Happy Feet
On first glance, Happy Feet may appear to be yet another empty-headed piece of seasonal fluff, but it is anything but. What it is, in fact, is a superbly persuasive piece of propaganda and one of the most bizarre mainstream cartoon features ever made. It is also the best animated film of the year; a tremendous achievement for Australian director George Miller (who also helmed the likes of Mad Max and wrote the screenplay for Babe).
Mumble the penguin was born unable to sing, which is unfortunate since Emperor Penguins find their soul mates through song. But he can tap dance, and throughout the first forty five minutes, he tries to win over Gloria, the love of his life, with his dance moves and the help of some hip Latino penguins from a neighbouring colony. So far, so animated Moulin Rouge; as Mumble and co belt out a number of well chosen classic pop songs.
But something is rotten in the State of Antarctica. Mysterious metal creatures have been sighted, birds with plastic tags on their legs complain about “alien abductions”, and fish supplies are running dangerously low. The Elders amongst the Emperor Penguins declare that Mumble’s subversive tap dancing has aroused the wrath of the Penguin god, and that is why fishing supplies are low. Mumble and his Latino chums are banished, but he promises to return with proof that the lack of fish is down to “aliens” and not the wrath of the Penguin god.
It is here Happy Feet takes a sudden turn into much darker territory, as Mumble and his friends take a dangerous journey to find the aliens, who of course turn out to be humans in their fishing fleets. There are moments here that will possibly scare younger children (such as a prolonged chase involving a vicious sea-leopard), and disturb older children (Mumble’s encounter with the vast ships and his subsequent emotional breakdown in the zoo). Some have criticized the film for this admittedly uneven and sudden shift in tone, but I don’t agree. Children should not be patronised. All the best children’s stories from early Disney’s such as Snow White and Bambi to modern classics including ET and Babe do not mollycoddle from the harsher realities of life, but instead empower children to help deal with them.
Not that this is exclusively a children’s film; there is plenty for the whole family to enjoy, as the likes of Elijah Wood, Nicole Kidman, Brittany Murphy, Hugo Weaving and Hugh Jackman lend exceptional vocal support to their computer generated alter-egos. There is some mild sexual innuendo that will go over the heads of the children, but nothing else offensive.
The animation itself is staggeringly good and proves that rare beast: a rival to Pixar. Snowscapes and oceans are stunningly rendered making terrific use of widescreen space, and provide a beautiful contrast with the vast hulks of steel and rust that characterise the human world. The Antarctic creatures from Elephant seals to the penguins themselves are magnificently and flawlessly characterised, allowing the audience to make the necessary emotional connections to the surreal setting and suspend disbelief. Oh, and it’s chock full of unforgettable cinematic images that will be rendered useless on television – such as a brilliant overhead shot of Mumble diving from a vast cliff then splashing into the sea and swimming away. So please, please, please see it at the cinema.
Environmental concerns such as global warming and over fishing have had unusual media precedence in 2006. Al Gore’s documentary An Inconvenient Truth has so far been cinema’s foremost contributor to this trend, but I suspect Happy Feet will win far more converts to the cause, given its huge box office success and appeal to family audiences. Al Gore’s hard facts and figures are no substitute for a cute little penguin who simply wants his fish, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if millions of children across the world suddenly take a much greater interest in environmental issues.
As far as I’m concerned, this is no bad thing. It is all too easy for Christians (especially American right wing neo-conservatives) to dismiss environmental concerns as being PC nonsense. Although environmentalist groups often over-egg the pudding by saying humans are not a part of the natural order, it doesn’t mean we are not guilty of fishing beyond what we need. The Bible makes it clear that we are to be good stewards of our resources, and to take care of the Earth. If left unchecked, the alternatives are very gloomy indeed. Towards the end of the film, someone is heard yelling “I don’t want to live in a world without penguins!” I couldn’t agree more.
Simon Dillon, December 2006.
