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'''Boss Skua''', voiced by '''[[Anthony LaPaglia]]''', is the leader of a flock of skuas who attempt to eat baby Mumble. He believes that he was abducted by aliens, the only explanation he can come up with for the yellow plastic identification ring on his leg.
'''Boss Skua''', voiced by '''[[Anthony LaPaglia]]''', is the leader of a flock of skuas who attempt to eat baby Mumble. He believes that he was abducted by aliens, the only explanation he can come up with for the yellow plastic identification ring on his leg.


'''Lombardo, Néstor, Raul, & Rinaldo''' are voiced by '''[[Johnny Sanchez III]]''', '''[[Carlos Alazraqui]]''', '''[[Lombardo Boyar]]''' and '''[[Jeff Garcia (voice actor)|Jeff Garcia]]''', respectively. Along with Ramón, they are collectively known as "the amigos," a group of misfit bachelor adélies. They admire Mumble's dancing as a way to impress the ''chicas'' and take him in as a friend and equal. They acccompany Mumble on his journey to the Forbidden Shore, and keep the legacy of their friend alive long after he leaves to pursue the "aliens." Raul is an adept hip-hop talent, leading the rapping interjection in Gloria's performance of "Boogie Wonderland." Lombardo also demonstrates his vocal claccompanyarity when he sings a lamentuous rendition of "Leader of the Pack" for Mumble upon his exile.
'''Lombardo, Néstor, Raul, & Rinaldo''' are voiced by '''[[Johnny Sanchez III]]''', '''[[Carlos Alazraqui]]''', '''[[Lombardo Boyar]]''' and '''[[Jeff Garcia (voice actor)|Jeff Garcia]]''', respectively. Along with Ramón, they are collectively known as "the amigos," a group of misfit bachelor adélies. They admire Mumble's dancing as a way to impress the ''chicas'' and take him in as a friend and equal. They accompany Mumble on his journey to the Forbidden Shore, and keep the legacy of their friend alive long after he leaves to pursue the "aliens." Raul is an adept hip-hop talent, leading the rapping interjection in Gloria's performance of "Boogie Wonderland." Lombardo also demonstrates his vocal claccompanyarity when he sings a lamentuous rendition of "Leader of the Pack" for Mumble upon his exile.


==Ratings==
==Ratings==

Revision as of 03:52, 23 December 2006

Happy Feet
Directed byGeorge Miller
Written byWarren Coleman
John Collee
George Miller
Judy Morris
Produced byGeorge Miller
Doug Mitchell
Bill Miller
StarringElijah Wood
Robin Williams
Brittany Murphy
Hugh Jackman
Nicole Kidman
Hugo Weaving
Music byJohn Powell
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Village Roadshow Pictures
Release dates
 Nov 17, 2006
Nov 22, 2006
Nov 24, 2006
Dec 8, 2006
Dec 26, 2006
LanguageEnglish

Happy Feet is a 2006 Australian-produced computer-animated comedy-drama film, directed by George Miller. Released in the U.S. on November 17, 2006, it was produced at Sydney-based visual effects and animation studio Animal Logic for Warner Bros and Village Roadshow Pictures. It is the first animated feature film produced by Kennedy Miller in association with Animal Logic. Though primarily an animated film, it does incorporate live action humans in certain scenes. The film is dedicated to Steve Irwin.

The film was simultaneously released in both conventional theatres and in IMAX 2D format.[1] The studio has hinted that a future IMAX 3D release was still a possibility.[2]

Plot summary

Template:Spoiler

File:Happyfeet1.jpg
Maurice, Baby Gloria and Memphis look on as Mumble's egg hatches

Set in an Antarctic emperor penguin colony, the film establishes that every penguin must sing a unique song (a "Heart Song") to attract a soul mate. This is based in fact, since emperor couples court each other and recognize one another by their unique calls. One particular couple, Norma Jean and Memphis, pair up and produce an egg. The egg is left in Memphis' care while Norma Jean and the other females leave to fish for several weeks. All is well until Memphis drops the egg, in the freezing Antarctic temperatures (but then quickly retrieving it), the resulting chick - the film's protagonist, Mumble - is born completely incapable of singing. However, Mumble has an astute talent for tap dancing.

This ability is frowned upon by the colony's elders, who do not tolerate deviance of any kind. As a result, Mumble is quietly ostracized throughout his childhood, with only his parents and his friend Gloria to turn to. Mumble then grows to a young adult, still half-covered in fluffy baby down. Through a series of mishaps - mainly a mad chase by a hungry leopard seal - , the young penguin finds himself far from the Emperor Nation and within the carefree colony of the adélies - penguins small in stature, but fiercely loyal to those they call friends.

Mumble's joy at finding acceptance for his difference is cut short when strange "alien discoveries" occur; a long-frozen human excavator tumbles out from a glacier, and Mumble is intrigued. Driven by curiosity, he sets out to find answers. Tracking his way back to Emperor Nation, Mumble's incidental dancing display causes him to be marked as the cause of the food shortage the colony is facing, and he is exiled once and for all. Mumble vows to find the real cause of the famine, and travels across vast territories with his adélie friends. By happenstance, the birds finally come face to face with a legion of huge trawlers, all laden with fish caught around the Antarctic coast. Mumble follows after them fearlessly, leaving his friends behind to preserve his legacy.

File:Happyfeet2.jpg
Mumble with the five adélie penguin amigos.

Mumble eventually ends up in a penguin exhibit at a marine park, and fervently tries to communicate with the "aliens" who surround him. When his pleas fail, Mumble nearly succumbs to madness after months of confinement in the sterile glass prison. When a child taps on the glass wall one day, Mumble is woken from his stupor and dances in response, whereupon the astounded humans finally pay attention. He is released to the sea with a tracking device, and leads the "aliens" home to his native colony. If anything is to be done, however, Mumble must first convince the colony, and overcome the ruling power of the pious elders, to deliver a message of distress to the curious humans...

Relations to other films

  • Many sequences and plot devices in the film are similar to those in the Antarctic documentary March of the Penguins, released in 2005, because they both follow the natural history of the penguins' lives. Despite the similarities, both films were in production before details of either were announced. Happy Feet was partially inspired by earlier documentaries such as the BBC's Life in the Freezer. [3]
  • When Mumble is found by the "aliens," he is transported to a zoo, which is a direct embodiment of the embryo at the end sequence of 2001: A Space Odyssey. A magellanic penguin that talks to Mumble speaks with a voice similar to Douglas Rain, the voice of HAL, the villain of 2001 asking for emotions from Mumble, whom the penguin calls Dave, 2001's protagonist. The clearest pastiche is the shot sequence that zooms out from the center of Mumble/Dave's eye to the overhead shot of the zoo, region, planet, and finally, universe, symbolic of Mumble's isolated, conquered state.
  • The idea of dancing penguins has a precursor in the classic Walt Disney film, Mary Poppins. In the film's celebrated animated sequence, Bert has an extended dance sequence with a group of penguin waiters, albeit in a soft shoe style. "Step in Time" is a reference to a musical number from Disney's film.
  • Several sequences of the movie are very similar in both premise and execution to scenes in Don Bluth's 1995 animated film The Pebble and the Penguin - where a misfit penguin must compete with a villainous rival for the affections of one female. The idea of penguins courting with pebbles was also based on adélies, who build nests of pebbles to attract mates.
  • Plot similarity to Jonathan Livingston Seagull, in that both stories feature a bird who is ostracized by his elders for his persistent recourse to an atypical skill, only to learn something that will benefit his people forever.
  • There are many similarities to the 1984 film Footloose, where a town has banned dancing. Noah the Elder, much like Reverend Shaw Moore, forbids the penguins from dancing because it would only bring about great "evil" (he blames the food shortage on Mumble's dancing).

