From the trailers you might think Happy Feet is a rather silly kids’ movie about happy little penguins dancing and singing. It’s not. Happy Feet is a true epic. It’s Lord of the Rings with flippers. Star Wars with fish. The Lion King with flightless birds instead of predators.
A few early reviews from more politically charged writers have rather bizarrely started labeling it as liberal propaganda, but the politically motivated out there are always looking for a reason to stir up red state versus blue state controversy. Yes the movie gets way too preachy in the final act, but there’s nothing truly subversive here.
Happy Feet is a surprisingly well crafted, grand-scale, heroic adventure. Dismissing it as dancing penguins or Al Gore environmentalism run amok is unfair. It contains bits of both, but as a whole it is neither.
The movie is the first attempt at animation from Mad Max director George Miller, and he doesn’t waste a single frame. He takes what might have been a rather simple story of an outsider finding a way to fit in and turns it into a grand and beautiful work of cinematic art.
I’m not just talking visuals here, though there’s no denying this is absolutely the most stunning computer animated movie ever done by anyone outside of Pixar. It’s the story too. This thing 
is borderline as a kids’ movie, it tackles some pretty heavy themes and goes places that not all kids will be able to follow.
is borderline as a kids’ movie, it tackles some pretty heavy themes and goes places that not all kids will be able to follow.
They’ll be wowed by the animation, but the heart of Happy Feet is something so deep and soulful that at least part of it is aimed squarely at adults.
Miller’s movie goes way beyond the standard kids’ movie lessons of family, friends, and acceptance to tread places most pre-teen targeted movies are afraid to go.
That’s not to say Happy Feet is all doom and gloom. This is a joyous, celebratory movie. In telling the story of a young penguin named Mumbles, the film celebrates penguin life and fills itself to the brim with breathtaking sequences showing off the world from a birds’ eye view. But there’s more.
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I’m ashamed to say I passed on this one because I’m just tired of seeing penguins .. I just love Babe, though, so, judging from your hearty recommendation, I should definitely give it a chance
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