What Do The Critics Say?
"Once again, the message is about being yourself and the importance of interspecies cooperation. There are even nods to these universal themes in the dialogue and songs. I saw the movie in 3-D on the IMAX screen, but I don't think you need 3-D to enjoy the charming characters in this morality tale that's meant for all ages. If the original, Academy-Award-winning "Happy Feet" left you with your toes tapping, then you'll leave this one with happy feet, too. A warm-hearted sequel."
Linda Cook KWQC-TV
"The dance routines and deft song mash-ups that made the Oscar-winning original so novel are surprisingly unmemorable in director George Miller's return to animated Antarctica. The visuals are frequently spectacular and the environmental concerns are admirable, but this simply doesn't have the charm of the original."
Alan Jones RADIO TIMES
"As a philosophical krill on a voyage of self discovery, Brad Pitt single-handedly saves 'Happy Feet Two'. "Happy Feet Two" is really "Krill Tree of Life", a visually daring and splendid quest for knowledge in which the lowly krill ponders his position in the universe as: lunch."
James Verniere BOSTON HERALD
"All the ingredients we expect have been crammed into a fast-paced spectacle of an animation with singing, dancing penguins, a big-scale adventure with an eco-friendly theme and a moral that reinforces self belief and that it's okay to be different. If there's a quibble, it's because the storyline tries to incorporate too much with too many new characters that distract from the main event. Once again, the occasional integration of humans destroys some of the cinematic magic of a creature-filled icy wonderland. Nonetheless, youngsters and their families will be captivated by the show and the superb techno-whizzery never ceases to amaze."
Louise Keller URBAN CINEFILE
"While 'Happy Feet' focused on the tap-dancing Emperor Penguin named Mumble; this one spends more time with his little son Erik: who is simply irresistible. If one agrees that penguins in general are cute, Erik ups the ante considerably. I don’t want to give away the nature of Erik’s big moment, toward the end of the picture, but it’s one of the most surprising musical performances of the year."
Leonard Maltin LEONARD MALTIN'S MOVIE CRAZY
"Miller has gone bigger and better on everything: the stakes are raised, the risk is greater, the fears are bigger. As a result, the pay-offs are better and the highs higher. Even the songs sit more comfortably. Darker and scarier than its predecessor. Animated eco-friendly song and dance adventure."
Matt Neal THE STANDARD
"What Happy Feet Two lacks in robust narrative is made up in song and dance, which provides the thrills: as well as the stars of the hour, the krills. "
Lisa Giles-Keddie REAL.COM
"The cute factor rating remains high, with furry young penguin pups, a couple of bug eyed krills and saucer eyed seal pups joining the line-up. Comedy is scattered around, but so is drama, as the penguins cut off by a glacier face the threat of starvation. There is nothing too scary for youngsters, although some scenes might require consoling cuddles. As for the music, it's almost non-stop. George Miller has filled the film with music to make our feet happy, mostly with uptempo-contempo material."
