User reviews

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.

Mumble, The Master of Tap, has a problem because his tiny son, Erik, is choreo-phobic. Reluctant to dance, Erik runs away and encounters The Mighty Sven: a penguin who can fly! Mumble has no hope of competing with this charismatic new role model. But things get worse when the world is shaken by powerful forces. Erik learns of his father's "guts and grit" as Mumble brings together the penguin nations and all manner of fabulous creatures-from tiny Krill to giant Elephant Seals, to put things right. -- (C) Warner Bros

I thought HAPPY FEET was pretty great. The film was foot-tapping fun and the dark turn it took in the third act, while unexpected, made it edgy and different for me. When a sequel was announced, I thought it seemed unnecessary. How far can you really stretch the premise of penguins who can dance and sing? Apparently, not that far. After viewing the sequel, it very much does seem unnecessary and wholly forgettable within ten minutes after you walk out of the theater, which is disappointing to say the least. Other than this, the main problem with HAPPY FEET 2 is that there aren't that many good musical numbers as compared to the first one. Most of them are pretty mediocre. However, there are probably around three that range from good to great, one of which uses the song "Under Pressure," which is easily the best number in the entire film.

Another problem I had was the dark tone of the film. It's a bit TOO dark, if you ask me. You see the younger penguin characters constantly be put in danger which made the film very uncomfortable to watch, and what these characters go through in the film would probably traumatize them for life. The film also suffers from messy storytelling. For example, the subplot with the shrimp characters (voiced by Matt Damon and Brad Pitt) seems to come from nowhere and is out of place from the rest of the film. It also doesn't help that the characters are so damn annoying. As for the 3D, it's put to good use in some places but, overall, it's really unnecessary. The one good thing I can say about the film is the look of it, which is very beautiful. I also liked Pink a lot, who gives a boost for all the musical numbers she sings in, along with Robin Williams, who has a few great jokes up his sleeves.

Overall, HAPPY FEET 2 is a disappointment considering that I am a fan of the first film. Director George Miller doesn't seem to have his heart in the right place for this sequel compared to the first film. However, the film is slightly better then CARS 2 if that says anything.

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.

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.

Interestingly enough, I enjoyed this far more than I did the original "Happy Feet." I thought this movie had a much better developed and much more interesting (and even at times exciting) story, I thought that it had characters that overall were also better developed and most impressive was that it avoided the really in your face political message that characterized the first instalment. At the same time it held on to what worked well in the original movie - the superb animation and the good use of songs.

The story once again revolves around the colony of Emperor Penguins in Antarctica, and especially around Mumble, the dancing penguin who's now married to Gloria and has a son. While Mumble and son Eric are away, the colony gets trapped by shifting ice and faces starvation if they can't find a way out. Enlisting the help of Ramon's penguin colony, which now includes a little puffin named Sven, and a herd of elephant seals, Mumble sets out to save them.

It really did work well. The only think I found a bit awkward was the parallel storyline around Will and Bill - two krill who get separated from their swarm. That seemed an unnecessary addition to the story, and although the movie tried hard, I never thought the krill story fit into the overall story very well. Other than that, though, this was really quite well done, and, since I didn't really care for the first movie, it was a pleasant surprise. (7/10)

Before I review this sequel to Happy Feet, I actually looked at my comments on the previous one to refresh my memory of that one. So once again, Mumble is voiced by Elijah Wood but wife Gloria-previously voiced by the late Brittany Murphy-is now played by Alecia Moore (better known as singer Pink). Robin Williams is also back in his two characters, one of whom has a budding romance with a penguin named Carmen voiced by Sofia Vergara. Among added characters are those of Will and Bill the Krills as enunciated by Brad Pitt and Matt Damon. They don't seem part of the story at first but they will once the climax comes. Just about everyone I mentioned have some amusing and entertaining moments but things don't really pick up until the avalanche scenes come on. As before the highlights are when they dance and sing various pop songs especially when "Under Pressure" comes on. So on that note, Happy Feet Two gets a recommendation from me.

Happy Feet took home the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film of the Year 2007, but that film had everything - song, dance, comedy, drama, romance and of course the feel good factor. One would have thought that success meant a fast-track into getting a sequel out, but it actually took some 5 years before it actually did. George Miller assume the entire directorial responsibility this time round, with the story co-written by Warren Coleman, Paul Livingston and George Miller somewhat making this a little bit darker in tone, with much less comedy, with more of a dark, brooding overtone that hammers home its environmental message.

Gone are the colours and the more light hearted moments thanks to the Robin Williams voiced hippy penguin Ramon, who now takes a backseat to just trying his best to romance fellow penguin Carmen (Sofia Vergara), and in comes a terribly overt evangelistic feel with the presence of a new character The Mighty Sven (Hank Azaria), whom the penguins all worship for its flight ability, charisma and glib tongue. It cannot be more pronounced of the intent to show how these characters turn out to be nothing but false prophets, what with his miraculous ability of flight for a penguin, the rote religious preaches and sermons he gives, and not to forget the promise to deliver the emperor penguins from their current environmental plight, starting with the vast plans to provide fish for his new flock.

