Running Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes
Rating: PG
Director: George Miller
Quick Impressions:
I’m probably the only person in the world who hated the original Happy Feet. I thought it had a rambling plot, and that it presented its message in a far too heavy-handed way without any charm or artistry. I also felt baffled by the implication that it’s perfectly acceptable to plunder the resources of a continent and exploit the indigenous people—unless, of course, they can tap dance.
The first Happy Feet to me seemed like a glacially paced, narratively confused piece of eye candy that was made less sweet by its badly delivered message. (I agree that we should stop destroying the environment but disagree that movies should make their point by beating you over the head with it repeatedly.)
With all of that in mind, you can imagine that I didn’t expect much from Happy Feet 2. Why did I even go? Because it was there. (And my two-year-old was excited about it. She loves to go to the movies, but you can’t exactly take a two-year-old to see Tower Heist or A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas.)
I have to say that Happy Feet 2 pleasantly surprised me. I thought the plot progressed far more quickly (which isn’t saying much) and had a greater sense of urgency. This time around, the overall message was delivered with slightly increased subtlety, more artistry, and considerably enhanced clarity.
The Good:
As always, the animation is stellar. The fluffy penguins are adorable. The sparkly ice is breathtaking. The elephant seal’s nose is a masterpiece of realism. The glowing krill are quite a sight.
The story also progresses much more quickly than in the first movie (which is not to say quickly, necessarily), and, more importantly, the level of urgency in the movie rose quickly and increased until the resolution. Overall, this movie had a greater sense of urgency than the first Happy Feet.
This time around, the high-profile celebrity performers get more of a chance to perform. Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman didn’t have much to say in the first movie, but Matt Damon and Brat Pitt have some great lines as Bill and Will, the krill, providing some of the most amusing moments in the movie. All of the new characters light up the screen, Beach Master Bryan, the krill, and especially the young penguins and young seals. And Pink does a very nice job of stepping into the role of Gloria, left vacant by the untimely death of Brittany Murphy.
Best Scene:
I had been tolerating the movie until the scene when the elephant seal confronted Mumble and ended up in a desperate situation, requiring aid. With that scene, I was hooked. If the rest of the movie had focused on that situation, I probably never would have taken my eyes off the screen.
As it is, the elephant seal’s entrapment nicely foreshadows the film’s final and greatest crisis.
Funniest Scene:
The krill definitely have the funniest lines, particularly for adults (not because they’re crude). The scenes with Will and Bill are a welcome addition to the movie, in part because of their humor, and in part because they show that the world is bigger than the drama the penguins face. The movie wants us to understand that we must work together to save the world and think of others instead of merely ourselves, and the scenes with the krill emphasize this message to the audience with amazing subtlety (for a Happy Feet movie).
The intercalary krill scenes made the movie more enjoyable for me by providing pleasant moments of free-floating philosophical reflection.
Best Scene Visually:
In the Happy Feet tradition, the entire movie is beautiful, but I particularly like the part with all the krill at the end.
The Negatives:
Much as I love Hank Azaria, the Sven storyline is by far the weakest, and no one in the theater seemed enchanted by Sven’s recurrent beak bubble. As with the first Happy Feet, this installment also suffers from a less than focused narrative trajectory, even though the plot of Happy Feet 2 is less scattershot. Honestly, the story could have progressed beautifully and worked just fine if the Sven character had been completely left out. I realize that as the penguins learn, in life you might need to take a step back to move forward, but I’m not sure that rule holds up in regard to movie plots. Yes, the penguins realize they will never fly and regroup to come up with another solution, but was it necessary to introduce an entire character and meandering storyline to come to that realization?
The one element of the Sven story I liked was that he comes from a faraway place—also affected by environmental destruction. But in general, Sven feels like a big distraction to me. I wish the movie had lingered longer over the first scene with the elephant seal and left out the supposed flying penguin and the aliens. Of course, that’s really just a personal preference, and nobody making the movie asked me.
The Performances:
Elijah Wood is still very solid as Mumble. Wood’s kind voice makes the character easy to sympathize with.
Robin Williams (the only highlight of the previous film for me) is still very good as Ramon, the penguin who got the most laughs, and Lovelace, the charismatic seer of aliens.
As the sweet-singing Gloria, Pink makes an excellent replacement for the late Brittany Murphy. Casting a singer makes sense because the character has few spoken lines. Sophia Vergara doesn’t have much to say as Carmen, but she perfectly plays the beautiful conclusion of her love story with Ramon.
Richard Carter is great as Bryan the Beachmaster, a character who provides the best moment in the movie. Some of the best performances come from the young penguins and young elephant seals, but I can only find the names of Ava Acker as Eric and Benjamin Flores Jr. as Atticus.
Overall:
If you ask me, Happy Feet 2 is world’s better than Happy Feet, but take that with a grain of salt because I hated Happy Feet. If the entire movie had focused on freeing the trapped elephant seal, Happy Feet 2 could have been great. It didn’t, but the movie is still okay. My two-year-old thought the penguins were adorable but found the movie boring and sometimes distressing. Still, she sat through the whole thing. Would I watch it again? Only if you forced me. Am I sorry I saw it? No.