Happy Feet Two (2011)

Purely Joyful Movie!

Fantastic!

A Disappointing Continuation

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The kids will love it because of couple of sing along songs and a few good laughs; but for adults there is not much in this movie. Same old theme we've seen in many animated movies before. A guy who is different, is lonely, is a misfit and ends up saving his own folks. The pros of the movie are the music and the upbeat songs which can really get you going particularly'the mighty Sven'. Hank Azaria's voice over for Sven is marvelous and is one of his better performances in recent times.It appears that the movie was made in a haste. Many characters such Bill and Will are completely superfluous and uninteresting. If it's supposed to be an animated movie then why aren't the humans animated.

Happy Feet 2 (2011): Dir: George Miller / Voices: Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Hank Azaria, Alecia Moore, Sofia Vergera: Pathetic followup to the popular kids animation that seemed released on the heels of March of the Penguins. This sequel is disappointing with its evangelistic take on the Mighty Sven. This is disturbing and its target audience will not likely get it. Elijah Wood voices Mumble whose son is inspired by the Mighty Sven. This bothers Mumble but he does manage to save a father elephant seal. Robin Williams voices Ramon who finds love. The only characters of interest are Sven, voiced by Hank Azaria who is actually a puffins who fakes as a flying penguin, and two krill who seek adventure outside their normal environment. Plot melts away faster than ice in a microwave, and the climax is actually not as surprising as it should be. It involves glaciers moving and thousands of penguins trapped in a snowy valley unable to climb out. Mumble is not very interesting, and Ramon is more or less Williams doing standup. Araria brings life to Sven who means well but has a concealed past. Alecia Moore voices Gloria, Mumble's romantic other and although it is great to hear her beautiful voice in song, the role is cardboard. Sofia Vergara also lends her standout voice to this animated junk. Directed by George Miller who made Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome and Babe: Pig in the City. He is experienced in this sort of genre and is backed with stunning animated visuals, but the only feet that will be happy are those shuffling towards the exit after the film. Score: 2 ½ / 10

Mumble the penguin and Gloria have a son Erik. All the penguins are now dancing but Erik is struggling to get the hang of it. All around them, the ice is melting. Erik and his friends Bodicea and Atticus goes off to follow Ramon (Robin Williams). They arrive at Adélie-Land led by The Mighty Sven who can fly and is actually a puffin. Sven and Lovelace survived an oil slice to be rescued by humans. They escaped to rule the Adélie penguins. Mumble goes and retrieves the three little guys. However a giant upheaval blocks off and traps all the Emperor penguins. Meanwhile, there is a couple of krills (Brad Pitt, Matt Damon) trying to find their place in the world.It is loud. It is brash. It's even more colorful than the first one. However the story is a rambling mess. They're trying to incorporate human climate change, have people, other animal characters and even introduces a side story about krills. It's too much and leaves a story without cohesion. Having Brad Pitt and Matt Damon as krill friends may be funny on paper, but it's tough to realize that it is actually Pitt and Damon. The voice work isn't unique enough to make that connection. It probably needs a lot of inside modern references to make that connection. Although they provide some interesting comedy.

Happy Feet Two, the sequel to 2006's Oscar-winning hit Happy Feet, is a good follow-up and has some nice toe-tapping tunes, but fails to repeat what made the first film a hit. The animation, as always, is lush and beautiful. The story itself is a bit weak and is a drastic drop-off from the original. The story also over does it with philosophical reasonings. I don't think the audience want to hear that. That being said, the tunes are well-sung. I really liked it when they performed Queen. The voice-acting is great which is always a plus in animated features.George Miller's film takes place a few years later with Mumble and Gloria having kids of their own. The kids escape their parents to fool around and the penguin nation gets trapped by a glacier. Now it's up to the kids and some allies to save the day.As mentioned before, I thought the voice-acting is good. Pink gets a pass since she is better than expected replacing the late Brittany Murphy. Even though I have no idea why the krill were in the film as they had nothing to do with the penguins, but Matt Damon and Brad Pitt added some good comedy to the film.Overall, this is a beautifully-animated musical but it's not as good as the original. I'm surprised that the film had such a deep drop-off at the box office. I think they should leave this franchise alone if the quality will keep getting worse. I liked this film, but this sequel is not necessary. I rate this film 7/10.