Characters

Main characters

Mumble "Happy Feet", voiced by Elijah Wood, is the protagonist of the movie. Mumble is different from his fellow Emperor Penguins in appearance as well as in demeanor. Because of an accident when he was an egg Mumble was born late in the season. He also grows pin feathers in much later than the other young penguins, causing him to be mockingly referred to as "the fuzzball." He also has a grey patch of feathers on his chest that resembles a bow-tie, with the rest of his body resembling a dancer's tuxedo. The most peculiar difference is that Mumble cannot sing, and therefore he cannot find his "heart song" in order to obtain a mate in the conventional way. Instead, Mumble uses his "happy feet" to tap dance emotions he would otherwise share in song. Mumble is ultimately blamed for the disappearance of the fish, the penguins' dietary source, because of his dancing. It is believed that his "pagan ways" have offended the penguins' deity Gwyn, so Mumble is exiled in hope of restoring Gwyn's favour. Despite this, he is determined to seek the "aliens" (humans), who he believes to be the true cause of the food depletion, in order to clear his name and save the colony. Savion Glover provided tap-dancing for Mumble for the film with the use of motion capture.[4][5]

Gloria, voiced by Brittany Murphy, is the only one that appreciates Mumble apart from his parents and the amigos. Knowing him from when he was an egg, she often protects Mumble from mocking peers. Like most of the young male penguins, Mumble is infatuated with Gloria, who is one of the most talented singers in his generation. Though she often feels that Mumble is "embarrassing her" with his dancing, she eventually understands near the end that it is Mumble's passion, and that he couldn't possibly be forced to change.

Ramón, voiced by Robin Williams, is an adélie penguin and the leader of the misfit amigos. Ramón and the others befriend Mumble and help him on his journey to the Forbidden Shore in his search for the "aliens." Ramón also proves himself a talented singer and attempts to help Mumble to woo Gloria with a Spanish rendition of "My Way".

Memphis, voiced by Hugh Jackman, is Mumble's father and an obvious caricature of Elvis Presley. When Norma Jean, his mate, went off to fish, Memphis accidentally dropped their egg. Although Memphis quickly retrieves the egg and tries to convince himself that no harm was done, it is alluded to that this slip is responsible for Mumble's strange and non-penguin behavior. Memphis never fully forgives himself for this early mistake, though his most used quote (on Mumble's tap-dancing) had been "it just ain't penguin."

Norma Jean, voiced by Nicole Kidman, is Mumble's mother and a caricature of Marilyn Monroe. She is highly protective of her son and, despite his differences, she thinks of Mumble's dancing as "cute", and emotionally supports him while others doubt him. She has a distinctive patch of dark feathers on her chest, reminiscent of the beauty mark on Marilyn Monroe's face.

Noah the Elder, voiced by Hugo Weaving, is the oldest, and allegedly wisest, penguin within the emperor colony, and is an acute stickler for tradition. Accompanied by several contemporaries which form a "council" of sorts, Noah is the wizened leader of the colony, and he does not tolerate deviance in any form. When the tone deaf Mumble expresses himself through dance instead of song, this is frowned upon as "unruly nonsense" by Noah, and he eventually scapegoats Mumble as the cause of the recent, and ongoing, shortage of fish. When Mumble refuses to "repent," Noah exiles him from the colony.

Lovelace, voiced by Robin Williams, is a rockhopper penguin and self-proclaimed oracle of the adélie penguin colony, charging other penguins pebbles in exchange for prophecies. Lovelace aids Mumble in his quest to find the "aliens." He also serves as the narrator of the film. For much of his screen time Lovelace is shown with a "sacred talisman" around his neck; this is a plastic six-pack ring used to hold cans together.

Minor characters

Seymour, voiced by Fat Joe, is the same age as Mumble and Gloria. He raps the lines "Don't push me 'coz I am close to the edge. I'm trying not to lose my head," a popular excerpt from the Grandmaster Flash single "The Message", in their music class. Later, he and Gloria teach music to young penguins, with Seymour teaching rhythm.

The Elders, voiced by Peter Carroll, Larry Moss, Lee Perry and Alan Shearman, are a group of older penguins who serve as Noah's council, as well as filling the role of his zealous watchdogs. Implicitly agreeing with everything Noah says, the Elders mark Mumble as a "bad egg" from the start.

Boss Skua, voiced by Anthony LaPaglia, is the leader of a flock of skuas who attempt to eat baby Mumble. He believes that he was abducted by aliens, the only explanation he can come up with for the yellow plastic identification ring on his leg.

