Rating: Grade: C
Score: 6.4/10
Family-Friendliness Scale: Level 3 (OK)
Kids ages 7+
Animal Logic's first animated film received major critical attention, including one Golden Globe and one Oscar for Best Animated Feature (the only non-Pixar film to win that honor).
Positive Notes
Looking at the film, the story conveys some good positive messages on friendship, family, self-sacrifice,
bravery, being yourself, and accepting oneself for who they are. The end of the film also sees some nice environmental messages about penguins and their habitats, which is very similar in nature to March of the Penguins (with the difference of animation vs. reality).
The animation sparkles, looking very realistic, and the penguins are very neatly designed. The humans shown towards the end of the film are some of the most realistic I've seen in an animated film. The voice cast is also top-notch, with Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, and the late Brittany Murphy standing out. John Powell, one of my personal favorite composers, does an excellent job with the film score.
Negative Notes
Among the negative notes, the songs have some bright spots (with Stevie Wonder's "I Wish" being the biggest highlight), but they happen way too often during the first half of the film. Also, some of the smaller penguins are a tiny bit annoying. Some dangerous situations involving a mildly scary leopard seal chase and omnious-looking avalanches will scare young children. Romance and mating season are mentioned quite a few times, while the penguins' religion (and a god named "Guin") seems to be a mockery of Christianity. Language gets no worse than "darn" and "gosh", but they are repeated several times.
Conclusion
Happy Feet does offer some inspiring moments, and the animation is nice. But its' only barely enough to save an average movie that has enough eye-rolling moments that parents may be a bit confused about it being kid-friendly.
