HAPPY FEET INTRODUCTION 300K VIDEO LOAD
WARNER BROTHERS MOVIE HOME PAGE
From Rotten Tomatoes (HAPPY FEET)
No sense in being verbally cute; I liked this film and have no criticisms, therefore, much of the effort in this review presentation has gone into providing you with as much video and audio display as possible. There may be some overlap; for that I apologize, but in today’s computer world some things work on one computer and some on another, and I’d rather err on the side of redundancy as opposed to limiting the audience. Enjoy….
“Happy Feet" Videos
“SOMEBODY”
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"HEARTSONG"
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“CREATING THE TAP” - SAVION GLOVER FEATURETTE
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INTERNATIONAL TRAILER
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TRAILER #2
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'BABY MUMBLES' VIDEO
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TEASER TRAILER
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"Happy Feet" trailers provided by Warner Bros Pictures.
Exclusive Clip: "Charisma" - Ramon (Robin Williams) convinces Mumble (Elijah Wood) that he is charismatic.
'Happy Feet' Baby Mumble Trailer
'Happy Feet' My Way Theatrical Trailer
"Creating The Tap" -- Director George Miller, choreographer Kelley Abbey and tap dancer Savion Glover explain how motion capture turned human movement into penguin dancing.
MSN Movies.com (Trailers, Clips & Interviews)
"Happy Feet" Credits, News and Poster
Now, I’ll get down to the business of a HAPPY Review. HAPPY FEET is a unique animated musical comedy adventure set in the land of the Emperor Penguins in the heart of
Now I know there are people who don’t like animated films, and there even people who don’t like cats. I am inclined to believe there is something wrong with these people. They are missing some very special movies this year, and HAPPY FEET is one of them!
So if for some strange reason you can’t rationally explain; you just knee jerk instinctual reflex reject the notion of sitting in a theatre watching an animated flick; may I suggest that you take a break from out dreary war weary reality of the world; take a break from TV and video game sex, violence, death, mayhem and destruction and just sit back relax and watch what animation has come, and a wondrous animated production…”HAPPY FEET”.
HAPPY FEET has been digitally re-mastered into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience® with proprietary IMAX DMR® (digital re-mastering) technology. Worth the links and a quick read, because this technology has real class and in some areas of production it has set a new standard.
Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, a Kennedy-Miller Film, HAPPY FEET, directed by George Miller . Written by
George Miller , John Collee , Judy Morris and Warren Coleman. Produced by Doug Mitchell, Bill Miller and George Miller. Executive Producers are Graham Burke and Bruce Berman. Music composed by John Powell .
HAPPY FEET: THE IMAX EXPERIENCE will be distributed directly and exclusively by Warner Bros. Pictures to IMAX theatres worldwide.
One reviewer I read said: “Happy Feet is a weird movie”. I don’t think I can accept that characterization. True. no one can accuse director George Miller and his co-writers of playing it safe or producing a “some what standard product, and true, there are some genres - such as family-friendly animation - where adherence to older techniques and appearance can be viewed as a positive trait, sort a safe Linus Blanket comfort zone approach that won’t hurt at the box office.
You can forget an entire collection of tried and true animation formulas and techniques. This is one of those films where not long into it (105-minutes), you are jolted with the realization that there is something very new happening on the screen. I saw the film twice. The first time I was impressed and thoroughly entertained. The second time around I had some time to examine/study what the creators had fashioned.
Some reviewers have remarked in various terms that they were of the general opinion that they were watching the first great animated film since The Incredibles. I don’t know about that. The historian in me balks at making “Great Definitive Turning Point Pronouncements” without some passage of time for perspective to settle to the bottom of the keg.
The sediment has not settled yet, but I can say this: “ Happy Feet contains enough solid entertainment to be well worth the price of admission and introduced some new high standard elements into the art of animation, the impact of which can only be fully evaluated with the passage of a couple of years. I find that the detractors from this film fit into two categories: those who are not animation aficionados, and those who don’t like the slightest hint at social commentary that they happened to disagree with, i.e., the possibility that we humans are screwing up the environment and the world’s ecosystems.
