After the Academy Award-winning success that Happy Feet received five years ago, the beloved penguins are back with new music, moves, and adventures in the sequel, Happy Feet Two. The sequel shares a recurring theme with the first movie and brings us back to the beautiful land of Antarctica, teaching audiences to appreciate individuality.
Mumble (Elijah Wood) and his mate Gloria (Pink) have an offspring, Erik (Ava Acres), who faces similar issues fitting in with the rest of the Emperor Penguin population as his father once did. Erik has no rhythm, so he is unable to dance and follow the footsteps of his father. Mumble attempts to reassure his son but fails to connect with him.
When Erik follows Ramon (Robin Williams) and runs away with his friends to Adelie Land, he meets The Mighty Sven (Hank Azaria), a puffin that is worshipped because he is believed to be the only flying penguin, and Lovelace (also voiced by Robin Williams).
Lovelace is a penguin rescued from an oil spill, cleaned by humans—referred to as “the aliens” by the penguins—and given a brightly knitted little sweater to keep warm after the oil spill caused a loss of buoyancy.
Director George Miller once again hints for environmental awareness when a massive iceberg breaks off and shifts into the Emperor colony, blocking every possible entrance or exit for the penguins and making it impossible for the colony to fish for food. It is up to Mumble, who has just returned from finding Erik, to find a way to save the entire Emperor community, uniting creatures of Antarctica, big and small.
The sequel hits every mark even though it rehashes the successful formula of the original—funny and lovable characters, catchy tunes that will make you want to dance, and stunning animation that depict the magnificent landscape of Antarctica.
The creative contrast of the different creatures of the Antarctic—from the enormous bumbling elephant seals to the timid krill of the deep blue—is ingenious. The side storyline of Will and Bill the Krill voiced by the dynamic duo of Brad Pitt and Matt Damon, respectively, steals the spotlight but eventually ties into Mumble’s efforts to save the Emperor population.
The quick and witty banter between the two is especially entertaining as they are two struggling microorganisms trying to move up the food chain and prevent being prey for the other creatures of the sea.
Happy Feet Two fuses the great voices of a stellar cast, including returning stars Elijah Wood and Robin Williams and new energetic additions such as Hank Azaria, Alecia Moore (pop star Pink), Sofia Vergara, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon.
In addition to a vibrant vocal cast, the film’s animation has vastly improved from the first. In Happy Feet Two, the details of the clouds in the deep blue sky, the bubbles and movement of the ocean, the snowy arctic mountains and slopes are all brought to life skillfully.
The authenticity will tempt you to reach out and touch the snow or rub the fur of the fuzzy penguins, raising the bar for future 3-D movies.
[etRating value=“ 3.5”]