New characters also got introduced to expand the scale of the story now to involve the smallest of life forms with two Krills, Will (Brad Pitt) and Bill (Matt Damon), the former adamant in striking out on his own and to evolve from a non-conformist environment where they swim around and be sitting ducks to larger prey, while the latter is the voice of rational thought, and comfort, joining Will only because he has but one friend. And on the other end of the size spectrum, we have the Leopard Seals with nasty, combative attitudes, whom you'd identify as key to the plot in the third act once Mumble (Elijah Wood) starts to tap his happy feet.

Mumble is now all grown up and has a family of his own, with wife Gloria (voiced by the late Brittany Murphy in the earlier film, with singer Pink now taking over) and kid Erik (Ava Acres), a shy little one who neither can sing like his mom or dance like his dad, and becomes the prodigal son taking after his dad, well OK, the co-protagonist of this sequel. Why there's a need to have baby penguins boil down to the simple reason that they're cute, and will draw in the crowds. Much of the plot centres around how Mumble tries to connect with his young son, and finds it terribly tough to do so, but adversity no thanks to the threat faced by the entire Emperor Penguin community left stranded due to shifting ice, provides the opportunity especially when Erik can witness just how innovative and heroic his dad can actually be, compared to his idol Sven. Every boy needs a hero, and it works when one is close by.

Like the Ice Age franchise which is still going on strong, the message about saving our environment, and with that the species which are dependent on the preservation of their natural habitat, can't get any more pronounced in this installment, especially with carefully crafted sound design and visuals to warn just how fragile this balance is, through the multiple shots of icy landscapes breaking up at every opportunity. With kids and their parents expected to make a beeline for this film, the target audience's all set in taking home these none too subtle reminders. There's a stoic seriousness in the story, though balanced by both Brad Pitt and Matt Damon's Krill characters being nothing other than comedic fodder with their rapid fire dialogue exchange, and Pitt's Will being one of the most delusional animated characters for some time to come.

Some may frown at the religious overtones the narrative tended to dwell onto in the mid- section, and the many song and dance sequences and medleys that really padded up the film to a 100 minutes that felt longer than its runtime, but Happy Feet Two still had enough reserves in its tank to make it a wholesome family entertainer, though a lot more serious in treatment than its predecessor.

I was genuinely surprised to log on to IMDb and see such poor reviews of this film.

The last Happy Feet started well and just lost all momentum from the point where Mumble was taken into captivity. It became slow and terribly boring.

This film on the other hand was a treat. The characters were lovable and IDENTIFIABLE. I cannot grasp how people have such trouble recognising the characters. They make them thin, fat, or with blue eyes so you can tell them apart.

The story with Will and Bill the Krill was easy to follow and extremely humorous! This storyline was full of adult humour.

Overall the musical numbers weren't as good as Happy Feet 1 but there were more of them, further interspersed throughout the film and more recognisable songs. In Happy Feet 1 the songs dry up towards the middle. I would have liked to see more than just the boogie wonderland piece and this is what this film delivered.

Of course there were moral lessons jammed in. Thats exactly how Happy Feet one was but I felt that at least in this film they were slightly less contrived.

A very good film, despite all the critics.

Promoting responsibility to children is a great idea, however personification of penguins by having them talk while watching real footage of people eating chicken is a subliminal mind-game. The connection smooths the black and white into a grayish-sick.

The subject of the movie is far too deep for the young to understand, and too immature for the adults to enjoy; this movie sits on neither side of the fence, but sort of has a post up the middle! (Unpleasant) The voices and star's voices of Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Pink, etc. is what sold me. The cute pictures of penguins sold my kids, who lost interest after the third song... not at all the first Happy Feet. :( The producers need to do a serious sit-and-think before dragging the incredible first picture through another slaughter by creating a third.

It is very difficult to make an entertaining movie that has a lesson in the consequences of climate change on the Antarctic wildlife, just as it is always hard to live up to the original when you're a sequel. This sequel made the lesson entertaining but the film did not live up to the original. I really enjoyed the original and watched it many times over, I'm not so sure I would do the same with Two. The lesson in Happy Feet was clear cut and the scandalous humans did try to resolve the atrocity of depleting the penguins food source, but in Happy Feet Two nothing was really clear except that the polar icecaps are melting and now the Emperor penguins fully accept song and dance. Mumble (Elijah Wood) and Gloria (P!nk) now have had an egg of their own, and are now parents to Erik (Ava Acres). Mumble is challenged to be a good father and Erik is on a path of self discovery. The role of Gloria is filled nicely, her singing prowess made the opening Rhythm Nation production amazing, it was actually the most outstanding compilation in the entire film and would have been more fitting as the grand finale song. I unlike Catt was not thrilled by the krill, I have yet to figure out what the krill was the point of the krill storyline with Bill the Krill (Matt Damon) and Will the Krill (Brad Pitt) other than to add some big names to the film since Norma Jean (Nicole Kidman) and Memphis (Hugh Jackman) did not reprise their roles. I really liked what was happening with Ramon (Robin Williams) in this story, with the whole hatin' on The Mighty Sven (Hank Azaria) while pursuing Carmen (Sofia Vergara), the chase could have been expanded in place of the krill story filler. The movie just seemed to have a number of encounters loosely strung together with no outstanding purpose of it all, unlike the original with the fact that different can be the one thing that saves everybody. Maybe the message of this film was if humans venture to aid the wildlife and we don't succeed, they'll figure out a resolution to their problem themselves. Or when everyone works together to deal with a problem no matter how big or how small you are you can overcome any obstacle. Or maybe I just didn't get the point, which is why this film gets an amber light.