Happy Feet, moving on the wave of new animated movies and commercials starring the tuxedoed birds, takes us to the playground of the penguins, Antarctica, faithfully reenacting a sequence from March of the Penguins, (I liked that one too, and loved the cinematography work of the Nat’l Geographic folks), the mothers go off fishing while the fathers stay behind and warm the eggs. I guess we are at least learning a bit about one of the world’s creatures that heretofore has been merely a pleasant zoo inhabitant.
With the fishing expedition over, Norma Jean (voice of Nicole Kidman) returns home to her hubby,
To make matters worse, when he tries to sing, the sound that emerges is more like the in agony death cry of some horribly injured creature. Convinced he has no chance to win the love of Gloria (Brittany Murphy), he leaves the conclave of the emperor penguins and hooks up with Ramon (Robin Williams) and his crew. Now there is a colorful fun bunch with an easily identifiable ethnic back ground.
They belong to a different species and are more open to Mumble's "happy feet." Soon, accompanied by his new friends, he sets off to solve the mystery of why the supply of fish has dried up, threatening to starve the penguins.
The early part of the film might seem like pretty, albeit well executed, standard animated stuff presented with lots of attention holding energy. But like a great symphonic composition there are those subtle well-nuanced hints of the crescendo that lies ahead. You can’t turn away, because there is some visceral link that says “don’t blink!”
The penguins are cute (especially the chicks) and presented with sufficient photo-realism that they could easily, at times, be mistaken for their March of the Penguins counterparts.
The musical numbers carry the viewer right along with the film’s pacing nicely. They are lively, although some of the songs are very different, even curious at times. (The big, show stopping numbers are "Kiss" and "Boogie Wonderland.") Robin Williams, Brittany Murphy, Nicole Kidman, and Hugh Jackman do their own singing.
For me, where Happy Feet soars is in the sheer adventure of the camera work. No previous animated film to my knowledge has done as much with the vantage point as this one, keeping things intense as it soars in for close-ups and zooms out for panoramic shots.
There are first person action shots that zip through ice tunnels and down steep embankments. In large part because of the innovative way in which Miller has shot Happy Feet, it's wondrous to observe and seat gluing to experience. I don’t think you have to have a photographic back ground to appreciate what has been accomplished!
Some reviewers find the inclusion of non-animated (live action) human beings in the the conclusion of the film to be “ jarring”, “annoying” and “damaging”. Sorry fellows but your colors are showing. Happy Feet offers a strong pro-conservation message without a lot time spent on how we humans behave, and those scenes were limited to what I would class the bare necessity to make the point.
Let us look at the language of one detractor who is obvious in his stance and cynical in his outlook on film work. That’s called criticizing the critic. I sometimes think just because they have the title of “critic” that they have banished the word “compliment: from their vocabularies. Follow the box office, follow the film goers, examine their work and the public’s response and often you will find they are as accurate as weather forecasters and accorded the respect of politicians. Enough said.
As it is, it is presented with the subtlety of unanesthetized hammer-and-tongs dental work - dumped on viewers with a few moments' strident preaching. Oddly, it's so perfunctory that kids probably won't notice or, if they do, they will quickly forget. The way to get children to care about issues presented in animated films is to embed them in the subtext throughout the narrative, not do a core dump over a two-minute span at the climax.
So much for that guy!
The film's director is George Miller, the driving force behind the popular 1990s features Babe (which he co-wrote and produced) and Babe: Pig in the City (which he directed, co-wrote, and produced). Earlier in his career, he helped launch Mel Gibson's career with the Mad Max trilogy: Mad Max, The Road Warrior, and Beyond Thunderdome. For Happy Feet, Miller incorporates decades of experience. This movie runs on visual and audio high octane with a nice story board to boot. It has even appealed to the non-animation crowd.
Happy Feet ends on an up beat notes with singing and dancing, and a happy note. We can use a few of them now and then. The ingredients for greatness are there and what change has been spawned in the world of animation by this film, we’ll just have to wait and watch. If there a simple truth to be carried away from the distillation; it is one with which I agree: that by being true to yourself, you can succeed and make a difference. Vision and conviction still have meaning, still have value, and they always will.
IMDB.com (Full Cast Credits and Research Links)
Review By Ed. Dickau
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