It is what it is. A shamelessly “cute” movie about dancing/singing penguins that no one will remember in a year’s time. Since the movie also didn’t do much at this weekend’s box office, I think we’re looking at the last of the Happy Feet franchise films and that’s probably for the best.
What Works: Some great arctic scenery that I never get tired of even if I’ve seen it before, plus the singer Pink has a nicely sultry voice for such a generic kid’s film. And there’s one subplot in this movie that really works: Brad Pitt and Matt Damon as worthless krills having a mid-life crisis on the search for something greater. It’s almost as if they’re searching for a better movie to be in, and they really deserve one. If Puss from Shrek can get a spin-off, so should these surprisingly soulful krills.
What Doesn’t: Robin Williams doing his 400th wacky animated sidekick. [Enough said about that.] Also, the entire movie is really kick-started because Mumble the head penguin’s bratty son won’t listen to a fucking thing his dad tells him and almost gets them both killed numerous times. And there’s something shamelessly manipulative about watching cute, cuddly penguins sing and dance stale pop songs (very stale, it’s like a song is covered first by American Idol, then by Glee, and finally by a Happy Feet movie), as if the movie is daring you to hate it while coasting on cute factor alone without any real soul.
What I Would Have Done Differently: Regular readers of Alabama Liberal know that I’m just not going to advocate making a sequel when you could make an original movie. It seems to me that a much better movie could have been made by not following the penguins at all and focusing on the rogue krills desperate for evolution.