George Miller's great-looking but uneven sequel to Happy Feet has just as many songs, just as much schmaltz, and an even more unwieldy story...
When the first Happy Feet won its Oscar for best animated feature in 2006, the thought “There mustn’t have been a Pixar release this year” had to have passed through more minds than mine (there was a Pixar release, as it turns out, but it was Cars so that hardly counts).
The “Huh?” moment had nothing to do with the animation in George Miller’s first singing penguin picture – it’s spectacular as it goes, just as it is in this second instalment – but the story. Unfortunately for Happy Feet 2, the sequel may look even better than the first, but it suffers with the same circuitous narrative and overloading of characters.
Sappy and convoluted, the story of Mumble the animated penguin’s quest for self-actualisation trod an odd path between preaching at kids and terrifying them (a tip: when swimming, leopard seals are generally to be avoided). It was a combination that translated into a baffling win come Oscar season, a success Warner Bros. was evidently hoping to duplicate this time around. Stunning animation aside, one fears they’ll be disappointed.
To get everyone up to speed, the Happy Feet films take place in the Antarctic amongst a group of penguins. The first film dealt with little Mumble’s inability to sing, a failing which almost ruined his chances of finding a mate (unlike the ones Attenborough’s been telling us about, Happy Feet penguins pair up via karaoke versions of chart hits).
After some hero’s journeying and an encounter with “aliens” of the human variety, Mumble learns to celebrate his individuality and saves the day through tap dancing. Keeping up? Right then.
Happy Feet Two starts on a similar tack. Mumble’s cuter-than-cute son Erik runs away from Emperor land embarrassed by his inability to dance. One scary tidal wave later, and the colony is in peril, leaving Mumble, Erik and assorted pals to save the day, as it turns out, through tap dancing.
Robin Williams returns in this second instalment as the voice of Latino penguin Ramon and preacher penguin, Lovelace. Elijah Wood is back voicing Mumble, and joined by singer Alicia Moore replacing Brittany Murphy’s role as Mumble’s partner Gloria.
Williams, as ever, turns in a game performance, but the most enjoyable cast members are unquestionably newcomers Hank Azaria as Scandinavian self-help “pouffin” Sven, along with Brad Pitt and Matt Damon, who bring in the C plot.
Pitt plays Will, a krill hoping to move up the food chain, and Damon, Bill, an adoring best friend who’s willing to follow Will to the ends of the earth. Their story's at its best during the pair's manic, pun-ridden exchanges, and at its sloppiest during Will's extended impression of the hapless squirrel from Ice Age.
What follows is a snazzy-looking story of courage, believing in oneself, and the importance of family and friends coming together. There are a fair few tail feathers shaken and medleys of chart hits belted out as Happy Feet’s penguins struggle to survive in a world which humans have altered for the worse.
As a film, Happy Feet 2 is oddly penguin-shaped, in that most of the interesting stuff happens near the top, then the further it goes on, the flabbier it gets. Its opening ten minutes follow the “go big or go home” rule of cinema, offering up a spectacular song and dance routine, the novelty of which is unfortunately lost by the time it’s repeated at the end of the film.
There’s certainly a sense of humour in Happy Feet 2, and tons of impressively bonkers vision (from the mind of George Miller, which conceived of both this and the Mad Max movies, how could you expect anything else?), but it strays too close to incoherence to work as a film both young children and adults can be equally satisfied by.
This time around, the karaoke gimmick, charismatic voices and a few gags aren’t enough for Happy Feet to avoid the schmaltz and keep up with Arthur Christmas or Hugo, the best of this season’s family films. Young children are likely to have fun, but parents might find themselves shifting in their seats towards the end.
