Happy Feet (2006)

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!

Directors:

George Miller, Warren Coleman (co-director)

Writers:

George Miller, John Collee

Stars:

Elijah Wood, Brittany Murphy, Hugh Jackman

Won 1 Oscar. Another 19 wins & 26 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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)

Storyline

This is the story of a little penguin named Mumble who has a terrible singing voice and later discovers he has no Heartsong. However, Mumble has an astute talent for something that none of the penguins had ever seen before: tap dancing. Though Mumble's mom, Norma Jean, thinks this little habit is cute, his dad, Memphis, says it "just ain't penguin." Besides, they both know that, without a Heartsong, Mumble may never find true love. As fate would have it, his one friend, Gloria, happens to be the best singer around. Mumble and Gloria have a connection from the moment they hatch, but she struggles with his strange "hippity- hoppity" ways. Mumble is just too different--especially for Noah the Elder, the stern leader of Emperor Land, who ultimately casts him out of the community. Away from home for the first time, Mumble meets a posse of decidedly un-Emperor-like penguins--the Adelie Amigos. Led by Ramon, the Adelies instantly embrace Mumble's cool dance moves and invite him to party with...

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Plot Keywords:

anthropomorphic penguin | singing animal | singing penguin | warner bros. | penguin | 

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Taglines:

Put on your happy feet.

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Music | Musical | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some mild peril and rude humor

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros [France] Warner Bros. [United States]

Country:

USA Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 November 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Happy Feet: The IMAX Experience

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$41,533,432, 19 November 2006

Gross USA:

$198,000,317

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$384,335,608

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures, Kennedy Miller Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS (8 channels) Dolby Digital EX DTS-ES

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33.1 (dvd)

Did You Know?

Trivia

The translation of Raul's Spanish speaking part of "Boogie Wonderland" is: "I am Raul, the coolest penguin, Latino of course, one hundred percent Spanish! My brothers! (What?), they call me crazy. A little lady lights me like flame. The party- dance, dance little girl! My heart has dynamite! BOOM!, (Exactly! that he eats a shortcut!) Let me be your penguin daddy!"

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Goofs

When Mumble and the Amigos are outrunning the avalanche, Mumble hangs in mid-air for a few seconds, and Ramon grabs onto Mumble from behind before they fall. Looked at closely, Ramon's flipper passes through Mumble's feathers right before they nose-dive down the slope.

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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.
[...]

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the credits, Ramon pops his head up out of the iris and says "Gracias".

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Connections

Spoofs The Pebble and the Penguin (1995)

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Soundtracks

Tell Me Something Good
Written by Stevie Wonder
(c) 1974 Black Bull Music Inc
EMI Music Publishing Australia Pty Limited
Produced by John Powell and Butch Walker
Performed by Pink
Courtesy of LaFace Records

User Reviews

Children's film with last minute dose of political correctness

All in all, the film was technically well done. The characters were cute. The music was superb. The dialog between characters was good.

I was not that impressed by the "happy feet" dancing. Animated figures dancing...haven't seen that since Mickey Mouse in "Steamboat Willey (1928)" or classic Bugs Bunny cartoons (30's & 40's).

What was disappointing was the overall plot of this movie. There were so many ways to go to make this an excellent children's movie based on the interaction of the characters, e.g. "Babe", "Toys" or "Ice Age". Instead dark "aliens" were created. While I won't give away the ending, the film's conclusion was wrapped up in a flash forward mode with a heavy dose of political correctness that made it feel bolted on. It was obvious that the makers were searching for a story conclusion when there was none.

All in all, the first 2/3 of the movie were good entertainment. I would take any child to it. The last 1/3 needs to be totally reworked into an ending that matches the rest of the movie. I would have reservations about taking a child to the last 1/3 of the movie.