"There is no mistaking Happy Feet as anything but the work of a real filmmaker; in terms of composition, camera movement and editing, the pic is conceived as a "real" movie, and emerges as one of the very best directed animated films on record." (Variety) In the snow and ice-covered world of Antarctica, every penguin has a unique voice, and they express it through song: sometimes the Beatles, sometimes the Beach Boys, sometimes it's even Sinatra (no Eminem?). But what's a tone-deaf penguin to do in the land of the silver-throated? Luckily, our hero, Mumble, finds that his tap-dancing is just as special as his companions' crooning. But their acceptance of his talent takes time, so before his friends and family come around, Mumble is sent off from his Emperor Penguin brethren to experience the world. Happy Feet, though, has even bigger fish to fry: as the penguins' food supply dwindles and rumors of "aliens" doing bad things to the environment filter through the land, Mumble heads off again to investigate. "This strong an ecological message has not been seen since Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke." (LA Times) This remarkable blend of personal and world issues is set against truly spectacular animation of the Antarctic and its creatures, not the least those adorable tuxedoed birds. "In the year of the animated movie, this one soars above them all." (NY Daily News) More at www2.warnerbros.com/happyfeet
2006, color, 1 hour 48 minutes, Australia/USA
