Paul Jacobson

My wife and I saw Happy Feet this last Saturday night and it was great!  At the same time it wasn't quite what we expected to see, particularly towards the end.

The movie has great music and the characters are really well done.  Actually, I think the music was the highlight for me and seeing how it was adapted for the characters.  Hugh Jackman and Hugo Weaving were fantastic and we couldn't tell it was their voices behind their characters until we saw the credits start rolling.

The story is about a penguin called Mumbles who was unfortunately dropped as an egg during a difficult winter and when he finally hatched, he was a little different.  Mumbles is ostracised from the group and sets out to discover why the group has been going through such difficult times, something that has been blamed on him because of his differences.

In the process he discovers the reason for the hardships the local ecosystem has been experiencing (three guesses) and this is where the movie takes a diversion from the usual animated movie.  Happy Feet becomes a pretty bold environmental awareness piece that has a pretty strong and persistent message.  This is a movie that was intended to strike a chord not just in adults but the next generation and to inspire them to do things differently.

Tags: happy feet, environmental activism, penguins, mumbles, movie, ecosystem, fishing