Happy Feet
Academy Award winning Australia produced computer animated comedy drama film on a emperor penguin
Happy Feet is a Academy Award winning Australia produced computer animated comedy drama film, directed by George Miller. Released in the US on November 17, 2006, it was 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. It does incorporate live action humans in certain scenes. The film was simultaneously released in both conventional theatres and in IMAX 2D format. The studio has hinted that a future IMAX 3D release was still a possibility. Happy Feet is the first animated film to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature after failing to win the Annie Award for Best Animated Feature.
Written by
Warren Coleman
John
Collee
George Miller
Judy Morris
Starring
Elijah Wood
Robin
Williams
Brittany Murphy
Hugh Jackman
Nicole Kidman
Hugo Weaving
Anthony
LaPaglia
Magda Szubanski
Steve Irwin
Production
The animation
in Happy Feet invested heavily in motion capture technology, with a 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. The dancers
went to Penguin School to learn how to move like a penguin, and also wore head
apparatus to mimic a penguin beak.
------------
SPOILER ----------
Plot
Maurice, Baby Gloria and Memphis
look on as Mumble's egg hatchesSet 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 couple,
Norma Jean and Memphis, pair up and produce an egg. The egg is left in Memphi'
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. Mumble has a astute talent for something none of the penguins
had ever saw before: tap dancing.
This ability is frowned upon by the colony's elders, who do not tolerate difference of any kind. Mumble is ostracized through his childhood, with only his mother and his friend Gloria to turn to for help. Mumble 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 the adélies 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 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 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 answers. Tracking his way back to Emperor Land, Mumble inadvertently causes a colony to begin dancing while trying to impress Gloria. Noah, the elder, sees the lack of fish as punishment from the Great Guin, their god, regarding Mumble's dancing. Following that, Noah then exiles Mumble from the colony; before Mumble leaves, he vows to Noah that he will find the real cause of the famine, and travels across vast territories with the Amigos and Lovelace, a self-worshiping rockhopper. Gloria tries to help him, but Mumble, out of fear for her safety, does whatever it takes to get rid of her - namely, insulting her singing talents. 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 preserve his legacy.
Mumble with the 5 Adélie Amigos.
Left to right: Néstor, Lombardo, Rinaldo, Mumble, Raul, and RamónMumble
ends up in a penguin exhibit at a marine park, and fervently tries to communicate
with the "aliens" (humans) who surround him. When his pleas fail, Mumble
nearly succumbs to madness after 3 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 runs 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 less 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 with five men in orange suits. The explorers film the penguins
dancing and dance along with the rhythm. They bring this footage back with them.
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.
------------
SPOILER ----------
Characters
Main characters
Mumble
"Happy Feet", voiced by E.G. Daily as a chick and Elijah Wood as an
adult, is the protagonist of the film. Mumble is different from his fellow emperor
penguins in appearance as well as in demeanor. His unusual behavior is not openly
accepted by his people, but eventually proves valuable for their survival. Mumble
becomes a hero among the other penguins. Savion Glover wore a motion capture suit
while tap dancing to record Mumble's dancing. Though Mumble does not sing, his
Heartsong may be "I Wish" by Stevie Wonder which plays during his tap
solo.
Gloria, voiced by Alyssa Shafer as a chick, and Brittany Murphy as an
adult, is the only one that appreciates Mumble apart from his parents and the
amigos. Knowing him from when he was an egg, she often protects Mumble from mocking
peers. Like most of the young male penguins, Mumble is infatuated with Gloria,
who is one of the most talented singers in his generation. Though she often feels
that Mumble is "embarrassing her" with his dancing, she eventually understands
near the end Mumble's passion, and that he couldn't possibly be forced to change.
Gloria's Heartsong is Earth, Wind, and Fire's "Boogie Wonderland".
Ramón,
voiced by Robin Williams, is an adélie penguin, and the head of the misfit
amigos. Ramón and the others befriend Mumble and help him on his journey
to the Forbidden Shore in his search for the "aliens." Ramón
also proves himself a talented singer and attempts to help Mumble to woo Gloria
with a Spanish rendition of "My Way".
Memphis, voiced by Hugh Jackman,
is Mumble's father and a caricature of Elvis Presley. When Norma Jean, his mate,
went off to fish, Memphis accidentally dropped their egg. Although Memphis quickly
retrieves the egg and tries to convince himself that no harm was done, it is implied
that this slip is responsible for Mumble's strange and non-penguinistic behavior.
