![]() Much like how Scrat is a mostly unrelated character in the Ice Age films and exists for mere comic relief brilliance, Will the Krill and Bill the Krill steal each scene they appear in. Instead, Matt Damon and Brad Pitt appear as two brand new characters: a pair of krill who decide to leave their swarm together to set out and explore the world. I remember really liking Robin Williams' characters in the first installment, but here even he just doesn't add much to the film. It just makes no sense to blend real actors with animation in a film where animated penguins are singing and dancing to songs like "Ice Ice Baby" and we're supposed to accept that this merger of two worlds is sensical. It's also very evident that these humans aren't good actors and while that gives good reason for them to never utter a single word, it just feels bizarrely out of place to include non-speaking humans in roles that never display any kind of real merit or redemption. Sadly, it didn't work then and it works even less now. Apparently director George Miller decided somewhere between completing Happy Feet and crafting Happy Feet Two that adding MORE live action footage to the film was a great idea. Many films have agendas and messages they hope to get across, but these Happy Feet films have been anything but subtle about it). It's important to be conscious of how we care-or don't care-for our planet, but guilt-tripping kids through movies isn't the way to do it. But just like in the first Happy Feet film, the humans are painted as environmental demons who eat birds and drown others in oil spills (Sure, people are often careless with how they take care of the environment, but I don't see the point in trying to make casual moviegoers and children feel responsible for things happening in the artic that we have no control over. It was a means to try to ground Happy Feet in a sense of reality, but the problem is that the universe that the characters of Happy Feet reside in are much too cartoony to possibly pass off the notion that they coexist with us in the world as we know it. There was a sequence that blended real-life human actors with the animated CG elements of this film. One thing that irked me about the first film is reused for this installment as well. Again, that's fine if that's your thing I suppose, but it does often feel a bit out of place in a kids film-particularly the hip-shaking hip hop tunes (and it feels pretty forced for penguins). Hip hop, rap, pop, R&B, and, yes, opera are all here. ![]() Of course, dancing and singing become a big part of the plot-whether it makes sense or not-and if you didn't enjoy that aspect of the first film, you're going to really hate it here (as did I). In addition to that, we have somewhat of a "continental shift" where a large block of ice crashes into the home of the penguins, trapping them in a valley that threatens their very existence-which just feels too much like Ice Age 2. That alone brings a sense of been-there, done-that, but this only worsens as the plot progresses to include a character that leads the masses to believe he's something that he isn't, only for them to find that out at the most inopportune moment ( Rango, anyone? Even Chicken Run, too). ![]() It continues the music-centric plot device that involves most of the characters from the first film, except this time around, baby Mumble is now a father to his own little guy, Erik, trying to figure out where he fits in life. There's little present in Happy Feet Two to justify its existence. why?Īfter watching this penguin movie sequel, the question still stands. So when Happy Feet Two came to fruition, I couldn't help but wonder. While the 2006 animated penguin musical, Happy Feet, was somewhat of a success, it didn't seem at all like the kind of movie that needed a sequel. When it comes to sequels, movie studios are too-often greenlighting unnecessary ones. Movie Reviews (Main) > Movie Reviews (Main). ![]() Indie Reviews (Main) > Indie Reviews (Main).
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