Film

What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases

Search cinema listings

Browse cinemas A-Z

Search 20,000 reviews

 

Happy Feet (2006)

Director: George Miller

Average user rating
5 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

Having seen every major computer-animated movie this year, some of them unutterably turgid, this writer’s heart sank at the prospect of a dancing penguin movie. As it turns out, ‘Happy Feet’ is not only the most accomplished animated movie this year, it’s one of the year’s best films, period.

Mumble (voice of Elijah Wood) isn’t fitting in with the rest of his Emperor penguin colony. His father, Memphis (Hugh Jackman), mother Norma Jean (Nicole Kidman) and the commanding elders are bemused by the misfit chick’s propensity for tap dancing when, in fact, he should be breaking into song. But Mumble’s first attempt at singing is a tuneless disaster, and the forlorn penguin is soon ostracised for bringing a curse upon the colony. Seems the penguins’ fish supplies have dwindled alarmingly, and Mumble’s taking the rap. A short adventure later, he chances upon a troupe of rhythmic Adelie penguins, fronted by Robin Williams’ rockhopper, Lovelace. Lovelace has a plastic six-pack ring around his neck which he believes was bestowed on him by aliens. It’s at this juncture the film veers away from its cute, gloriously lighthearted song-and-dance routines – with covers of The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Stevie Wonder, etc – to embrace a much darker tone, where initial intimations about social mores are replaced by an effective, soul-stirring environmental message.

Young kiddies may find a couple of near-death experiences with a sea lion and an orca a little too frightening to bear, but that’s only because the standard of the animation is so outstandingly realistic and so acutely detailed. Director George ‘Babe’ Miller has pulled off a coup with this one; he’s raised the benchmark to a whole new level, both visually and conceptually. Bravo.

Author: Derek Adams 2006-12-05 11:29:35

Time Out London Issue 1894: December 6-13 2006


  • Print this page
  • Send to a friend

User reviews of this film

  • victoria said...
    Posted on Aug 13 2009 08:12 Okay all I'm gonna tell you is watch this movie!
    Report as inappropriate
  • sophie said...
    Posted on Oct 16 2007 10:22 hello stevie
    Report as inappropriate
  • sophie said...
    Posted on Oct 16 2007 10:19 good
    Report as inappropriate
  • Alex said...
    Posted on Sep 13 2007 17:13 Apologies. When I said "the above post" I was refering to Leona Luk's (Jul. 6th, 2007).
    Report as inappropriate
  • Alex said...
    Posted on Sep 13 2007 17:10 Mostly in reply to the above post, Happy Feet had my friend and me unashamedly dancing out of the cinema! We were the eldest there (at 18 and 19), but after some initial "It'll probably be bad, but, hey, penguins!!" we really got into it (both being musicians).
    I won't say that, as university students, we have the cleanest minds on Earth, but I noticed nothing dirty or drug-related about it. Sly inuendo is for keeping adults entertained (and to be sure, I remember chuckling when it went right over the kids' heads) - and without some distinguishing features, how would we tell the penguins apart? They are so remarkably similar in real life, so all credit to the animators for making them so wonderfully individual!
    One last thing- although the ending was a little hurried, everyone I know who saw it agreed it was a lovely story and even if it was not your cup of tea, it is worth seeing merely for the stunning animation. This film mixes 'real' film, real people, with animation, and I for one can't tell where the 'real' images start and the animated ones end...
    Report as inappropriate
5 comments

What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields





Top Stories

Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'

Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'

Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him

Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?

Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?

How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains

Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'

Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'

We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon

A gateway to all things 'New Moon'

A gateway to all things 'New Moon'

In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.

London Children's Film Festival

London Children's Film Festival

Read our exclusive reviews of films playing at the 2009 London Children’s Film Festival

The films that deserve a TV spin-off

The films that deserve a TV spin-off

With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations

The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'

The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'

Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’

Michael Haneke discusses 'The White Ribbon'

Michael Haneke discusses 'The White Ribbon'

Dave Calhoun met with Michael Haneke in Munich to mull over the details of his Palme d'Or winner, 'The White Ribbon'

Ten inspirations behind 'Avatar'?

Ten inspirations behind 'Avatar'?

Time Out ponders the influences behind James Cameron's anticipated space-opera on the basis of the trailer

Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam

Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam

In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations