Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Happy Feet (2006)

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Posted by Brian Michael Weidemann (Member # 2243) on 11-15-2006, 05:04 AM:

This needed to be 3D. It was begging for it, many times. Without the 3D, I'd say the IMAX version is not particularly worth catching, unless you think a kick-ass sound system is worth it for such a music-based feature. When I actually see it in the auditorium, I can confirm or deny that. Even though it was 2D, it still seemed rather flat. It could have been crisper, but I think they DMR'd it like with any live action 35mm. The top of the image where it's masked off had this halo streak (digital sharpening side effect) through most of the feature. I wasn't too impressed.

And now on to the movie itself: I wasn't too impressed. Moral of the story (spoiler): It's okay to ostracize those different than you until it's to your benefit not to do so any more, because they'll save the day for you, despite the fact you never accepted them for who they are. Oh, no, wait, I looked at it from the wrong perpective ... let's rephrase: it's okay to be different, if you're true to who you are, and if you persist you can change the minds of those who never accepted you.

(More spoiler!) Mumbles NEVER learned to sing, yet everyone else learned to dance. Was he being ostracized because of his evil dancing? He never learned a lesson. He never changed. Who's the hero here? I guess stubborness will eventually pay off because once you show those elders that times have changed, they'll agree and go along with you.

The ending seemed quite out of place, but I guess they had to end it somehow. The movie was a tad long, and slightly slow in some parts, for a movie of this type. I'm not sure what to think of it.

The CG team has probably been patting themselves on the backs the whole time they worked on this. The choreography was involved, and the camera never stopped moving, panning, sliding, turning, spinning, whathaveyou. The lighting was neat. I was afraid the whole movie would look static, what with sky and snow and ice and water, forever. They did a good job bringing color in and out. Visually, I didn't get bored nearly as soon as I thought.

There were a LOT of songs in the arrangements and medleys. People will say this is cute. At least, that's what they'll be thinking they'll tell people, before the end of the movie, at which time they'll change their minds and think they'll instead tell people it WAS cute until the end, where it hits you across the head with a message.

Posted by Bruce McGee (Member # 131) on 11-17-2006, 02:08 AM:

I think that kids will be bored by its length, and scared by some of the action.

I saw it in my Dolby house. Sounded great.

A tad long.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 11-17-2006, 05:27 AM:

This one is definitely too long. I know I am trivializing the movie here, but just how long did the producers think they could hold an audience's attention with dancing penguins?

I didn't care about ANY of the characters. This was just overall boring. Chris Hipp probably liked it though.

1 out of 5 stars

Posted by Phil Blake (Member # 2012) on 11-17-2006, 07:20 AM:

well there is alot of people over here tipping it to be bigger than ben hur , the great animation epic of the century!! I watched the trailer and sat there feeling bored and thinking i hope the show is better than the ad , but now it looks like I am right , I is a boring load of rubbish.

Posted by Mark J. Marshall (Member # 1409) on 11-17-2006, 10:02 AM:

quote: Phil Blake
I is a boring load of rubbish.

Wow, Phil... you shouldn't be so hard on yourself. [Razz]

Definitely too long. By about 45 minutes. Hell, March of the Penguins was (if I remember correctly) 4 reels.

Parts of Happy Feet were funny, and the animation was pretty cool. It would have been a lot more entertaining in 3D, and if they had chopped two reels out of it, they might have had time to do it. I liked probably a little more than half of the music, and in a big theater it should sound pretty good. One complaint that I had was that all the penguins looked too similar. But since they were going for photo realistic on them, I'm not sure what else they could have done to make them more distinguishable.

I'm not sure if children will be able to sit still through this. We'll find out this weekend.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 11-20-2006, 01:02 AM:

Kids are seeming to have no problem with it here....we've had no walkouts and you can always tell by the "restroom traffic." Kids are liking it and so are most of the adults.

I had one old guy tell me last night that the movie was "too animated." Pretty hard not to come back with a smartass answer on that one, but I held my tongue.

My favorite part so far is the avalanche scene but I have a feeling this is going to fall in to my "I love this movie because it's putting butts in the seats" category. But we'll see.

Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 11-20-2006, 05:11 PM:

Once again we see how Brad has no taste at all in movies. Happy feet was by far the best penguin movie I have seen this year.

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 11-20-2006, 06:10 PM:

#2 in a series of all-penguin movies. Maybe we can start a studio that specializes only in penguin movies.

OK for kids. Message was a bit overstated, both messages. Could have had a clever plot twist like Gods Must be Crazy, but,alas, no such good luck. Louis

Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 11-20-2006, 06:31 PM:

for the record, I only base my opinion of this movie on the cuteness of the baby peguins.

Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 11-24-2006, 05:30 PM:

CINEMA: Megaplex 17 at Jordan Commons, Sandy, UT
AUDITORIUM: 8
PRESENTATION: Dolby Digital Cinema DLP
PRESENTATION PROBLEMS: None [Cool]

RATING: Two and one half stars (out of four)

PACKED house. We ended up with seats in the back row directly at the top of the stairs, which turned out to be great. UNLIMITED leg room. I am always amazed at how well an auditorium full of Utah children can behave through a whole movie.

