Happy Feet Two

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)