Lombardo, Néstor, Raul, & Rinaldo are voiced by Johnny Sanchez III, Carlos Alazraqui, Lombardo Boyar and Jeff Garcia, respectively. Along with Ramón, they are collectively known as "the amigos," a group of misfit bachelor adélies. They admire Mumble's dancing as a way to impress the chicas and take him in as a friend and equal. They accompany Mumble on his journey to the Forbidden Shore, and keep the legacy of their friend alive long after he leaves to pursue the "aliens." Raul is an adept hip-hop talent, leading the rapping interjection in Gloria's performance of "Boogie Wonderland." Lombardo also demonstrates his vocal claccompanyarity when he sings a lamentuous rendition of "Leader of the Pack" for Mumble upon his exile.

Ratings

This film was rated PG by the MPAA for some mild peril and rude humor. In the UK, the film was rated U for "mild danger".

While the film is stamped as a "children's movie", director George Miller has given the movie much more depth as far as serious themes, as he did with his earlier Babe films. The film deals with issues such as pollution and over-fishing.

Soundtrack

Happy Feet is a jukebox musical (much like the film Moulin Rouge!, which also features Nicole Kidman). Jukebox musicals are known for their use of previously-recorded songs, which are modified to suit the setting, plot, or emotional state of the character(s).

Original soundtrack album

  1. "Song of the Heart" - Prince
  2. "Hit Me Up" – Gia Farrell
  3. "Tell Me Something Good" - Pink (originally by Rufus)
  4. "Somebody to Love" - Brittany Murphy (originally by Queen)
  5. "I Wish" - Fantasia Barrino / Patti LaBelle / Yolanda Adams
  6. "Jump N' Move" - Brand New Heavies
  7. "Do It Again" - The Beach Boys
  8. "The Joker" / "Everything I Own" - Jason Mraz / Chrissie Hynde
  9. "My Way" - Robin Williams
  10. "Kiss" / "Heartbreak Hotel" - Nicole Kidman / Hugh Jackman (originally by Prince / Elvis Presley)
  11. "Boogie Wonderland" - Brittany Murphy (originally by Earth, Wind & Fire)
  12. "Golden Slumbers" / "The End" - k.d. lang
  13. "The Story of Mumble Happy Feet" – John Powell

Original score album

The instrumental score for Happy Feet was composed by John Powell, a film musician who is popularly used for contemporary action and comedy films, like X-Men: The Last Stand and Robots. Powell's expansive original score, featuring snippets of other lyrical songs performed by film characters, will be released on December 19, 2006. [6]

Track listings

  1. "Huddle"
  2. "Eggs Hatch"
  3. "Birth of Mumble"
  4. "Wives Ho!"
  5. "Singing Lessons"
  6. "Skua Birds"
  7. "In My Room"
  8. "Graduation"
  9. "Fish"
  10. "Leopard Seal"
  11. "Adélieland"
  12. "Bobsled"
  13. "Finding Aliens"
  14. "Lovelace's Pile"
  15. "If I Could Sing"
  16. "Exile"
  17. "Leader of the Pack"
  18. "Finding Lovelace"
  19. "Gloria Joins"
  20. "Hill"
  21. "Fun Food Storm"
  22. "Killer Whales"
  23. "Alien Ships"
  24. "In the Zoo"
  25. "First Contact"
  26. "Mumble Returns"
  27. "Tap Versus Chant"
  28. "Helicopter"
  29. "Communication"

Film songs not on soundtrack

Music featured in trailers

Awards

Golden Globe Award

  • Nominated for Best Animated Film.
  • Nominated for Best Original Song (for Song of the Heart by Prince)

Annie Awards

  • Nominated for Best Animated Feature
  • Nominated for Best Writing in an Animated Feature Production

Golden Trailer Awards

  • Won Best Music

Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards

  • Won Best Animation

New York Film Critics Circle Awards

  • Won Best Animated Film

Satellite Awards

  • Nominated for Best Motion Picture, Animated or Mixed Media

Video games

Main article: Happy Feet (video game)

A video game based on the film was developed by A2M and published by Midway Games. It will be released for the following platforms: PC, PlayStation 2, GameCube, GBA, NDS, and Wii. [8] Screenshots and demo clips of the various versions of the Happy Feet game can be seen at the official website.

