Happy Feet 2

First of all I want to say this, I really like animation films and I actually liked this more than the first Happy Feet. The characters felt more developed and they went through a more interesting journey. This film aims to tell to children not to lie and how important the friendship is. However I have been astonished when I have seen rude comments on Happy Feet 2. I think people are being too harsh on this movie. Some critics refused to look deeper because this is not their usual type of child animation film. I am actually shocked while reading some of the scathing reviews. Also, I think people are being too hypercritical because the first Happy Feet won the Oscar. I loved this movie and I found it far superior to Rango, Gnomeo & Juliet and Cars 2. The animation was amazing. In my opinion, it has the best production values and cinematography of any animated film of 2011, I have watched lately. The story is in-depth, layered, complex and much more meaningful than the first Happy Feet. Also, there are significant themes and messages about community, teamwork, bravery, overcoming obstacles and environmentalism. I laughed, cried and felt such empathy for these penguins because this movie has a lot of soul and heart.

I just watched this movie at a close preview in TIFF, Toronto. I really like it, for it brings a fresh wave with it's story, characters and overall look. A lot of animation movies nowadays share quite a similar way of storytelling, and that's where Happy Feet 2 stands out from the crowd. Characters of Matt Damon and Brad Pitt worked out really well. Graphics and effects look really awesome. George Miller commented on the amount and complexity of those effects by saying that their render farms almost crashed in the process. Also I'd like to comment on 3D part of the movie, because it does really work out here, looks beautiful with 3d glasses on - gives real depth, really amazing experience. And I can't say the same for a lot of 3D movies that are out there. I would definitely recommend this movie, for Happy Feet 2 will be interesting for both children and adults.

I love this movie. It's about Mumble (Elijah Wood) and Gloria's (Pink) baby penguin named Erik (Ava Acres) who wanders off from all the other penguins. His father, Mumble tries to find him and while he is gone a big iceberg blocks the penguins from going anywhere. Anthony's video review here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_2LiIaHRbY

My favorite characters are Mumble, Erik and two krill named Will and Bill (Brad Pitt & Matt Damon). I like Mumble because he is really funny and he sometimes gets mad at Erik. I like Erik because he tries to get his father to take more chances and he is almost always happy. I like the two krill because they show how friendships take work. They split up in the movie, get lost and then find each other again and make a stronger friendship.

My favorite part of this movie is when Will and Bill start tapping on the ice from underneath - kind of like how Mumble taps on the ice from above. Then, a whole bunch of other krill join in and they light up the ice with all of their tapping. I think this is really cool because it is neat to see all the lights and how they actually do that.

The animation and special effects in this movie are really cool. When the krill light up the sea, that is really cool. When some of the ice goes tumbling down the effects of that are really neat. The animation in this movie is awesome. The penguins look very real and they do a good job at making them talk.

I recommend this movie for ages two and up. This movie does have a few scary parts that might be frightening for kids younger than two. For example, when one of the elephant seals falls into a big hole his kids get really scared because they think he might get stuck down there forever. That part made me a little nervous. This is a great family movie that shows happiness and friendship. Go out and see this movie when it comes out in theaters on November 18th.

Reviewed by Anthony Aranda, age 9, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic

Happy Feet is definitely one of those films that doesn't need a sequel but it has a purpose to give us an environmental message and that message became the main plot of this film. But for some reason, it's unnecessary. Extraneous characters like the Krills. There's nothing much to do with this. Just a lot of unnecessary things scattered throughout. The visuals are largely stunning and still has its powerful tone but even with those things, it still falls short.

The first Happy Feet movie sets with a powerful tone and an absurd but interesting premise. That was acceptable as a penguin movie. Happy Feet 2 has its similarity with the first one by the father-son relationship. The rest is all about the crisis of the climate change but unnecessary things are happening especially with the two Krills, Will and Bill. They appear like Scrat from the Ice Age series. They are funny though but again, unnecessary.

The film itself is also unnecessary. The problem of Mumble's tap dancing was already solved. They lived happily ever after in Antarctica since the "aliens" moderated their fishing. The climate change is a really good idea. But after the movie, it feels like it's just another sequel. Well, the movie never fails to its cast. Elijah Wood and Robin Williams did the same thing in the first movie but still good in this sequel. The newbies, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon are both fun even though they are playing the most extraneous characters of the film. Pink and Common are good replacements. What happened to Fat Joe? And the last but never the least is Hank Azaria who nearly steals the show.

The movie gives some nostalgia and powerful tone from the first movie but it doesn't help at all but the visuals are really stunningly beautiful. Keeps the film large and worth it to the cinema and 3D. Realistic textures to make it look like it's Animal Planet but the elephant seals looks cartoony in some part but it's still good to look at. The songs are decent.

There are only two reasons why this exists. Environmental Propaganda and money. It's the 21st Century of Hollywood and they are somewhat running out of ideas. With all of their technology and talented filmmakers, they can make as many unnecessary sequels as they want. The Environmental Message is stuck in the plot but there is nothing wrong with that. Happy Feet 2 is not a bad movie. It's just unnecessary.

I was really looking forward to seeing this film and it did not disappoint. Although Happy Feet Two was not as good as its Oscar-winning predecessor, there were still plenty of toe-tapping moments. I liked the fact that the songs were recognizable. I am sure that L. L. Cool J is just tickled pink that they included his "Mama Said Knock You Out". In this film Mumble (Elijah Wood) is all grown up and learning how to be a better father to his son Erik (Ava Acres). Erik was just the cutest little thing and he pulls at your heart-strings right from the beginning. The main story line was a good one, but I think that I found the story between Bill the Krill (Matt Damon) and Will the Krill (Brad Pitt) even more entertaining. Those two had their own thing happening. I liked the way that the writer (George Miller) had two stories going on at the same time and the fact that they blended together in the end was excellent. I think that you have to have a lot going on to keep the attention of kids these days. I did not see this film in 3D, but you could tell by some of the scenes that the price of a 3D ticket might have been worth it for this film. The animation in this film was simply stunning. Animation has come a long way since Casper the Friendly ghost (I'm dating myself, huh?) Anyway, it was great. It was also refreshing to see the development of numerous female characters in this film such as Gloria (Pink) and Carmen (Sofia Vergara). I have to give props to the ladies. Robin William's character, Ramon had me cracking up throughout the film. It is not surprising that Robin really knows how to make his characters stand out since he has done numerous voice projects in the past (Genie in the Aladdin films, Dr. Know in A.I. and Fender in Robots). This film contains numerous life-lessons that I think that the target audience will understand (one person can make a difference, keep your promises, don't run away from home, etc.). If you enjoyed the first Happy Feet, then you will also enjoy this one (just not as much). Anyway, I say put on your dancing shoes, shake a tail feather and go out and see this film. I am giving this film a green light.