Review of Happy Feet Two (2011) by Garrett R — 23 Mar 2012

HAPPY FEET TWO is a wonderfully entertaining and enchanting follow-up to 2006's joyful and Academy Award-winning Warner Bros. animated film HAPPY FEET, directed and co-written by George Miller. Starring returning cast members Elijah Wood as Mumble, Robin Williams as Rámon and Lovelace, Hugo Weaving as Noah the Elder, as well as new cast members Pink as Gloria (replacing the late Brittany Murphy), Common as Seymour, Matt Damon and Brad Pitt as a mismatched yet existential-angsty krill Bill and Will, and many more have their part to play in HAPPY FEET TWO's narrative.

Mumble is a parent, and with Gloria they parent the timid Erik whose talent is yet to be discovered. After running away with his friends, Erik is sought out by Mumble and in so doing comes across many characters, including a flying penguin named Sven (voiced with hilarity and sincerity by Hank Azaria). From here, the story sets in motion its key events and introduces characters that will play a big part in HAPPY FEET TWO. Those parts are best to be discovered, as the perilous adventure Mumble and Erik undertake with their friends is visually astounding and emotionally resonant to its core themes of family, friendship, music, and loving yourself as well as others.

While George Miller packs a lot more plot into HAPPY FEET TWO than the first, in this case the more is truly merrier because the frenetic pace of the humor and the musical numbers in conjunction with the story which includes valuable life lessons and is enhanced by subtle overtones of co-habitation with nature and climate change.

The subplot of Matt Damon and Brad Pitt's krill characters, and the way in which their journey is incorporated into the main narrative, is nothing short of smile-inducing and just plain fun. Each time they're onscreen, many solid one-liners ensue and ridiculous but somehow topical conversations on the food chain and such things maintains the viewer's interest and stays well within the viewer's patience and funny bone.

HAPPY FEET TWO is more of a stand-alone film than a continuation of the first. While the story does feature many of the same characters, the story and the whole production is developed enough to be taken into account on its own merits. The infectious fun, smile-inducing music and humor, and the moving moments that HAPPY FEET is known for is here yet is capitalized unashamedly with its subtle climate change overtones to not be in-your-face.

HAPPY FEET TWO is guaranteed to give burgeoning families a fun movie night, especially on Blu-Ray (or the exceptional 3-D version) and for fans of the first who are curious as to know how good the second is in relation to the first. It is cut out of the same cloth as the original, but it is wonderfully entertaining and enchanting in its own right to be categorized seperately on its own terms.