A few years ago I sat down one Christmas and watched Happy Feet with my mum and dad, and Mr. TBaM with a baby The Boy asleep on his shoulder. It is one of those loveable, modern animated films which is good for all the family to enjoy; singing, dancing, cute penguins and an underlying ethical and green issue. The film had been a firm favourite of mine since release and we even have a dancing Mumble upstairs!
On Monday 26th March, Warner Brothers released Happy Feet 2 on DVD and they sent us a copy of it, along with the original and a few other bits and pieces, to review and enjoy.
The story behind this sequel features Mumble's son, Erik who has difficulty mustering the same enthusiasm to dance as his father has. Erik needs to work out his own place in the world of singing and dancing penguins, making new friends, learning some life lessons and encountering a few ecological issues of his own along the way.
The Boy and I settled down to watch Happy Feet 2 yesterday and he was instantly captivated by the dancing penguins in the opening scenes. With Pink as Gloria and the magic of computer animation, you can't really go wrong with the song and dance numbers, and The Boy laughed at the penguins singing and dancing their way through the film. I chuckled a great deal at seeing Brad Pitt as an out-of-luck krill and the cast of many did not disappoint throughout the film.
How can you go wrong with Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Hank Azaria, Alecia Moore (Pink), Brad Pitt and Matt Damon headlining the cast? I loved the humour, the very big green message woven throughout and the clever mix of live action filming and animation.
Happy Feet 2 is available from Monday March 26th 2012.
