Happy Feet is an Academy Award-winning Australian-produced 2006 computer-animated comedy-drama film, directed and co-written by George Miller. It was released in North America on November 17, 2006 and produced at Sydney-based visual effects and animation studio Animal Logic for Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow Pictures. It is the first animated feature film produced by Kennedy Miller in association with Animal Logic. Though primarily an animated film, it does incorporate live action humans in certain scenes. The film was simultaneously released in both conventional theatres and in IMAX 2D format.[1] The studio has hinted that a future IMAX 3D release was still a possibility.[2] Happy Feet won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature after failing to win the Annie Award for Best Animated Feature.
The film was dedicated to Nick Enright, Michael Jonson, Robby McNeilly Green, and Steve Irwin.
Plot
Set in an Antarctic emperor penguin colony, the film establishes that every penguin must sing a unique song (called a "Heartsong") to attract a soul mate. This is based in fact, since emperor couples court each other and recognize one another by their unique calls. One particular female, Norma Jean, sings her Heartsong, "Kiss", whereupon the male Memphis sings "Heartbreak Hotel". Norma Jean chooses him as her mate. They couple and Norma Jean lays an egg. The egg is left in Memphis's care while Norma Jean and the other females leave to fish for several weeks. While the males are struggling through the harsh winter, Memphis drops the egg, briefly exposing it to the freezing Antarctic temperatures. The resulting chick - the film's protagonist, Mumble - has a terrible singing voice and later discovers he has no Heartsong. However, Mumble has an astute talent for something that none of the penguins had ever seen before: tap dancing.
This ability is frowned upon by the colony's elders, who do not tolerate deviance of any kind. As a result, Mumble is ostracized throughout his childhood, with only his mother and his friend Gloria to turn to for help. Mumble then grows to a young adult, still half-covered in fluffy down. Through a series of mishaps - mainly a mad chase by a hungry leopard seal - the young penguin finds himself far from his home and within the carefree colony of rockhoppers - penguins small in stature, but fiercely loyal to those they call friends. He quickly befriends a small group of bachelors who form a club of sorts called the Amigos: the leader, Ramon, the brothers Raul and Nestor, and twin brothers Rinaldo and Lombardo. The Amigos quickly embrace Mumble's dance moves and assimilate him into their misfit group.
Mumble's joy at finding acceptance for his difference is cut short when strange "alien discoveries" occur; after his accidentally starting an avalanche a long-frozen human excavator tumbles out from a glacier, and Mumble is intrigued. Driven by curiosity, he sets out to find the "aliens" responsible for the machine.
In Mumble's old home, it is mating season, and Gloria is the centre of attention with her heartsong "Boogie Wonderland", as was Mumble's mother. However, although she is surrounded by a large horde of suitors, none of their Heartsongs interest her. At this point, Ramon stands behind a newly come Mumble and sings a Spanish version of "My Way". Gloria likes the song, but is wary because she knows that Mumble can't sing. She pushes him forward, revealing Ramon. She turns back to the other males, and Mumble is temporarily heartbroken. He then persuades her to sing to his dancing, and surprisingly succeeds in getting Gloria to sing to his tapping rhythm. As the other penguins are equally worked up; they all begin dancing, much to Mumble's delight.
Noah, the elder, sees the lack of fish as punishment from the Great 'Guin, their god, regarding Mumble's dancing. Noah exiles Mumble from the colony as a result; before Mumble leaves, he vows that he will find the real cause of the famine, and travels across vast territories with the Amigos and Lovelace, a self-worshipping rockhopper. Gloria tries to help him; Mumble, out of fear for her safety, does whatever it takes to get rid of her - namely, insulting her singing talents.
The Amigos, along with Mumble and Lovelace, travel many miles under harsh conditions. During their journey, they meet a group of elephant seals, who warn of "Annihilators", who are presumably the same "aliens" Mumble seeks.
