A very original and imaginative film!

Rating: 8/10 (22 November 2006)

At first, it may be easy to pass "Happy Feet" off as just another random computer-animated offering from a year crowded by the genre. However, despite a familiar premise (outcast finds acceptance), "Happy Feet" is a surprisingly fresh, exuberant film, and among the cream of the massive 2006 animation crop. The only thing that stops "Happy Feet" from becoming an instant classic is a misstep in the third act. However, disappointing finale or not, "Happy Feet" is the kind of movie with such a large heart that it is all but impossible not to like.
If there's one thing "Happy Feet" is in great supply of, it's "liveliness." With the exception of Pixar's "Cars," "Happy Feet" is the most ambitious animated film of the year, and judging from the well-done story telling and impressive visuals, one might even mistake it for Pixar's latest offering, a testimony to how far the non-Pixar companies are coming in the quest to replicate the things that make Pixar great. The filmmakers set out to do a great deal of film deeds with "Happy Feet," and succeed with a number of them.
The visual effects in "Happy Feet" are also well worth mentioning. The Antarctic setting is breathtaking in its presentation. The choreography of the singing and dancing sequences is extraordinary to watch, as it is done so expertly one might mistake it for a live action sequence if not for the fact that it features penguins. There are also action scenes that are very impressive, such as that of a sea leopard chasing Mumble, Mumble and the amigos sliding down large mountains, and an escape from a killer whale. The visuals in "Happy Feet" have a wow factor ideal for the most prominent display possible (which, in the case of "Happy Feet," is IMAX, where it is showing, but in 2-D, as opposed to the 3-D that other animation products "The Ant Bully" and "Open Season" showed in).
For the most part, the voices work. Elijah Wood is appropriately cast as the brave, but unsure hero Mumble. Though it seems Wood was cast because of his role as Frodo Baggins in the "Lord of the Rings" films, it ends up working well for the film. Robin Williams is entertaining and over-the-top as always in three voice roles (Lovelace, Ramon, and the Narrator, who may actually be Lovelace), showing viewers a sign of comedic life that has been lacking with his 2006 efforts, which included the laugh-free "RV" and serious-toned misfire "The Night Listener." Brittany Murphy, Hugh Jackman, and Nicole Kidman all work in their roles, though they don't stand out as Wood and Williams do.
However, as mentioned above, the third act of "Happy Feet" features quite a significant misstep that ends up souring what could have been instant classic status for the film. Instead of offering a real solution or continuing the uniqueness of the rest of the film, the writers opt to give an anti-climactic, uneventful ending that tries to dodge clichés, but ends up becoming one, indirectly. The ending seems just a tad bit incomplete, as if the filmmakers just threw something together, which is a stark contrast to the rest of the movie, which had planning, layout, and most importantly, execution that was nothing short of intricate. It should also be noted that though computer-animated human beings often tend to look clunky when done by computer, live action humans should not be the alternative in a movie that is otherwise completely computer-animated. In fact, real, live action settings have no place in computer animation. It doesn't show realism; it instead displays laziness.
However, despite whatever misstep it may take, there's no denying that "Happy Feet" is a unique film full of life that is slowly being drained from the computer animation sub-genre that once displayed perhaps the most uniqueness. It's a film that is difficult not to like, and a fun film for viewers of wide age demographics (though it is advised for parents to heed the PG rating- as the film is a bit intense for moviegoers under the age of six or seven) that is as much fun for children as it is for older moviegoers. In the computer-animated battle that seemingly every studio has been in on in 2006, Warner Bros has made quite an improvement over maiden outing "The Ant Bully", and with "Happy Feet," has crafted an enjoyable, irresistible film that ends up near the very head of the yearly animation pack.
Review posted by W. Slinger at www.boxofficefanatic.com