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 | dance party ending | 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

Did You Know?

Trivia

In December 2006, Nicole Kidman held a special screening of this film, for the ill children at Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick.

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Goofs

(at around 41 mins) 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

The closing credits are slanted upwards.

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Connections

Referenced in Nostalgia Critic: The Pebble and the Penguin (2010)

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Soundtracks

The End
Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Published by Sony/ATV Tunes LLC
Produced by T Bone Burnett
Performed by k.d. lang
Courtesy of Nonesuch Records

User Reviews

Not a movie I expected, contains no spoilers.

The previews did not prepare me for this movie what so ever. I expected a cute animated cartoon about some dancing penguins instead I got some deep philosophical story line. Don't get me wrong, the movie was well made, there were some terrific scenes that you can tell that the designers put their heart and soul into, but the plot was a little out of whack. A kid watching this movie, would probably fall asleep; it started off really cute and funny-ish but then the writers went off on a completely irrelevant curb that made the movie super long and super pointless for any kid under 10. An adult may have found this movie insightful and thought provoking, but also a little confusing and overwhelming. It's a good movie but there were too many messages and meanings that were left undone and left me wanting more for a person that just wanted to see a cute animated cartoon about some dancing penguins.

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