The singing colony of emperor penguins is back as “Happy Feet Two” in 3-D. Although it has an ineffectively developing plot, the animated film is full of music and dance to entertain the viewers.
“Happy Feet Two” is directed by George Miller, co-director of the original “Happy Feet,” who received an Oscar for the first film.
This animated film features a number of famous and loved voices of actors such as Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Elijah Wood, and Robin Williams, to name a few.
One of the features that makes this film special is the music and the dance numbers. The songs feature a variety of musical styles, and those with pop singer Alecia “Pink” Moore, as Gloria, make the film entertaining.
The action takes place in the freezing Antarctic where there is only ice and water. While the environment is not so colorful, it is full of vivid characters.
The characters — sea animals, birds, and people (Russian sailors, who surprisingly are not the bad guys) — fill the screen with visual variety, as opposed to an overwhelming number of penguins.
Although the number of penguins is overwhelming, the different characters, accents and behaviors turn some of them into heroes, lovers and leaders. It’s incredible what a penguin can do in this film to win a female or overcome a natural calamity.
Ramon, voiced by Robin Williams, a little penguin with a romantic Spanish accent, is eager to find the love of his life.
With a sneaky little face and punk style haircut, Ramon finds Carmen, voiced by Sofia Vergara. The moment he sees her, he is dazzled by her beauty and screams the words, “You, me, right now, beautiful egg.”
The film mostly revolves around the little, adorable Erik, voiced by Ava Akres, and his father, Mumble, voiced by Elijah Wood, who try to save their colony from being trapped in the icy hole, which has been blocked by a huge iceberg. This apparently happens as a result of the global warming. On their journey, the two try to work out their father and son problems.
“Happy Feet Two” also includes a side story about krill, who are also on a rather bazaar quest. The krill, who are trying to fight their hopeless position in the food chain are on their own quest of finding the meaning of life. Bill and Will, the tiny krill protagonists, are voiced by Damon and Pitt.
The role of the krill is very much like that of the squirrels in “Ice Age,” although this time they have deep ideological conversations that are not related to the content of the film. Although colorful, it is somehow destructive and irrelevant.
The film is entertaining and full of music, pop and even opera, which is a definite plus. On the other hand, the disaster that hangs as a dark cloud over the penguins’ colony does not seem to come to a solution for a long time. This stretch makes the movie a bit longer than it should be.
The movie overall is for viewers who like to have long hours of tense action and “no light at the the end of the tunnel” for a while.
The movie is rated PG for some rude humor and mild peril and runs 100 minutes.