Andrew L Urban URBAN CINEFILE
The Inside Story
In 2006, a movie came along that not only delighted audiences, but had them tapping their toes and singing heartsongs. "Happy Feet" was an unqualified global hit that appealed to critics and audiences of all ages. The film went on to earn numerous awards, culminating in the Oscar® for Best Animated Feature. It also fueled greater efforts for environmental and wildlife conservation and even entered the modern lexicon, with happy feet becoming a synonym for tap dancing, its star Mumble's particular talent. George Miller explains: "I often say that these stories are for the adult in the child and the child in the adult. I think one of the reasons why "Happy Feet" resonated is that it had a kind of nourishment to it, with the time-honored ideas of being true to yourself, being brave and trying to treat the world and yourself with respect. The idea for the story of "Happy Feet Two" actually began even as Miller and his team were putting the finishing touches on the first film. When you work on a film like that for so long, you actually fall in love with the characters. They became a part of your family. As you're thinking about them, new stories arise, which is what led to "Happy Feet Two". It was surprisingly easy to go back there, and so much fun hanging out with them once again." But Miller ("Babe"), who directed, produced, and also co-wrote the film with writers Gary Eck, Warren Coleman and Paul Livingston, aimed to do much more than simply return to Antarctica with Mumble, Gloria and the other penguins. "I think what a storyteller wants from every film is to have the audience somehow experience something that they can relate to, so that they can see their own lives through it. I think this new film: which is about family and community; gives them the opportunity to be able to do that through the characters of the penguins." In the new film, Miller wanted to imbue even more physical comedy and action, while staying true to the spirit of the first movie. "Happy Feet Two has all the singing and dancing and beautiful Antarctic landscape, but there are new characters of every dimension, from the largest scale to very tiny creatures," he says. In fact, the tiniest of the film‘s creatures are voiced by two of today‘s biggest stars: Brad Pitt ("Moneyball") and Matt Damon ("We Bought A Zoo") as Will and Bill, The Krill. Producer Bill Miller ("Babe: Pig in the City") elaborates: "We had to reacquaint the audiences with the characters they know and love from the first film, but we needed to take those characters and the audience somewhere different. And we had to raise the bar with the music and dance." As the story opens, the vocally challenged but choreographically gifted Mumble, once again voiced by Elijah Wood, and the golden-throated Gloria, voiced by Alecia Moore (P!nk), are parents. Mumble‘s own difficult adolescence, however, did not prepare him to be the ideal dad. His son is a fluffy fledgling named Erik, who seems disinterested in dancing, while the rest of the Emperor nation is movin' and groovin'. But when Mumble encourages him to try tripping the light fantastic, Erik simply trips over his own feet: landing him head first in the snow and the object of derision. Erik hides in shame, and Mumble‘s attempts to reassure his self-doubting son only make matters worse. The director observes: "Mumble is now a parent, and the tables have turned on him. Now he has the problem of being a father with a child who doesn't completely conform to the way Mumble thinks his son should be! And he truly wants to connect with his son. We all think when we become parents that somehow, we‘ll know how to do better than our parents did."
When "Happy Feet Two" begins, "It‘s party time," says George Miller, "and at the centre of everything are Mumble and Gloria. Gloria is singing, Mumble is dancing, and everyone is inspired by the rhythm and chemistry between the two." Mumble has grown up to be a respected leader within the Emperor penguin community. Elijah Wood, who returns to the role of the masterful tap-dancing penguin, whose unique talents have captured the hearts of so many, notes: "I knew that George would never do a sequel unless it was something that he felt was true to the original story and that there was another compelling story to tell." In fact, the same things that attracted the actor to the original film have been reprised in the sequel. "There are beautiful environmental themes throughout, pointing to the change that is occurring in our world now, and how it‘s affecting our precious animals. George handles it so well, just as he did in the first film. It‘s woven into the piece in an organic way, along with the themes of love and identity." If Mumble is the undisputed dance champ of Emperor Land, his mate Gloria is the undeniable diva. For the role of this powerhouse songstress, the filmmakers turned to Alecia Moore, also known as triple Grammy-winning recording artist P!nk. "P!nk was a natural for the role, and has been really superb," says director Miller ("Mad Max"). "She had sung in the opening of the first movie and wanted to be involved again because she‘s compassionate and a great animal lover. So for this one, in addition to voicing Gloria, she wrote the wonderful lullaby called "Bridge of Light", with Billy Mann." No stranger to a recording booth, Moore was a little nervous about making her voice acting debut. Watching other cast members helped. "I got to watch Brad and Matt not only record some of their dialogue, but they also had to sing. They just went for it, and I thought, 'Wow, I really have nothing to fear in there'." Producer Mitchell notes: "When it came to Alecia‘s turn to record, of course, she totally nailed it. She‘s a great professional and a lovely person." Another of Mumble‘s companions returns in the sequel: his best friend Ramon, the talkative Adelie penguin, who has been drawn to Emperor Land because he finds the senoritas altas alluring. Too bad they find him alarming. 1998 Oscar® winner Robin Williams ("Good Will Hunting"), who once again voices Ramon notes: "He is basically still the same incurable romantic. He still loves las chicas, but he has not found the bird of his dreams. And yet, he still has an image that he is a gift to all females, that they want him in the worst way." According to 2004 Tropfest winner Gary Eck ("The Money"), Williams "just brought so much to the table. He came up with these lines, and we sit there and you say, 'That‘s great! We‘ll use that!' Sure, we spent eight months coming up with that line, but you just made it even better in two seconds." Lovelace, the guru Rockhopper Penguin (who now sports a crazy rainbow sweater) is also voiced Williams. "Lovelace was rescued from an oil slick. There are folks who knit little sweaters for rescued penguins. Lovelace's is striped; he looks like a tiny colorful Rasta penguin." While Lovelace appears to occupy center stage in Adelie Land, he is actually now more the warmup guy than the headliner, having brought a new star to the Adelie community. Williams says, "Lovelace is now a kind of Foghorn Leghorn/Barry White preacher, and he‘s there to testify. Because it‘s Sven Time!" And who is The Mighty Sven? He‘s a flying penguin with a huge red beak and golden hair on the back of his head, who just looks magnificent! Oh: and he's voiced by four time EMMY Award winner, Hank Azaria.