After narrowly escaping a few killer whales, the birds finally come face to face with a legion of huge trawlers, all laden with fish caught around the Antarctic coast. Mumble follows after them fearlessly, leaving his friends behind to bear testament to his legacy.
After swimming and being tossed around by sea currents, Mumble ends up in a penguin exhibit at a marine park (Closely resembling the Penguin Encounter at SeaWorld, most likely the one in Orlando, Florida), and fervently tries to communicate with the "aliens" (humans) who surround him. When his pleas fail, Mumble nearly succumbs to madness after three months of confinement in the sterile glass prison. When a child taps on the glass wall one day, Mumble is woken from his stupor and dances in response, whereupon the child appears to run away. He becomes disappointed until she comes back with her mother. Soon, a large crowd gathers around the exhibit, taking pictures and telling their friends of this marvel. He is released to the wild, now with fewer of his fluffy down feathers and a tracking device strapped to his back, and leads the "aliens" home to his native colony. The other penguins, formerly skeptical, are now convinced that the aliens do exist.
Soon, a helicopter arrives, carrying five men in orange suits. The explorers film the penguins dancing and dance along with the rhythm. They bring this footage back to the human world. Different governments debate what to make of this footage and a worldwide debate ensues. They soon realize that they are overfishing the Antarctic waters, and conclude that perhaps the penguins were trying to communicate that to them. Antarctic fishing is banned, and the fish population returns. At this, the Emperor Penguins and the Amigos dance and celebrate their triumph. A dancing baby penguin seen at the end is implied to be the child of Mumble and Gloria.
[edit] Production
The animation in Happy Feet invested heavily in motion capture technology, with the dance scenes acted out by human dancers. The tap-dancing for Mumble in particular was provided by Savion Glover who was also co-choreographer for the dance sequences.[3] The dancers went through "Penguin School" to learn how to move like a penguin, and also wore head apparatus to mimic a penguin's beak.[4]
The film took four years to make. Ben Gunsberger, Lighting Supervisor and VFX Department Supervisor, says this was partly because they needed to build new infrastructure and tools. [5]
Miller has mentioned the possibility of a sequel. He says that he has so many ideas he can put into a follow-up, but Miller has two or three more films that he wants to produce before considering it. [6]
[edit] Characters
[edit] References to other films
- Early in the pre-production, director/producer George Miller called fellow Australian filmmaker John Weiley, of Heliograph Productions. He asked if he could view all the rushes of Emperor penguin footage from John's 1991 IMAX film, Antarctica. [7] Miller viewed the footage in Sydney prior to announcing the production. Many of the sequences and behaviors are similar to the live action footage from the IMAX film.
- Many sequences and plot devices in the film are similar to those in the Antarctic documentary March of the Penguins, released in 2005, because both films are mainly about Emperor penguins. (On the DVD documentary, Robin Williams says he saw the film as March of the Penguins meets Riverdance.) Despite the similarities, both films were in production before details of either were announced. Happy Feet was partially inspired by earlier documentaries such as the BBC's Life in the Freezer.[8]
- When Mumble is found by the "aliens," he is transported to a zoo, which recalls the end sequence of 2001: A Space Odyssey. A magellanic penguin that talks to Mumble speaks with a voice similar to that of Douglas Rain, the voice of HAL, the villain of 2001 asking for emotions from Mumble, whom the penguin calls Dave, 2001's protagonist. The most obvious pastiche is the sequence that zooms out from the center of Mumble/Dave's eye to the overhead shot of the zoo, region, planet, and finally universe, symbolic of Mumble's isolated, conquered state.
- Happy Feet possesses striking similarities to the EB White book, The Trumpet of the Swan, and its subsequent film adaptation. Mumble seems to fill the role of Louis, while Gloria represents Serena. In the movie, even Serena's father's name was Maurice. Lovelace could be compared to Joe Mantegna's character Monty in the film, or to the original book's Boatman; while the Amigos, collectively, bear a similar role to that of Sam Beaver.
