Happy Feet 2
Rating: 6/10
Cast: Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Pink, Sofia Vergara, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Hank Azaria, Hugo Weaving
Director: George Miller
Back to the world of the dancing penguin for this latest computer animated outing.
Elijah Wood is back as Mumbles, who's now a dad to a brood of fluffiness and struggling to really work his penguin magic as a poppa to son Erik in Emperor Land.
However, when Erik runs away, Mumbles sets out to rescue him - but the fragile peace of Emperor Land is threatened by a large iceberg which cuts off the colony from the rest of the world.
Facing death, it's upto Mumbles and his son to try and do whatever they can to save the rest of their kind from starvation.
Happy Feet 2 is an okayish sort of kids' movie.
It's brightly animated, the environments look suitably chilly and beautifully animated but yet, it really does take a while to get into the story. It begins with a series of songs and dances which really showcase how well the animators can do crowd scenes but then shifts into a series of disjointed scenes and encounters.
The focus shifts from the penguins to a couple of krill (voiced by Brad Pitt and Matt Damon) trying to escape their swarm and change their lives. Again, these are beautifully animated but it stops any real flow of the story , reducing it to a series of meetings and moments between Mumble and various characters as well as he traverses the land trying to save his kin.
That's not to say the kids won't enjoy this; the colours are bright, the songs chirpy and effective and there's enough to keep them engaged throughout.
Happy Feet 2 looks adorable and scores highly in the fluffy cute stakes but all in all, while the kids will enjoy it, adults may find it a little difficult to keep them amused for 90 minutes during the Christmas break.