Memphis never fully forgives himself for this early mistake. Although he desperately
wants Mumble to change, he still obviously loves him. When he allows Mumble to
go into exile, he goes into a deep state of depression. Memphis' Heartsong is
Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel". He finally decides he loves Mumble
as he is and soon begins to get into the tap dancing.
Norma Jean, voiced by
Nicole Kidman, is Mumble's mother and a caricature of Marilyn Monroe. She is highly
protective of her son and, despite his differences, she thinks of Mumble's dancing
as "cute," and emotionally supports him while others doubt him. She
has a distinctive small 'spot' of dark feathers on her chest, reminiscent of the
beauty mark on Marilyn Monroe's face. It is notable that the name "Norma
Jean" was also Marilyn Monroe's real name. Norma Jean's Heartsong is Prince's
"Kiss".
Noah the Elder, voiced by Hugo Weaving, is the oldest, and
allegedly wisest, penguin within the emperor colony, and is an acute stickler
for tradition. Noah speaks with a distinctive Scottish brogue. Accompanied by
several contemporaries which form a "council" of sorts, Noah is the
wizened leader of the colony, and he does not tolerate deviance in any form. He
evicted Mumble from the colony for his tap dancing and the belief that the dancing
had angered the penguin god, Guin, and had resulted in the famine. When he confronts
the aliens, he ends up giving in to tap dancing (badly) with the rest of his colony.
Lovelace, voiced by Robin Williams, is a rockhopper penguin, self-proclaimed
oracle of the adélie penguin colony, and a caricature of Barry White. He
charges other penguins one pebble in exchange for prophecies. He speaks in a deep
baritone, with the inflection of a stereotypical evangelical preacher. Lovelace
maintains a harem, and boasts of his power and sex appeal. He aids Mumble in his
quest to find the "aliens," and also serves as the narrator of the film.
For much of his screen time Lovelace is shown with a "sacred talisman"
around his neck; this is a plastic six-pack ring used to hold cans together. This
later proves a problem for him, as it starts to choke him about halfway through
the movie. He is freed from it during an encounter with killer whales.
Lombardo,
Néstor, Raul, and Rinaldo are voiced by Johnny Sanchez III, Carlos Alazraqui,
Lombardo Boyar and Jeff Garcia, respectively. Along with Ramón, they are
collectively known as "the amigos," a group of misfit bachelor adélies.
They admire Mumble's dancing as a way to impress the chicas and take him in as
a friend and equal. They accompany Mumble on his journey to the Forbidden Shore,
and keep the legacy of their friend alive long after he leaves to pursue the "aliens."
When Mumble gets banished from the colony, Néstor shows his singing talents
by performing a slow, sad version of "Leader of the Pack". Néstor's
singing is done by Dan Navarro, making him the only character not to have the
same actor and vocalist. Raul proves to be a talented rapper; when Gloria is singing
her heartsong, "Boogie Wonderland", Raul raps a verse in Spanish. Lombardo
and Rinaldo appear to not be talented enough to ever have a solo, but like the
other two they frequently sing backup.
Minor characters
Seymour is
an emperor penguin born of the same generation as Mumble and Gloria. He is voiced
by César Flores as a chick, and Fat Joe as an adult. His Heartsong is "The
Message," a hip-hop single by Grandmaster Flash. He is among the crowd of
males pursuing Gloria during her mating season. He and Gloria are teachers to
a singing class. He also bumps into Gloria and Mumble two times in the movie.
Miss Viola, voiced by Magda Szubanski, is a "Penguin Elementary"
teacher in the colony, responsible for a crèche which includes Mumble,
Gloria, Seymour, and others. She was the first to notice Mumble's inability to
sing. When she is listening to her students' Heartsongs, she claims to very much
enjoy Seymour's; during the "Boogie Wonderland" scene, when Seymour
has grown up, the two are seen dancing together. (though she is hard to recognize,
Seymour can be heard saying her name)
Mrs. Astrakhan, voiced by Miriam Margolyes,
is a highly respected singer in the colony. Miss Viola refers Memphis and Norma
Jean to her when seeking to remedy Mumble's lack of vocal talents. She speaks
with a strong Russian accent. She attempted to get Mumble to sing, but failed.