- Another book, Fire Bringer by David Clement-Davies, a red deer by the name of Rannoch seems to share the hero role with Mumble for the stag was prophecized to bring peace to his people and had to flee for freedom from his home herd when he was just an adolescent fawn. He also has a white oak leaf mark on his forehead, whereas Mumble had a gray bow tie mark on his breast. The red deer, calling themselves the Herla, also believed in a deity similar to the Great 'Guin; the Celtic forest god Herne, often mentioned as a giant golden stag with a majestic rack of antlers.
- Several sequences of the movie are very similar in both premise and execution to scenes in Don Bluth's 1995 animated film The Pebble and the Penguin - wherein a misfit penguin must compete with a villainous rival for the affections of one female.
- There is a plot similarity to Jonathan Livingston Seagull, in that both stories feature a bird who is ostracized by his elders for his persistent recourse to an atypical skill, only to learn something that will benefit his people forever.
- There are many similarities to the 1984 film Footloose, where a town has banned dancing. Noah the Elder, much like Reverend Shaw Moore, forbids the penguins from dancing because it would only bring about great "evil" - as Noah blames the food shortage on Mumble's dancing.
[edit] Music
Happy Feet is a jukebox musical, taking previously recorded songs and working them into the film's soundtrack to fit with the mood of the scene or character. Two soundtrack albums were released for the film; one containing songs from and inspired by the film, and another featuring John Powell's instrumental score. They were released on October 31, 2006 and December 19, 2006, respectively.
[edit] Awards
[edit] Won
60th British Academy Film Awards
- Best Animated Feature Film
American Film Institute Awards 2006
- Honored as one of the Top Ten Best Films of the Year
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards
- Best Animation
New York Film Critics Circle Awards
- Best Animated Film
Golden Trailer Awards[9]
- Best Music
- The Truly Moving Picture Award
- Best Animated Film
[edit] Nominations
- Best Animated Feature
- Best Animated Feature
- Best Writing in an Animated Feature Production
- Nominated for Best Motion Picture, Animated or Mixed Media
[edit] Home video
Happy Feet was released on March 27, 2007[10] in the United States in three formats; DVD (in separate widescreen and pan and scan editions), Blu-ray Disc, and an HD-DVD/DVD combo disc.[11]
Among the DVD's special features is a scene that was cut from the film where Mumble meets a blue whale and an albatross. The albatross was Steve Irwin's first voice role in the film before he voiced the elephant seal in the final cut. The scene was finished and included on the DVD in memory of Steve Irwin. This scene is done in Steve's classic documentary style, with the albatross telling the viewer all about the other characters in the scene, and the impact people are having on their environment.
[edit] Video games
A video game based on the film was developed by A2M and published by Midway Games. It has the same main cast as the film. It was released for the following platforms: PC, PlayStation 2, GameCube, GBA, NDS, and Wii.[12] Screenshots and demo clips of the various versions of the Happy Feet game can be seen at the official website.
