Happy Feet (2006)

Directors:

George Miller
Warren Coleman (co-director)

Writers:

Warren Coleman (written by)
John Collee (written by)

Release Date:

17 November 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Music

Tagline:

WARNING: May Cause Toe-Tapping.

Plot:

Into the world of the Emperor Penguins, who find their soul mates through song, a penguin is born who cannot sing. But he can tap dance something fierce!

Plot Keywords:

Penguin | Dance | Tap Dancing | Antarctica | True Love

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 12 wins & 16 nominations

Cast

Carlos Alazraqui	...	Nestor (voice)
Lombardo Boyar	...	Raul (voice)
Jeffrey Garcia	...	Rinaldo (voice) (as Jeff Garcia)
Johnny A. Sanchez	...	Lombardo (voice) (as Johnny Sanchez III)
Robin Williams	...	Ramon / Lovelace (voice)
Elijah Wood	...	Mumble (voice)
Brittany Murphy	...	Gloria (voice)
Hugh Jackman	...	Memphis (voice)
Nicole Kidman	...	Norma Jean (voice)
Hugo Weaving	...	Noah the Elder (voice)
Elizabeth Daily	...	Baby Mumble (voice) (as E.G. Daily)
Magda Szubanski	...	Miss Viola (voice)
Miriam Margolyes	...	Mrs. Astrakhan (voice)
Fat Joe	...	Seymour (voice)
Alyssa Shafer	...	Baby Gloria (voice)

Also Known As:

Happy Feet: The IMAX Experience (USA) (IMAX version)

MPAA:

Rated PG for some mild peril and rude humor.

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

Australia | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS (8 channels) | Dolby Digital EX | DTS-ES

Certification:

Ireland:PG | Singapore:PG | Philippines:G (MTRCB) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | USA:PG (certificate #43018) | Netherlands:MG6 | UK:U | Malaysia:U | Argentina:Atp | Hong Kong:I | Peru:PT | Finland:K-7 | Australia:G | Sweden:7 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Portugal:M/4 (Qualidade) | Portugal:M/6 (original version) | South Korea:All | Brazil:Livre | New Zealand:G | New Zealand:PG (re-rating) | New Zealand:PG | Norway:A (TV rating) | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Fox Studios, Moore Park, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

Kingdom Feature Productions

Trivia:

The dancers for the dance sequences not only had to wear motion capture sensor suits for their movement, but also had to wear special headgear to simulate the penguins' beaks to force them to accommodate the anatomical feature for their characters' dancing.

Goofs:

Continuity: While Baby Mumble is with the Skuas, a small black bow can be seen on Mumble's chest. However, when Mumble falls into the crack in the ice, the bow disappears. When the birds fly away, Mumble rolls to the side and begins to cry, with his bow visible again.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Penguin #1: [singing] Once there was a way to get back homeward.
Penguin #2: [singing] Are the stars out tonight?
Penguin #1: [singing] Once there was a way to get back home.
Penguin #2: [singing] I only have eyes for you.
Penguin #1: [singing] Sleep, pretty darling, do not cry.
Penguin #2: [singing] For you.
Penguin #1: [singing] And I will sing a lullaby.
Penguin #3: [singing] With a song in my heart.
Penguin #4: [singing] So tell me / Tell me something good / Yeah, yeah, yeah / Tell me that you love me. / Tell me, baby. / Tell me something good.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 79th Annual Academy Awards (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Everything I Own

Truly Moving Picture

I saw this film on October 2nd, 2006 in Indianapolis. I am one of the judges for the Heartland Film Festival's Truly Moving Picture Award. A Truly Moving Picture "…explores the human journey by artistically expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life." Heartland gave that award to this film.

It's not easy being a young penguin when you can't sing and singing well is how you find your one true soul mate. The mating happens when young couples are attracted to each other's own rendition of their heart song. And to make matters even worse, the young penguin, Mumble, is a natural tap dancer, which is not appreciated by his parents or his teachers or the penguin colony. And to top it all off, there is a shortage of fish and no one knows why.

The unhappy young Mumble runs into 5 small Latino penguins from another penguin colony and the adventure takes off. The story line cuts back and forth between the fish shortage environmental mystery and Mumble's attempt to be attractive to Gloria, his love interest. Along the way he runs into penguin eating birds and penguin eating mammals and almost alien-like man made machines.

This is a musical comedy animation and the songs are classic rock and the dance routines are Broadway-theater clever and these songs and dances never stop throughout the film.

Mumble is a loser in the eyes of his peers, and feels a lot of pain. But he is also heroic and brave and optimistic and he never gives up. Those traits do not let him down. Mumble can pass on an important message to young people. It's your attitude that can carry you through successfully in life. It is not always about physical attributes and physical beauty.

Robin Williams voices Ramon, one of the small Latino penguins, and also Lovelace, the film-flam psychic of the Latino penguin colony. Robin Williams' two characters are over the top which is perfect for the normally over the top Robin Williams. This comedic element keeps the film from taking its adult themes too seriously.

FYI – There is a Truly Moving Pictures web site where there is a listing of past Truly Moving Picture Award winners that are now either at the theater or available on video.