Inventive and fun until overwhelmed by the message like a blizzard

Rating: 7/10 (4 January 2007)

This environmental, non-conformist, message-heavy kids film follows a group of Emperor penguins as they mate (done by singing one's heartsong) and hunt. They are ruled by a grizzled, controlling penguin who enforces a conformist code of conduct. Mumble however, cannot sing, but he can tap like Gregory Hines. This causes shame in his father and ridicule from the others. He gets fed up, leaves the tribe and runs into a happy go lucky group of Hispanic penguins led by Ramon (Robin Williams). He then learns of aliens who have tagged birds, left equipment and taken all the fish. He sets out to find them after being rejected again by his tribe. Yes, he saves the day, makes things better and the whole tribe embraces tap as the saviour of their world.
This movie is like Honey-Nut Cheerios. They are tasty, crunchy, sweet and nutritious. However, in the late 80s/early 90s, when oats were the newest cure-all for heart disease, Cheerios went a little overboard declaring the redemption that Cheerios could bring to your heart. It almost overwhelmed the enjoyment of the cereal, the message was so pervasive. Underneath it all though, the cereal was still just as good and delicious as ever. 8/10 in the first three-quarters, 5/10 for the last quarter.
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