ShareThisBy PHIL VILLARREAL
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Everyone knows penguins can march, but the animated dramedy "Happy Feet" shows they can dance. And sing. And preach.
While funny and filled with music, the film is also a think piece rather than a laughy-daffy slapstick fest. It's good for belly laughs as well as post-film conversations.
Aussie director George Miller, famed for the "Mad Max" series, romps into the realm of computer animation. "Happy Feet" is a seemingly innocuous tale of a dancing penguin that transforms into a deep, dark and hard-hitting message film that argues for social tolerance and environmentalism.
At first the movie seems like "Saturday Night Fever" for waddling birds.
Miller introduces his world of emperor penguins in Antarctica, with the birds pairing up during mating season by crooning pop songs to each other.
The ritual has scientific basis _ researchers have actually recorded penguins singing Tom Jones' "Kiss."
Elvis-like Memphis (Hugh Jackman) and Marilyn Monroe-ish Norma Jean (Nicole Kidman) romance it up and give birth to Mumble, a social misfit who can't carry a tune but can get down with his bad self on the dance floor. The problem is there are no dance floors in Antarctica, and Mumble's parents are certain that if Mumble can't sing, he won't be able to find his true love.
Just when you think you've got the film pegged, with Mumble _ voiced when he's matured by Elijah Wood _ going through the usual coming-of-age routine, the plot takes a hard turn north and becomes something else entirely as Mumble heads into exile. To give the story away would take away from the sense of discovery, but know that the film takes on an epic sense reminiscent of "The Lion King." The writing takes on a sharp edge and throughlines treated with a soft touch at the beginning of the film evolve into chilling revelations.
Humans enter the story later on, and Miller made an inspired choice by refusing to resort to the dopey, bug-eyed people in "Toy Story" and "Monsters, Inc." Instead, footage of actual actors is spliced in with the animation, which jibes together because Miller opted to go for realism in the natural environment rather than forced anthropomorphism.
You shake your head in wonder at the way the film tackles issues such as freedom of expression, illegal immigration, poverty, and the difficulties of living under government steered by religious fundamentalism. "Happy Feet" is quite a dance.
3.5 stars out of 4
Rated: PG for some mild peril and rude humor
Voice cast: Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman
Director: George Miller
Family call: Excellent for family viewing.
Running time: 87 minutes
(Read Phil Villarreal's blog at scrippsnews.com/philmguy and contact him at pvillarreal(at)azstarnet.com.)