Reception

Box office

The film opened at number one in the United States on it first weekend of release (November 17-19) - grossing $41.6M, and narrowly beating Casino Royale for the top spot. [9] It remained number one for the Thanksgiving weekend, making $51.6 million over the five-day period. In total, the film was the top grosser for three weeks, a 2006 box office feat matched only by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. As of December 17, 2006, Happy Feet has grossed $150 million in the U.S. and $60 million worldwide. The film has been released in about 25 international territories as of December 8, 2006. [10][11]

Critical reviews

Happy Feet has received better than average reviews from film critics, and received a 77% "fresh" approval in the Rotten Tomatoes movie review aggregate site.

Positive

Kirk Honeycutt said that Happy Feet "astonishes," it has brilliant choreography and orchestration, and is entertaining for younger viewers. Honeycutt also said that, "[George] Miller boldly reaches for spiritual themes," and "happily, it all works." [12]

While Gene Seymour described Happy Feet as "a rich, absorbing story that isn't content to dazzle you with effects, but rouse your spirits." Seymour adds "nothing prepares you for its sweeping visual design and its conceptual energy." [13]

Moreover, Lou Lumenick praised Happy Feet for its "stunning visuals," calling the film "inspired" and "uplifting." Lumenick further added that "It's Dumbo meets Footloose," and "Happy Feet is not only the year's best animated movie, it's one of the year's best movies, period. Go." [14]

Ebert & Roeper gave it two thumbs up. A.O. Scott, Roger Ebert's temporary replacement, is quoted as saying "Happy Feet was made with enough skill, and enough heart, to get a thumbs up from me." Richard Roeper agreed, saying "I think kids will love it, because penguins are cute."[15]

Negative

Jordan Harper of The Village Voice was quoted as saying "If anything could tempt an adult to go see a dancing-penguin movie, it's the phrase 'from the guy who brought you Babe.' That movie got everything right about talking animals, but alas, George Miller does not live up to his earlier work here. Even the wee ones may start to notice something's amiss when the movie's theme goes from "be yourself" to 'we must regulate the overfishing of the Antarctic oceans.' No, for real."[16]

Along those same lines was columnist Robert W. Butler who stated "[Happy Feet] piles lots of contemporary issues on what should be a simple children’s fable and becomes an overlong, emotionally muted and tiresome epic."[17]

And one of the more negative reviews came from Michael Medved, who gave Happy Feet one and a half stars (out of four) calling it "..painfully unpleasant to watch.." He went on to say that "..frightening elements [in the film] will terrify young viewers.." and that "..there's nothing happy about Happy Feet."[18]

Promotion

This film was promoted on British radio using "Boogie Wonderland" by Earth, Wind and Fire as the background tune.

References

  1. ^ http://www.imax.com/ImaxWeb/filmDetail.do?type=comingSoon&movieID=code__.__30
  2. ^ http://www.vfxworld.com/?sa=adv&code=3631a5a1&atype=news&id=17882
  3. ^ http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19990883-16947,00.html
  4. ^ http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=118897
  5. ^ http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=0&id=38150
  6. ^ http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000KHYOK0
  7. ^ http://www.soundtrack.net/trailers/?cid=H&id=1740
  8. ^ http://www.midway.com/rxpage/Game_HappyFeet.html
  9. ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=2006&wknd=46&p=.htm
  10. ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=weekend&id=happyfeet.htm
  11. ^ http://www.imdb.com/chart/
  12. ^ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film/reviews/article_display.jsp?&rid=8229
  13. ^ http://www.newsday.com/features/printedition/ny-etmov24977684nov17,0,3326485.story
  14. ^ http://www.nypost.com/seven/11172006/entertainment/movies/ice_ice__baby__movies_lou_lumenick.htm
  15. ^ http://tvplex.go.com/buenavista/ebertandroeper/061120.html
  16. ^ http://www.villagevoice.com/film/0646,harper,75042,20.html
  17. ^ http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/entertainment/16028762.htm
  18. ^ http://images.michaelmedved.com/images/pdf/happyfeet.doc

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to Happy Feet.
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