"I knew nothing about the movie before I saw it," 1997 Screen Actors Guild Awards winner Azaria (Who co-starred with Robin Williams in the 1996 Mike Nichols American Comedy Award winning film, "The Bird Cage") revealed. "I couldn‘t believe I could be so moved by these computer animated penguins who were singing and dancing, but that's what happened. That's the main reason I really wanted to be part of this." And what can he tell us about his character, Sven? "He has this funny honking laugh. Sven is smooth. He was the ugly duckling where he came from, and he's worshipped here. He'd fit right into Hollywood, I think." Miller cast 2011 Image Award winner Sofia Vergara (TV'S "Modern Family") as the statuesque Adelie beauty, Carmen: a lady penguin with no shortage of of suitors. "I love her swagger, and she‘s very choosy," Vergara ("Four Brothers") says of Carmen. "She has a flock of men always around her, but she‘s waiting for that special guy who‘ll make a grand romantic gesture and just sweep her away." Emperor Land's elementary school teacher, Ms Viola, is once again voiced by two time Logie Award winner (1992 & '06), Magda Szubanski. Three time Australian Film Institute Award winner Hugo Weaving (1991,'08 & 2005) reprises the voice of Noah, the head elder of the Emperor Penguins. "I‘ve played a lot of different kinds of characters: assassins, villains, a Transformer, a drag queen; but it is rare that I get to play anything that comes near being cute. That‘s a character challenge for me, and one of the reasons I came back to work for Mr Miller." One of the film's biggest adventures is undertaken by its smallest characters. "It's the journey of two tiny krill, Will and Bill," the Director says. "They live in a great biomass of billions and billions of krill that move with the tides…they're the bottom and the basis of the food chain. Every animal up the chain relies on krill. And in the middle of these indistinguishable billions are Bill and Will, played by Matt Damon and Brad Pitt. Will decides that he feels he's different from everyone else around him and he ventures outside the swarm. Will wants to evolve higher up the food chain. Bill, on the other hand, is terrified. He just wants to stay and continue to behave exactly like all the other krill." 2007 Oscar® winner Miller was happy to have the opportunity to pair Damon and Pitt in the recording studio to capture both their irrepressible banter and their singing. "They were really very free, working off each other, because they know each other so well. Matt Damon can sing and Brad Pitt made it really clear upfront he couldn't." Oscar® winner screenwriter Damon ("Good Will Hunting") admitted: "The singing was a bit of a surprise. It was fun to just go for it and say, 'What the hell?' It's definitely not my strong suit, but I figured, you gotta go loud or go home." Miller says they "wanted different levels of humor in the film. You have the wild, flamboyant Robin Williams type of humor, which can go anywhere. We wanted the krill to have a different tone to their humor. One of the writers, Paul Livingston, is particularly good at that." "I‘ve been on the other side of the mic," Livingston recounts, "as the voice of a cantankerous rooster in "Babe" and a hot-headed chef in the sequel." Richard Carter (who played Craig 'Crusher' Knobes in the 2003 Jonathan Teplitzky film, "Gettin' Square") voices a massive elephant seal named Bryan (a.k.a. the Beachmaster). He's the Little John of the film: The Beachmaster backs up for nobody. There are other polar predators present and accounted for, including a fierce leopard sealand flocks of the large, vicious brown Skua birds, who would swoop down upon any baby penguin left unattended.
