Children's film with last minute dose of political correctness

Rating: 5/10 (29 August 2007)

All in all, the film was technically well done. The characters were cute. The music was superb. The dialog between characters was good.
I was not that impressed by the "happy feet" dancing. Animated figures dancing...haven't seen that since Mickey Mouse in "Steamboat Willey (1928)" or classic Bugs Bunny cartoons (30's & 40's).
What was disappointing was the overall plot of this movie. There were so many ways to go to make this an excellent children's movie based on the interaction of the characters, e.g. "Babe", "Toys" or "Ice Age". Instead dark "aliens" were created. While I won't give away the ending, the film's conclusion was wrapped up in a flash forward mode with a heavy dose of political correctness that made it feel bolted on. It was obvious that the makers were searching for a story conclusion when there was none.
All in all, the first 2/3 of the movie were good entertainment. I would take any child to it. The last 1/3 needs to be totally reworked into an ending that matches the rest of the movie. I would have reservations about taking a child to the last 1/3 of the movie.