Happy Feet

Happy Feet is a 2006 computer-animated musical comedy film directed, produced, and co-written by George Miller. It stars the voices of Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Brittany Murphy, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Hugo Weaving, and E.G. Daily. It was made by Warner Bros and Village Roadshow Pictures, and was released in North America theaters on November 17, 2006 and in Australia theaters on December 26, 2006. The film was set in the cold land of Antarctica, the film follows on Mumble, an emperor penguin unable to sing the heartsong to attract a soul mate, is able to tap dance brilliantly. After being exiled from Emperor Land by Noah the Elder, Mumble befriends the Amigos, who help him rediscover himself.

Though an animated film, the film does incorporate motion capture of live action humans in certain scenes.

A sequel, *Happy Feet Two*, was released on November 18, 2011

Plot

Every emperor penguin sings a song called a heartsong to attract a mate. If the male penguin's heartsong matches the female's song, the two penguins mate. Norma Jean, a female penguin, falls for Memphis, a male penguin and they become mates. They lay an egg, which is left in Memphis' care while Norma Jean leaves with the other females to fish. While the males struggle through the harsh winter, Memphis drops the egg. the chick Mumble is unable to sing but can tap dance. he is enamored with Gloria, a female penguin who is regarded as the most talented of her age. One day, Mumble encounters a group of skuas with a leader who is tagged with a yellow band, Mumble escapes the hungry birds by falling into a crevice.

Now a young adult, Mumble is ridiculed by the elders. After escaping from a leopard seal attack, Mumble befriends a group of Adelie penguins called "the Amigos", who embrace Mumble's dance moves and assimilate him into their group. After seeing a hidden human excavator in an avalanche, they ask Lovelace, a rockhopper penguin, about its origin. Lovelace has the plastic rings of a six pack entangled around his neck, saying that they have been bestowed upon him by mystic beings.

For the emperor penguins, it is mating season and Gloria is the center of attention. Ramón, one of the Amigos, attempts to help Mumble win her affection by singing a Spanish version of "My Way", with Mumble lip syncing, to no avail. Mumble begins tap dancing in synch with her song. She falls for him and the youthful penguins join in for singing and dancing to "Boogie Wonderland". The elders are appalled by Mumble's conduct, which they see as the reason for their lean fishing season. Memphis begs Mumble to stop dancing, for his own sake, but when Mumble refuses, he is exiled.

Mumble and the Amigos return to Lovelace, only to find him being choked by the plastic rings. Lovelace confesses they were snagged on him while swimming off the forbidden shores, beyond the land of the elephant seals. Not long into their journey, they are met by Gloria, who wishes to join with Mumble as his mate. Fearing for her safety, he ridicules Gloria, driving her away.

At the shore, the group finds a fishing boat. Mumble pursues it solo to the brink of exhaustion. He is eventually washed up on the shore of Florida, where he is rescued and kept at Sea World with Magellanic penguins. After a long and secluded confinement in addition to trying to communicate with the humans, he nearly succumbs to madness. When a girl attempts to interact with Mumble by tapping the glass, he starts dancing, which attracts a large crowd. He is released back into the wild. He returns to his colony and challenges the will of the elders. Memphis reconciles with him, just as a research team arrives. The whole of the colony, even Noah the leader of the elders, engages in dance.

The research team returns their expedition footage, prompting a worldwide debate. The governments realize they are overfishing, leading to the banning of all Antarctic fishing. At this, the emperor penguins and the Amigos celebrate.

Production

George Miller cites as an initial inspiration for the film an encounter with a cameraman, whose father was Frank Hurley of the Shackleton expeditions, during the shooting of *Mad Max 2*: "We were sitting in this bar, having a milkshake, and he looked across at me and said, ‘Antarctica.’ He'd shot a documentary there. He said, ‘You’ve got to make a film in Antarctica. It’s just like out here, in the wasteland. It’s spectacular.’ And that always stuck in my head. *Happy Feet* was also inspired by earlier documentaries such as the BBC's *Life in the Freezer*. In 2001, during an otherwise non-sequitur meeting, Doug Mitchell presented Warner Bros., studio president Alan Horn with an early rough draft of the film's screenplay, and asked them to read it while he and Miller flew back to Australia. By the time they'd landed, Warner had decided to provide funding on the film. Production was slated to begin sometime after the completion of the fourth *Mad Max* film, *Fury Road*,

The animation is invested in motion capture technology, with the dance scenes acted out by human dancers. The tap-dancing for Mumble in particular was provided by Savion Glover who was also co-choreographer for the dance sequences. The dancers went through "Penguin School" to learn how to move like a penguin, and also wore head apparatus to mimic a penguin's beak.

Video games

A video game based on the film was developed by A2M and published by Midway Games. It has the same main cast as the film. It was released for the PC, PlayStation 2, GameCube, GBA, NDS, and Wii.

Sequel

*Happy Feet Two* was produced at Dr. D Studios and released on November 18, 2011. Wood and Williams reprised their roles for the sequel. Murphy was set to reprise her role in 2010, but was replaced by P!nk after Murphy died from pneumonia on December 20, 2009. Matt Damon and Brad Pitt signed on as Bill the Krill and Will the Krill.

4-D attraction

*Happy Feet 4-D Experience* is a 12-minute 4D film shown at 4D theaters over the world. It retells the story of *Happy Feet* with the help of 3D projection and sensory effects, including moving seats, wind, mist and scents. Produced by SimEx-Iwerks, the 4D experience premiered in March 2010 at the Drayton Manor Theme Park. Other locations include Sea World (2010–2011), Shedd Aquarium (2010–2012), Moody Gardens (2010–2011), Nickelodeon Suites Resort, and Adventure Aquarium.