Artificial Life, Inc. has also developed a Happy Feet mobile game for the Japan market.[13]
[edit] Reception
[edit] Box office
| Weekend | Gross | Rank | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $41,533,432 | 1 | $41,533,432 |
| 2 | $37,038,046 | 1 | $99,256,766 |
| 3 | $17,545,418 | 1 | $121,501,018 |
| 4 | $12,904,413 | 2 | $137,932,841 |
| 5 | $8,358,421 | 4 | $149,244,791 |
| 6 | $5,163,474 | 8 | $160,521,910 |
| 7 | $7,650,181 | 9 | $179,152,000 |
| 8 | $4,004,462 | 13 | $185,414,182 |
The film opened at number one in the United States on its first weekend of release (November 17-November 19) grossing $41.6M and beating Casino Royale for the top spot.[14] It remained number one for the Thanksgiving weekend, making $51.6 million over the five-day period. In total, the film was the top grosser for three weeks, a 2006 box office feat matched only by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. As of March 8, 2007, Happy Feet has grossed $194.9 million in the U.S. and $172.1 million overseas, making about $384 million dollars worldwide. The film has been released in about 35 international territories at the close of 2006.[15][16][17]
The production budget was $100 million.[18]
[edit] Critical reviews
Happy Feet has received better than average reviews from film critics, and received a 75% "fresh" approval in the Rotten Tomatoes movie review aggregate site.[19]
- Kirk Honeycutt said that Happy Feet "astonishes," it has brilliant choreography and orchestration, and is entertaining for younger viewers. Honeycutt also said that, "[George] Miller boldly reaches for spiritual themes," and "happily, it all works."[20]
- Gene Seymour described Happy Feet as "a rich, absorbing story that isn't content to dazzle you with effects, but rouse your spirits." Seymour adds "nothing prepares you for its sweeping visual design and its conceptual energy."[21]
- Lou Lumenick praised Happy Feet for its "stunning visuals," calling the film "inspired" and "uplifting." Lumenick further added that "It's Dumbo meets Footloose," and "Happy Feet is not only the year's best animated movie, it's one of the year's best movies, period. Go."[22]
- The film received a "two thumbs up" rating on the television show Ebert & Roeper. A. O. Scott, Roger Ebert's temporary replacement, is quoted as saying "Happy Feet was made with enough skill, and enough heart, to get a thumbs up from me." Richard Roeper agreed, saying "I think kids will love it, because penguins are cute."[23]
- Jordan Harper of The Village Voice was quoted as saying "If anything could tempt an adult to go see a dancing-penguin movie, it's the phrase 'from the guy who brought you Babe.' That movie got everything right about talking animals, but alas, George Miller does not live up to his earlier work here. Even the wee ones may start to notice something's amiss when the movie's theme goes from 'be yourself' to 'we must regulate the overfishing of the Antarctic oceans.' No, for real."[24]
[edit] Environmental message
The movie contains a strong environmental message but much of the film consists of a fairly standard story of a misfit struggling to find acceptance, the film's denouement shows a group of researchers taking video of the colony of dancing emperor penguins, and the footage is broadcasted globally. This precipitates a resolution to stop commercial overfishing of the Antarctic. In addition, one sequence consists of the penguins encountering debris, such as plastic six-pack rings, floating in the sea; they wonder out loud, "[The humans] have got to be around here somewhere - why would they leave all this behind?" In another scene, Mumble is rescued from an urban coastline and brought to a marine park, where he slowly loses his mind within the glass confines of a penguin exhibit. The bird slips into despair; when he incidentally dances one day, he attracts a crowd of astounded people. This leads to Mumble's freedom and eventual return to Antarctica. There, he dances again, encouraging most of his colony to join him. The humans see this, and the message is made clear after long, heated arguments.
During Mumble's life, the supply of fish is running low. Mumble is banished due to the elders' thinking that his dancing offends "The Great 'Guin," and that the offense is the cause of the food shortage but he eventually finds "aliens" (humans) using a large net to capture fish. In the exhibit, all the penguins are well-fed as witnessed when Mumble returns to Emperor Land. Among the arguments made by humans involve that they are "messing with their food chain". At first, the officials of the world refuse to do anything but after protests by people who saw the dancing penguins, they eventually declare "No Fishing" in Antarctica and eventually, everyone in Emperor Land (and everywhere else in Antarctica, possibly) is well-fed and the shortage is gone.
According to the director, George Miller, the environmental message was not a major part of the original script, but "In Australia, we're very, very aware of the ozone hole," he said, "and Antarctica is literally the canary in the coal mine for this stuff. So it sort of had to go in that direction." This influence lead to a film with a more environmental tone. Miller said, "You can't tell a story about Antarctica and the penguins without giving that dimension."
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