False. I was really looking forward to a peppy, upbeat movie about a penguin that was "different" from the rest, somehow winning the affection of the other penguins. Well, I did get that movie. Unfortunately, I also got three other movies, all rolled into one incoherent package.
Not only do we get a movie about fitting in, but also a musical, an episode of the Twilight Zone, and a heartwarming nature conservation flick. George Miller, the director, must have put different plots into a hat, thrown the hat into a wood chipper, then collected the pieces and rearranged them arbitrarily.
If they wanted to make an environmental film, they should have done so from the beginning. Instead, they trick you into thinking that you'll care about this lovably different penguin, only to change course two thirds of the way through and start preaching about how we're killing off all the penguins by fishing in their waters and leaving soda pop rings on their heads. What does that have to do with a kids' movie?
Perhaps I'm too critical. Perhaps you are a fool.
In all honesty, it wasn't a bad movie by any stretch of the imagination. The animation was very good, and most of the characters were well developed. It just tried to do too much. I wasn't a fan of the sexual undertones throughout, nor was I pulled in by singing and dancing penguins. The baby penguins were pretty cute, but there was just too much singing.
The movie's premise of the penguin trying to fit in regardless of how poorly he was being treated was its biggest flaw. Life is not about fitting in with the jerks; it's about accepting yourself for who you are. If you like different things, you don't need to prove to others that your interests are legitimate. To heck with the penguin's love interest. If he needs to save the penguin race to gain her love, then she's not worth his time.
53 minutes into "Happy Feet", after a seemingly important event in the movie, I turned to Stef and said, "I don't know how they're going to squeeze 55 more minutes into this movie." Stef agreed. If they had ended the movie right there, you'd be reading a positive review. No such luck.
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