What's It All About?
 The sequel "Happy Feet Two" once again returns audiences to the magnificent icey landscape of Antarctica, only this time, it's even better, thanks to superb 3D. Mumble, The Master of Tap, has a problem on his flippers. Sadly his tiny son, Erik, is: it seems: a choreo-phobic. Try as he may, Mumble can't get his son to follow in his fathers toe-tappin' footsteps. Erik's problem is further compounded because, when he does try to dance, the result is so embarrassing. Reluctant to dance, the youngster runs away and encounters The Mighty Sven-a penguin who can fly! Mumble has no hope of competing with this charismatic new role model. Things get worse when their world is shaken by powerful forces. Erik will discover his father's has real 'guts and grit', as Mumble brings together the penguin nations and all manner of fabulous creatures: from tiny Krill to giant Elephant Seals: to put things right.
The Verdict
"At 108 minutes running time, "Happy Feet" was a crisp animated adventure featuring singing and dancing penguins, aliens (Humans) and a stunning Antartic setting. Despite its critical acclaim, the big dollars didn't roll in and in the end "Happy Feet" with a production budget of US$100 million, was only a moderate success at the box office taking just US$$384,335,608 worldwide. The 2007 DVD release fared better, rating #1 in the U.S.A. that year as the top selling DVD, beating off the likes of "Transformers", "Ratatouille", "Shrek the Third" and more. Five years later and we have a sequel, "Happy Feet Two". With a Boxing Day opening and a production budget of US$135 million, its performance at the box-office has been abysmal, taking a megre US$122,914,144 worldwide. So what's gone wrong? Well, it seems the kids prefer Chipmunks to Penguins. Latest boxoffice figures reveal the third 'munks' film; "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked" (which opened on New Years Day in Australia), with a production budget of US$75 million has taken US$$242,693,135. Let's face it, it's always a hard ask when it comes to making a succesfull sequel and, they rarely live up to expectations. The biggest problems I had with 'HF2' were: (1) while its run-time is 5 minutes shorter than the original, it feels as though one has been in the theatre for eons; (2) every time the film gets going, they interupt the flow with an 'antham' style song and (3), there are some distressing scenes that will not only frighten little kids, but also reduce some of them to tears. Aussie film critic Anders Wotzke notes: "unless you're a deliriously happy person with a serious foot fetish, you'd best give Happy Feet Two a miss." Parents will have to take a bullet when it comes to 'HF2' and do it for the kids. The team behind "HF2" may have thought the world was ready for a sequel, but that may have been wishful thinking. 'HF2" is little long with too many grating songs. 2 1/2 STARS."
Who's Voice Is That?
Elijah Wood
Pink
Robin Williams
Ava Acres
Sofía Vergara
Brad Pitt
Matt Damon
Hank Azaria
Richard Carter
Magda Szubanski
Hugo Weaving
Carlos Alazraqui
Lombardo Boyar
Jeffrey Garcia
Johnny Sanchez III
Benjamin Flores Jr
Common
Lee Perry
Elizabeth Daily
Anthony LaPaglia
Danny Mann
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Mumble
Gloria
Ramon/Lovelace
Erik
Carmen
Will the Krill
Bill the Krill
The Mighty Sven
Bryan the Beachmaster
Miss Viola
Noah the Elder
Nestor
Raul
Rinaldo
Lombardo
Atticus
Seymour
Wayne the Challenger/ Francesco/ Ebbbert/Leopard Seal
Multiple Voices
The Alpha Skua
Brokebeak
The Production Team
Directed by George Miller
Written by George Miller/Gary Eck/Warren Coleman/Paul Livingston
Characters by Warren Coleman/John Collee/George Miller/Judy Morris
Produced by Bill Miller/George Miller/Doug Mitchell/Martin Wood
Original Music by John Powell
Cinematography by David Dulac & David Peers
Casting by Kristy Carlson
Production Design by David Nelson
Art Direction by David Nelson & Lopsie Schwartz
Run Time 103 minutes
Rated PG [AUST]
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