Because penguins in a kids film hasn't
been totally over done!
The original Happy Feet. Sure, it featured an all star cast. Sure
it won many awards. Sure it has pretty animation. But is it worth a
second watch? No, not really. This is why this movie exists.
This time around the ice-berg, Bumble (Elijah Wood), returns all
happy-like in Emperor Penguin land. Oh, and in between movies, for the
first time ever, Elijah Wood, I mean Bumble, has gotten laid. Meet
Eric, or as I like to call him, pointless ball of cutesy fluffiness.
However, thanks to Global Warming, the South Pole's ice caps are
starting to melt, resulting in grass forming on the outer edges of
Antarctica (even though the only soil is buried miles inland under snow
and ice!). This leads to a giant iceberg crashing into Emperor Penguin
Land while Bumble runs after Eric, who has disappeared along with his
Nephew, Atticus, and another penguin who I do not remember if he was
named.
So while The Emperor's are getting cornered by the 'Berg, the three
boys run off after Ramone, from the 1st movie, who is bummed about not
finding a woman. He eventually brings the boys to another penguin
colony lead by another returning character and a bird pretending to be
a penguin named Fan. Fan is basically worshipped because he can fly.
Bumble eventually does catch up to them and promptly takes his boys
back. Meanwhile, Ramone falls for a beautiful penguin his size whom he
would stalk for the rest of the movie.
it won many awards. Sure it has pretty animation. But is it worth a
second watch? No, not really. This is why this movie exists.
This time around the ice-berg, Bumble (Elijah Wood), returns all
happy-like in Emperor Penguin land. Oh, and in between movies, for the
first time ever, Elijah Wood, I mean Bumble, has gotten laid. Meet
Eric, or as I like to call him, pointless ball of cutesy fluffiness.
However, thanks to Global Warming, the South Pole's ice caps are
starting to melt, resulting in grass forming on the outer edges of
Antarctica (even though the only soil is buried miles inland under snow
and ice!). This leads to a giant iceberg crashing into Emperor Penguin
Land while Bumble runs after Eric, who has disappeared along with his
Nephew, Atticus, and another penguin who I do not remember if he was
named.
So while The Emperor's are getting cornered by the 'Berg, the three
boys run off after Ramone, from the 1st movie, who is bummed about not
finding a woman. He eventually brings the boys to another penguin
colony lead by another returning character and a bird pretending to be
a penguin named Fan. Fan is basically worshipped because he can fly.
Bumble eventually does catch up to them and promptly takes his boys
back. Meanwhile, Ramone falls for a beautiful penguin his size whom he
would stalk for the rest of the movie.
 |
| AHHH! Real monsters! |
Along the way home, Bumble crosses paths with a stubborn elephant seal
who, due to his stubbornness, gets himself trapped. As his kids are
watching the whole time (the elephant seal's and Bumble's), this
proves to be perhaps the most emotional part of the movie. Bumble
pulls off a daring rescue, and in return the elephant seal owes him
big time.
When he returns home, Bumble tries multiple methods of clearing a path
and getting food. It takes all of the other colony of penguins,
including all of the elephant seals, to break the ice. In the process,
Fan is revealed to be... a bird (even though penguins are birds). He
is sort of shamed, but his contributions help him gain some respect
back. After several musical numbers, the ice is broken and all is
happy.
Along the way, we also get an interesting point of view from two
krill, who break off from their swarm and act as this movie's Skrat
(from Ice Age), always sticking just on the side, while experiencing
much the same events, from a whole new perspective.
Visually, this movie is stunning. The krill side story, while being
better Skrats than Skrat, due to their size, also offers a whole new
perspective only possible in HD that will blow your mind. Seeing every
flake of snow in the ground is an amazing experience few are tiny
enough to see, at least from a pair of eyes. The writing works. It
presents very adult, serious themes, while the animation and younger
characters add a cutesy charm that will still draw in the kiddos, and
keep them from getting scared. The musical numbers are fantastic,
having the penguins dance and sing some of the best parts of modern
pop music, paired with state of the art CGI in mindblowing HD (which
actually would look pretty good in 3D). Overall, a very good,
entertaining movie.
who, due to his stubbornness, gets himself trapped. As his kids are
watching the whole time (the elephant seal's and Bumble's), this
proves to be perhaps the most emotional part of the movie. Bumble
pulls off a daring rescue, and in return the elephant seal owes him
big time.
When he returns home, Bumble tries multiple methods of clearing a path
and getting food. It takes all of the other colony of penguins,
including all of the elephant seals, to break the ice. In the process,
Fan is revealed to be... a bird (even though penguins are birds). He
is sort of shamed, but his contributions help him gain some respect
back. After several musical numbers, the ice is broken and all is
happy.
Along the way, we also get an interesting point of view from two
krill, who break off from their swarm and act as this movie's Skrat
(from Ice Age), always sticking just on the side, while experiencing
much the same events, from a whole new perspective.
Visually, this movie is stunning. The krill side story, while being
better Skrats than Skrat, due to their size, also offers a whole new
perspective only possible in HD that will blow your mind. Seeing every
flake of snow in the ground is an amazing experience few are tiny
enough to see, at least from a pair of eyes. The writing works. It
presents very adult, serious themes, while the animation and younger
characters add a cutesy charm that will still draw in the kiddos, and
keep them from getting scared. The musical numbers are fantastic,
having the penguins dance and sing some of the best parts of modern
pop music, paired with state of the art CGI in mindblowing HD (which
actually would look pretty good in 3D). Overall, a very good,
entertaining movie.
 |
| He's "friendly". |
I'm surprised this movie didn't get more attention than it did. This
movie completely and utterly blows the first out of the water. There
is very little I would change about this movie. It's good for kids,
it's good for adults. They've pulled a Kung-Fu Panda, folks. The
sequel is better than the original. And looking at all the hardware
the first Happy Feet got, that's saying a lot. Check this movie out if
you need to burn two hours with your kids, and don't have a Pixar
movie on hand. Because really, Happy Feet Two is at that level of
quality.
is very little I would change about this movie. It's good for kids,
it's good for adults. They've pulled a Kung-Fu Panda, folks. The
sequel is better than the original. And looking at all the hardware
the first Happy Feet got, that's saying a lot. Check this movie out if
you need to burn two hours with your kids, and don't have a Pixar
movie on hand. Because really, Happy Feet Two is at that level of
quality.
Happy Feet Two gets 6 stars out of 6.
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