too busy grooving to the beat to remember who to thank. We know who saved the penguins, but did the other penguins know?
Overall, I'd give this effort mixed success at best. I don't think it was bad, but it missed in important areas where it should have made sure it hit the mark (music, dance). I didn't even mention the computer animation, which was very satisfying as i expected. Anyway, cute penguins are nice, but I don't know if I would have bothered to save them without more inspired song and dance.