Movie · 2006 · Animation, Comedy, Family · 1h 48m · PG · English
Curator score: 3.1/10 (689K ratings)
Everybody dance now!
Overview
Into the world of the Emperor Penguins, who find their soul mates through song, a penguin is born who cannot sing. But he can tap dance something fierce!
Ratings
Curator score: 3.1/10
IMDb: 6.4/10
Letterboxd: 3.06/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 76%
Metacritic: 77
TMDB: 6.2/10
Director
George Miller
Production
Kennedy Miller Productions, Animal Logic, Village Roadshow Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures
Cast
Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Brittany Murphy, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Hugo Weaving, Anthony LaPaglia, E. G. Daily, Magda Szubanski, Miriam Margolyes, Carlos Alazraqui, Lombardo Boyar, Jeffrey Garcia, Johnny A. Sanchez, Fat Joe, Alyssa Shafer, Cesar Flores, Danny Mann, Mark Klastorin, Michael Cornacchia
Curator Review
Verdict
A weird, ambitious kids movie with real visual imagination and a strong environmental streak, but also a messy structure and tonal overload. If you like animated films that are more eccentric than polished, it has enough personality to be worth a look.
Best for
fans of offbeat family animation
viewers who enjoy musical set pieces and dance-driven storytelling
people who like ecological fables with a surreal edge
audiences open to uneven but memorable studio animation
Skip if
you want a tight, cleanly structured story
you dislike broad comic relief and tonal whiplash
you prefer cute, conventional animated characters
you need a movie with subtle themes and restrained humor
Overview
Happy Feet is a strange, oversized studio animation experiment that often feels more interested in movement, texture, and mood than in tidy storytelling. George Miller brings a restless energy to it, and the result is a kids’ movie that can be goofy, grim, and oddly spiritual all at once. The tap-dancing premise is the hook, but the film’s real identity is its willingness to get bizarre and big-minded.
Worth noting
It is also a little unruly. The plot can feel overstuffed, the emotional beats are uneven, and some of the comic material lands better than others. Still, the movie has a genuine visual charge, and its environmental message gives it a seriousness that keeps it from feeling disposable.
Bottom line
For viewers who enjoy animated films with personality to spare, this is an easy recommendation. For anyone looking for a smooth, elegant family film, it may be more exhausting than charming. But as a piece of mainstream animation that dares to be weird, it stands out.
Top Letterboxd reviews
hunter strawberry (3★) · 4660 likes
tarantino's favorite movie
Karsten (4★) · 2659 likes
baffled at how many people hate this movie on here. it has some duds, absolutely. but leave it to george miller to make a kids movie this weird and big and gross and spiritual. i mean there is BARELY a plot but i couldn’t care less as a kid and i couldn’t care less now, this thing is too bizarre to fail most of the time. the crane crashing into the ocean moment is just a striking and weirdly ominous… more baffled at how many people hate this movie on here. it has some duds, absolutely. but leave it to george miller to make a kids movie this weird and big and gross and spiritual. i mean there is BARELY a plot but i couldn’t care less as a kid and i couldn’t care less now, this thing is too bizarre to fail most of the time. the crane crashing into the ocean moment is just a striking and weirdly ominous… more
James (Schaffrillas) (1★) · 2289 likes
I hate this movie's guts
Mitsi F. (5★) · 1431 likes
If you have this below a 4 star rating unfollow me I don’t want your homophobic eyes on my LB page
Spencer Tye (2★) · 1294 likes
I opened the DVD case for happy feet and Nacho Libre was inside