George miller gives us a pretty sleek family entertainer with awesome 3D and new characters Will the Krill,Bill the Krill,Atticus and much more.The plot is simple and revolves around Mumble & his kid Erik then there's just nothing all that special or urgent about any of it. The krills reminds the Ice Age's saber-toothed squirrel Scrat hunting for that pesky acorn,yet they did bring some of the funnier moments to the film.And for the music there are several pop remixes, of course, and songstress Pink (as Erik's mom)shows off her vocal chops, even as she reveals a limited acting range.The score, in a lack of imagination, also pilfers the classical music canon (somewhere, Puccini is rolling over in his grave).When it's not singing, the movie just yawns.

In a nutshell average movie and easily forgotten.

I want to start off saying that I liked the first Happy Feet. While it was not perfect, with a final twenty minutes(or so) that felt like a completely different movie, it was gorgeously animated and I loved the songs and choreography. I wasn't expecting the sequel to be as good, but I was not expecting it to be so disappointing either. Is it a terrible movie? I don't think so. The animation like with the first Happy Feet is simply spectacular, especially in the very detailed backgrounds. The characters are really cute looking too, then again I have always had a soft spot for penguins. The songs are also toe-tapping, with the best being Under Pressure, and the choreography dazzles, though I will be honest in saying that the first one in both areas was more memorable.

The voice cast do an admirable job, Elijah Wood is suitably humble and Robin Williams is quite good if not as funny but it was Hank Azaria who stole the show. I wasn't so sure though about Pink as Gloria, she didn't do too bad a job but while I can understand why it was a different voice actress as Brittany Murphy had died I found Murphy brought more likability and charm to the character.

On the other hand, the script feels thin here, nothing of note stands out, not helped by and the humour with the Krill felt out of place and unfunny to me. The Loney Goatherd yodel scene was the only one that made me smile at least. The characters I didn't like as much, there were too many to emphasize with and few of them charmed me in any way, Mumble is not as cute as he was in the first movie and his son Erik felt like one of those stereotypical "kid of hero/heroine" that you'll find in the Disney sequels for example, Lovelace is underused, Gloria is not as likable or as charming and the Krill despite enthusiastic vocal work from Matt Damon and Brad Pitt didn't amuse me in the slightest. In fact the sole bright spot was Sven.

The biggest fault though was the story. Granted the story was not the first movie's strong point either, but despite the thin structure and preachy final act it was still cute and grasped my attention. This sequel doesn't do that. It is glacially paced, has next to none of the charm of the first one, is too anti-climatic and worst of all it doesn't seem to know what type of story it wants to be. It relies too much at times on the musical numbers, has a pointless side-story with the Krill and for me the whole story here actually manages to be more heavy-handed than the final act of the first movie.

All in all, as much as I did want to like Happy Feet Two(and I am one of those who can understand why some will like it and some won't, likewise with the first), it was a disappointing and unnecessary sequel that has some things to like but has too many glaring flaws that sadly can't be overlooked. 4/10 Bethany Cox

Not as good as the first movie, but has its charms. Plot is a bit aimless, but the music is nice and there's a sweet innocence about the whole thing.

Voices, by a veritable who's who of Hollywood, are well done.

I'm probably the only person who likes this one more than the original. It is still not great though. The new characters like Sven and the elephant seals were interesting additions. It's optimistic how everyone works together but the story is still a bit flat.

I really enjoyed Happy Feet Two. The animation is truly amazing, akin to that of avatar if not better. I saw it in 3D which I highly recommend. The scenes with the Krill swarm are truly mesmerising. I found the story a little slow to start off with but once I got into it I really enjoyed it. In particular I found the Will and Bill characters (Damon and Pitt) enjoyable. It was probably not as funny as its predecessor but still makes for an enjoyable movie. I also enjoyed the 80s rock ballads and there is some great singing from Pink. I can't understand why the critics have been so harsh on this film I really enjoyed it and it is worth seeing for the animation alone. Well worth while for the whole family.

it was made good for the targeted audience. This movie had good lessons for kids. So if you are a parent I would let your child watch this. It taught kids that you can do what seems to be the impossible if you work together. It also teaches that things/people are not always what they seem. then there is a lesson with a father and son not seeing eye to eye. the story line is not all that good. it starts with the son running away and ends with them having to save the penguin colony. then there is what seems to be no reason for this kelp story. and they keep going to it and sure they somewhat interact with the main story, and you don't find out till the end that they are only in the story to teach you that one fish/person can change/save the ways of the people. similar to the one person can make a change in the world, its almost like they made the movie then realized that it was to short so they said lets add this, we can teach the kids a valuable lesson.

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