This is a fifty-minute remake of "The Wiz" with another fifty-minutes of propaganda thrown in at the end. Was sharp, steady and beautiful to look at in DLP. That's pretty much its saving grace.

Wife #1 at the end..."So! Fish for dinner?"

Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 11-24-2006, 08:24 PM:

Well, Sam, when a kid has ten moms it is easy to keep them under control.

Posted by Kyle Anderson (Member # 3504) on 11-26-2006, 12:08 AM:

L
O
L

Yet another movie gratifying in the newest "hey kids, it's OK to be a deviant!" manner. Blech [puke]

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 11-26-2006, 12:23 AM:

Finally watched all of this tonight. Good sound mix, except in the mass vocals the lyrics were hard to understand sometimes. Not enough laughs for a comedy, though...they relied too much on Robin Williams (probably) ad-libbing.

The animation was great. I was particularly impressed with the use of water. The avalanche scene has "theme park roller coaster" written all over it.

The story....eh. There were too many characters to keep track of.

I agree it was too long. Since the NATO trailer volume initiative has failed, I'd suggest they should move on and adopt an initiative that no movie aimed at kids can be over 90 minutes long.

Overall: 3.5 out of 5 stars for me, with 1 star deducted for the reel that should have been cut. My wife liked it more than I did (which is usually the case with animal movies).

Posted by Chad M Calpito (Member # 3736) on 12-05-2006, 12:15 AM:

Well, I must admit that this is one really great flick. The animation was amazing, including the music. The film was played in Dolby Digital and I enjoyed the sound clarity. I thought Nicole Kidman did an excellent job singing. This movie did make me laugh with enjoyment. Even my girlfriend enjoyed this film.

Anyway, just like on one of the banners displayed in the theatre, "Prepare for Toe Tapping" and this movie did get me feet going. I would rate this movie 5 stars out of 5.

Posted by James R. Hammonds, Jr (Member # 673) on 12-08-2006, 04:55 PM:

quote:
Yet another movie gratifying in the newest "hey kids, it's OK to be a deviant!" manner. Blech [puke]

Not sure I follow you there Kyle.
When I think of a deviant, I tink of someone who INTENTIONALLY tries to be different from everyone else.
Mumble just couldn't sing, but had a talent that no one else had which is that of dance.
He was merely trying to be accepted by everyone else in spite of being different.
What's wrong with trying to teach kids to accept people for who they are?

As for the movie itself...

Happy Feet is marketed as a cute little movie about dancing penguins.
From the previews and commercials, you would think that this would be the focus of the movie.

I was not surprised to learn that Happy Feet would have a message of accepting others as they are.
After all, it is a good lesson to learn.
I'm all for teaching children that not everyone will have the same talents and abilities and that just because someone is unable to do something that most others can does not mean that that person will not be useful in other ways.
That should have been the main focus of the movie.
Instead, Happy Feet turns into an environmental propaganda piece, which is not what one would expect from watching the commercials.
Don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with the message.
There is nothing wrong with advocating against pollution and suggesting that we change the way we fish, but it almost seems like the viewer was intentionally mislead by Warner Bros. not being open in its advertisements that it would be propagandizing our children.
I can't really put my finger on it, but the more I think about it, something just doesn't seem right about the whole thing.

I guess the bottom line is that this movie should have picked one direction and went with it.
If it wanted to be environmental propaganda, it should have focused on that and should have been marketed that way.
What I would have preferred is what actually WAS marketed.
Happy Feet should have been a cute, fun little movie about dancing and singing penguins with a little lesson about accepting others for who they are.

2.5 out of 5 stars

Posted by Allison Parsons (Member # 2728) on 12-09-2006, 01:54 AM:

quote: James R. Hammonds, Jr
I can't really put my finger on it, but the more I think about it, something just doesn't seem right about the whole thing

well, you ARE talking about the director of this who also directed Mad Max and Babe Pig In the City, so.....

Posted by James R. Hammonds, Jr (Member # 673) on 12-09-2006, 08:27 AM:

I never saw either of those.

Posted by Carol May (Member # 4068) on 12-17-2006, 10:27 PM:

I thought the animation was amazing. I just saw March of the Penguins again, after HF, and the animated penguins were hardly different than the live ones.

Otherwise, snooze. I didn't bond with any of the characters. There were too many messages (acceptance, family, environment). And it was too long.

Posted by Peter Berrett (Member # 672) on 01-23-2007, 12:56 AM:

HI all

What is it about Australian directors and rehashing 70s tunes?

This film is not for kids and the themes are clearly directed at an older audience. I remain unimpressed by the idea of trying to produce something new by mixing and mashing old 70s and 80s hits. Yes There is a slight degree of originality but the end result, as in Moulin Rouge, is [puke]

The animation is good, I will grant the film that but i found the characters often decidely uncute.

Verdict 2 stars out of 5. Go see Flushed away instead.

Yes it really is a load of boring rubbish. Moulin Penguin.

cheers Peter