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:

Everybody Dance Now!

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

(at around 54 mins) 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

(at around 1h 8 mins) When the amigos, Lovelace and Mumble are overlooking the land of elephant seals and ask if they are penguin eaters, and one of the others says they are herbivores, kelp suckers. This is untrue as elephant seals are carnivores and some are omnivores. But none are just herbivores.

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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

Featured in Starfilm (2017)

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Soundtracks

Do It Again
Written by Brian Wilson & Mike Love
Licensed by Irving Music, Inc. / J. Albert & Son Pty Limited
Performed by The Beach Boys
(p) 2006 Capitol Records Inc
Licensed courtesy of EMI Music Australia Pty Limited
Also contains performance by Wondermints (as The Wondermints)

User Reviews

A Wonderful Film That Can Open Eyes.

If you just thought this film was about dancing penguins, you're wrong. This film is a great family film that has complex messages. It is in musical form.

When it begins we learn what happened to Mumble, that makes him tap dance and not sing. His father is ashamed of him, but his mother is not. As he grows, he looks different from the other penguins. Later, he mets Spanish - like penguins that are a hight light to the film because they add to the humor. As the story goes on, we learn there are less fish and the water is filled with garbage. Because of us humans, penguins are in danger.

The characters are all great and the animation is wonderful and very detailed. It is funny and it even has messages. It teaches us to accept who we are. It also tells us that the environment is in danger, but in a fun and entertaining way. This film beats Monster House and Cars as the best animated film of the year.

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. [United States]

Country:

USA Australia New Zealand Antarctica

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:

$384,336,108

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

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1