Happy Feet
2006: George Miller
Rated G: 109 minutes
Vault Rating: 7
I have never seen so many children being indoctrinated and been so down with it. Never since 1942’s “Bambi” gave a withering shiver to the breast plate of the National Rifle Association have so many children been slipped such a charming mickey.
I was sitting in a packed Altoona movie house for a matinee of today’s delightful animated feature, “Happy Feet.” A spoonful of sugar, rather a truckload of candy in the present case, sure does help the medicine go down.
“Happy Feet” is the vision of George Miller, whose Mad Max films and the shadowy “Babe: Pig in the City” would seem to be contrary to the resume required for this type of project. But in using his powers for both a social good and a rocking, stomping good time, Miller also adds an unmistakably dark message. This deeper message lifts this film well above the average kiddie fare.
The story of Mumble, the misfit Emperor Penguin, was clearly a take-off on 2005’s smash hit doc “The March of the Penguins.” Mumble is born without being able to sing along with the rest of his multitudinous clan. And boy, oh boy, do they SING! Antarctica is transformed into a giant icy hop as droves of penguins rip through crazily rewritten contemporary songs that become so contagious as to, as the film’s tag-line warns, cause toe-tapping.
Mumble, in the time-worn theme of being ostracized, tries to compensate for his lousy voice with his blazingly tappitty-tapping feet, which were modeled on the stylings of the great modern tap artist, Savion Glover. This dancing is perceived as weird by the others and brings the ice-floe party to a screeching halt.
Wizened elderly penguins judge that this dancing has caused the Great Penguin to provide less fish to eat in the oceans and that, lest the fish disappear completely, Mumble must be set to wander alone. It is this sojourn that brings Mumble into contact with a trio of comical latino Adelie penguins (They’re the ones that have, like, the crazy hair, OK?) and begins a path to reconciliation that helps to explain where all of the fish have gone.
Now, to inject a note of bitterness in an otherwise delightful discussion, I have noted a number of bone-head talk radio hosts have incorrectly pegged “Happy Feet” as a sly left-wing tick to spread the evil message of global warming to the children.
Glenn Beck called the film “An animated Inconvenient Truth” (GantDaily Editor’s Note: Click here to see the Vault’s review of “An Inconvenient Truth.) and Fox News’ Neil Cavuto objected to an environmental discussion in a children’s movie. Next thing you know, they’ll be calling for the removal of discussions about Earth Day from our schools.
Nothing about global warming is even mentioned in this film. The indoctrination that I mention in the lead paragraph is a kinder and gentler message about sharing. One of the film’s points is the very real issue that over-fishing is killing our oceans. It is an environmental message, to be sure, but a common sense one that implies we need to practice better stewardship of the oceans.
I think little kids, given a lightly sweetened message about conservation, will understand that message perfectly, unlike hacks like Beck and Cavuto.
Overall, “Happy Feet” delivers a musical comedy with serious undertones that anyone will surely enjoy. Vault likes the idea that a children’s movie doesn’t need to be insipidly cute and devoid of message. This one is cute, though it plays on a number of stereotypical voice overs for comedy, AND it has a deeper message. That’s something Disney/Pixar’s “Cars” couldn’t pull off.