The Elders, voiced by Peter Carroll, Larry Moss, Lee Perry and Alan Shearman,
are a group of older penguins who serve as Noah's council, as well as filling
the role of his zealous watchdogs. Unlike other characters, they seem to have
no individual appearance; they all look exactly the same. They speak with exaggerated,
snooty English accents, except for one who has a French accent. They see Mumble
as a "bad egg".
Boss Skua, also known as Alpha Skua in some international
versions of the film, is voiced by Anthony LaPaglia with a heavy Manhattan accent.
He is the leader of a flock of Mafia-like skua gulls who attempt to eat baby Mumble.
He believes that he was abducted by aliens; the only explanation he can come up
with for the yellow plastic identification ring on his leg. He is accompanied
by three others, Dino, Frankie, and Vinnie, voiced respectively by Danny Mann,
Mark Klastorin, and Michael Cornacchia.
Trev, Nev, Kev and Barry, voiced respectively
by Steve Irwin, Nicholas McKay, Tiriel Mora and Richard Carter, are bull elephant
seals who give Mumble and the amigos a dire warning about the "aliens"
of the Forbidden Shore. They speak with ocker Australian accents.
The Leopard
Seal, voiced by Roger Rose; a leopard seal who attempts to eat Mumble after the
penguin is shunned from a graduation party. Only in the final moments of his role
in the film does he speak, and then only a single sentence in a low-pitched, grinding
voice.
Maurice and Michelle, voiced by Dee Bradley Baker and Chrissie Hynde
respectively, are Gloria's parents. They are a reference to the mash-up of "The
Joker" and "Everything I Own" on the soundtrack; "The Joker"
contains the lyric ...and some people call me Maurice; "Everything I Own"
was sung by Hynde. They stop Gloria from going after Mumble when he was force
to leave the colony.
The Albatross and the Blue Whale, voiced respectively
by Steve Irwin and possibly an actual whale, are two creatures that Mumble encounters
while pursuing the aliens. They warn Mumble that he is approaching the area where
the cold water meets the warm, and that it will be difficult to go back to Antarctica
if he chooses to cross the border. The albatross, who has an Australian accent,
is slightly skeptical about the sensibility of Mumble's quest, but chooses to
root for him, while the whale is convinced that Mumble should just give up. The
whale appears to only be able to express himself with whale song, however he can
understand both Mumble and the albatross, and the latter can also understand the
whale. Their scene was deleted early on in production and replaced with the elephant
seal scene, hence the similar dialogue.
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.
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. 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.
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 Louie,
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, bare a similar
role to that of Sam Beaver.
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.
The scene in which Mumble is chased by a manitee bears many similarities to
the Star Wars scene where a ship is flying out of the death star as it explodes.
The music played during the chase is also very similar to Star Wars style music.
Trivia
If you were to pause the scene where it zooms to the overhead
shot of the city, this is infact the city of Miami, FL. Upon closer examination,
you can see a American Airlines Arena and the Miami Arena just above it on the
bottom left of the screen. Although one would assume Mumble is contained at the
Miami Seaquarium, this is not the case since it located six miles South East from
where Mumble actually is.
Music
Main article: Happy Feet (soundtracks)
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 19th, 2006, respectively.
Awards
Won
Academy Awards
Best Animated Feature
60th British Academy Film
Awards
Best Animated Feature Film
Golden Globes
Best Original
Song - "Song of the Heart" by Prince
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
Best Music
Heartland Awards
The Truly Moving Picture Award
Kids' Choice Awards
Best Animated Film
Nominations
Golden Globe Award
Best Animated Feature
Annie Awards
Best Animated Feature
Best Writing in an Animated Feature
Production
Satellite Awards
Nominated for Best Motion Picture, Animated or Mixed Media
Home video
Happy Feet Fullscreen DVD discHappy
Feet was released on March 27, 2007 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.
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.
Video games
Main article: Happy Feet (video game)
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. Screenshots and demo clips of the various versions
of the Happy Feet game can be seen at the official website.
Reception
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 17-19) grossing
$41.6M and beating Casino Royale for the top spot. 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
$367 million dollars worldwide. The film has been released in about 35 international
territories at the close of 2006.
The production budget was $100 million.
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.
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."
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."
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."
Ebert & Roeper gave it two thumbs up. 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."
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."
Environmental message
The movie contains an environmental message:
although 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 overfishing in 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, "They
[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.
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."
Biographies of many famous footballers