The first thing that stood out for me in the movie is the absolute scale of most of the shots, thousands of penguins dancing, with it all feeling natural instead of it looking like a giant copy and paste operation with a bunch of a cloudy and blurry wiggles all over the screen. The penguins seamlessly transform from the documentary penguin visuals we are accustomed to, to the talking penguins. Visually and technically, it's a marvel and the ticket price is worth it for that alone.
The first Happy Feet was five years ago and I remember it having a lighthearted feel to it. This new Happy Feet Two movie starts with a foreboding view of earth from space where the ice shelves are cracking off from the south pole. It then moves to a penguin dance to the song "Rhythm Nation" that is almost a military march and then to our our new baby penguin protagonist Erik, who is unable to both sing or dance. Gone are the themes of heart-songs and tap dancing. The south pole has become a dangerous ice jungle with calamities and predators at every corner. The themes have changed from individualistic to the nationalistic, the characters from didactic to the cautionary. I think adults will enjoy this change of tone but I don't know how kids will feel about the new dark and non-individualistic themes.
The most jarring aspect of the movie is the accents. Some characters have neutral American accents while some have African-American stylings. Sea-elephants have British accents as do some penguins. A different nation of penguins all have Spanish accents. I don't know if there is a method behind all these accents but I can't help but imagine an underlying social or political commentary in the story. Or, it could just be my imagination.
Overall, it's a great movie and I suggest you definitely go see it. The ticket price is worth it for the visuals alone. The engaging story and the great singing are just bonus value.
The first Happy Feet was five years ago and I remember it having a lighthearted feel to it. This new Happy Feet Two movie starts with a foreboding view of earth from space where the ice shelves are cracking off from the south pole. It then moves to a penguin dance to the song "Rhythm Nation" that is almost a military march and then to our our new baby penguin protagonist Erik, who is unable to both sing or dance. Gone are the themes of heart-songs and tap dancing. The south pole has become a dangerous ice jungle with calamities and predators at every corner. The themes have changed from individualistic to the nationalistic, the characters from didactic to the cautionary. I think adults will enjoy this change of tone but I don't know how kids will feel about the new dark and non-individualistic themes.
The most jarring aspect of the movie is the accents. Some characters have neutral American accents while some have African-American stylings. Sea-elephants have British accents as do some penguins. A different nation of penguins all have Spanish accents. I don't know if there is a method behind all these accents but I can't help but imagine an underlying social or political commentary in the story. Or, it could just be my imagination.
Overall, it's a great movie and I suggest you definitely go see it. The ticket price is worth it for the visuals alone. The engaging story and the great singing are just bonus value.