Good enough but hardly the best the genre has currently to offer.

Rating: 6/10 (17 March 2008)

This is a good looking and also rather cute movie. However the story is lacking and I just can't help seeing this movie as a missed opportunity.
Like often is the case with animated movies, there is a morale to find in the movie as well. They did not only tried to put one moralistic message into the movie but more than a couple of them. The story suffers from this, especially toward the ending of the movie. It also has as a result that not all of the messages work out well enough in the movie, because the one is more obvious and prominently featured than the other. Perhaps the movie should had stayed put more to its main story-line, instead of diverting so much with its side-plots and characters. It would had made the movie overall more consistent and the its morals and messages all the more powerful as well.
The movie showed some more potential really with its songs. The movie uses some famous evergreens and combines several songs brilliantly (done by John Powell himself). The dancing routines from the penguins all add to this as well. As a purely musical orientated movie, this would had been a great movie to watch I'll bet. But like I said before, the movie chooses the divert constantly from its main-plot, in order to develop and create some overly present morals and messages.
It's a good looking movie, so nothing wrong in the graphic department but it also isn't exactly anything new or spectacular looking. When computer animated movies were still new, they really put some time and effort in those movies, with as a result some visual spectacles. When the big studios realized some serious money was to make from those movies, dozens of movies got created each year, preferable for less money and done in less time, in order to raise the profits even more. "Happy Feet" is obviously one of those movies. Nothing wrong with this if the movie actually still entertains and knows to grab you.
Overall this movie does entertaining but I also must say that the movie could had been made way more entertaining as well. The movie isn't filled with an awful lot of jokes and more leans on its cute looking- and odd characters. However when the movie makes some hits, it really hits and knows to entertain and make you laugh.
Like most animated movies, this movie also has an impressive A-list voice cast, with people such as Elijah Wood, Brittany Murphy, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Hugo Weaving and of course expert Robin Williams.
It's an overall watchable and entertaining enough movie from George Miller but the story just didn't do it for me.
6/10
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