HAPPY FEET TWO

Starring:
Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Hank Azaria, Alecia Moore (Pink), Ava Acres, Brad Pitt & Matt Damon

Director:
George Miller

Running Time:
100 mins

Out to buy on Blu-Ray/DVD 26/03/12

"We're making a come back"

Mumble (Wood) is now a father but as the Emperor Penguin colony sing and dance, his son Erik (Acres) can’t find his voice and to the shock of his father, he can’t dance either. Hurting from his father’s reaction, Erik decides to run away and he discovers someone he never thought he could meet, the Mighty Sven (Azaria) a penguin who can fly. When Mumble discovers that Erik is gone, he sets off to find him just as a huge iceberg hits the Antarctic continent and cuts of the colony from the sea.

When director George Miller introduced us to the singing and dancing penguins of the Antarctic, the world fell in love with the tale of Mumble but can he repeat that all over again?

You would have never expected that in 2006 the director of the Mad Max series George Miller would turn his hand to animation. Many people forgot that he had already stepped into the family film arena with the two ‘Babe’ films but ‘Happy Feet’ gave him the chance to tell a story not just about singing and dancing penguins but also an environmental one. The film did extremely well and won the Best Animated Film at the Oscars. Setting new standards in animation and successfully mixing modern songs with a fun and informative story, a sequel was inevitable.

For the sequel we return to the Antarctic to discover that Mumble and Gloria have now have a son called Erik. The problem is that Erik cannot either sing or dance, much to the disappointment of his father and he runs away, only to meet the Mighty Sven and the penguins that now follow him. Of course, Mumble goes to find him and he has to fight for the attention of his son with the flying penguin Sven, lessons are learnt for both of them and high jinx occurs but the story does not have the same impact as the first film had because the environmental message falls into the background.

What the film does have going for it however is some excellent new characters however. Hank Azaria’s Sven is a welcome addition, adding some Swedish humour to the mix, Sofia Vergara’s Carman provides some romance for Robin William’s Ramon but it is Matt Damon and Brad Pitt as krill Bill and Will who are the stars of the film, as they go on a fantastical journey of discover away from the rest of the krill. With Elijah Wood returning as Mumble, Pink replacing the late Brittany Murphy as Gloria and Robin Williams having fun as Ramon and Lovelace, the characters are all their but unfortunately this time around the story is lacking.

‘Happy Feet Two’ is still a lot of fun for younger viewers but parents will struggle to enjoy it as much as the first film. The new characters shine however but it is just a shame that the environment takes a step back.

3D Blu-ray and the Blu-ray Triple Play contain the following special features:

DVD contains the following special features:

The Usher Home | Hush, Hush... | The Big Story | The Usher Speaks

Stuck @ Home | Coming Soon | Links | Contact the Usher

2011