By RACHEL LEIBROCK
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
We love penguins. The funny-looking, black-and-white creatures don't live anywhere near the United States (no, not even in Alaska, although you can find them in some U.S. zoos), yet they seem to have been adopted as our pop-culture bird of choice.
Not to mention are big stars of the big screen. Take the 2005 Oscar-winning documentary, "March of the Penguins."
And now, a new animated flick hopes to follow in those penguins' footsteps. "Happy Feet," directed by George Miller ("Babe: Pig in the City," "Lorenzo's Oil"), is the story of a young penguin trying to find himself _ and his place in society _ through song. And who can't relate to that?
Featuring the voices of Robin Williams, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman and Brittany Murphy, "Happy Feet" also addresses environmental and wildlife survival issues.
We talked to Miller, on the phone from his office in Los Angeles, about his fascination with the stocky birds, life in Antarctica and "penguin school."
Q: So, why penguins?
A: I've always been interested in Antarctica _ way back when I knew the son of Frank Hurley. Hurley was the cameraman who took amazing photographs there and filmed with Ernest Shackleton, whose ship (marooned) there (in 1914). Then, about eight years ago, I saw a documentary called "Life in the Freezer," about the life of penguins and all the other creatures in that part of the world.
Q: And that sparked it all?
A: I was blown away by how extraordinary the penguins were, (such as) the emperor penguin, who lived (in) such an extreme environment.
They're creatures half the size of humans and they exist by community. They share their warmth _ they couldn't exist otherwise. If you saw "March of the Penguins," then you know the way the father incubates the egg during winter while the mother goes off to sea in search of food. When I saw that and the way they mate for life, I thought, "This is a fantastic fable that nature has written." Penguins are very metaphorical. There are a lot of ways we can identify with them.
Q: Why do you think there's such a pop-culture interest?
A: I think what happened in the last 15 years is that the camera technology improved and was able to withstand (Antarctica's) rather robust weather conditions _ all the technical stuff, the survival stuff that allows you to go deep into the ice.
Q: How did that affect the story of "Happy Feet"?
A: When I decided to do the film, we pretty much followed the natural life of penguins ... I didn't want to create something that moved far away from the real nature of the animals and their landscape. The penguins provided a really great story. (The film) is about penguins who sing to each other, and then a little penguin comes along who can't sing and he goes to a teacher who advises him to search his deeper feelings. It doesn't follow the traditional Broadway-musical formula, but it's very epic.
Q: How so?
A: Films should be a multitasking event. They have to speak and have meaning on a whole bunch of levels. "Happy Feet" has a lot of different stories. It's about being true to yourself, but there's also a strong environmental message. You can't tell the story of penguins in Antarctica without becoming aware of how much we're impacting this area through global warming and mining.
Q: Did this film change the way you think about Antarctica?
A: Definitely. I've got new knowledge _ all of the people who worked on the film went to "penguin school."
Q: Penguin school? Really?
A: Really. We were schooled. We probably knew more about penguins than most zoologists.
Q: Did penguin school clear up any misconceptions?
A: Yes. The biggest misconception is that most people aren't aware that penguins are only in the South Pole. Another thing we learned is why they're black-and-white. It's very key _ they are birds who evolved over time and (moved) further south. Then, because it consumes a hell of a lot of energy just to fly, they started to walk upright and used their wings as flippers to dive into the water.
When penguins are on the surface of the water and you see them from above, they're black and mix in with the water. But from the fish's perspective in the ocean, they're white and they just look like sunlight. It's about survival.
(Rachel Leibrock can be reached at rleibrock(at)sacbee.com)
