Pondering Happy Feet -- Does Big Box Office Equal Happy Parents?

I took my older kids to see it, since they thought it looked funny and cute. It was neither. We laughed at one our two lines and after watching the penguin dance once or twice, we were pretty much bored with the rest of the film. Its not one that will grace our DVD library when it becomes available.

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I absolutely agreed with your review... but then that's not what this comment is about, is it :)

I took my 6yr old to see Happy Feet and from the get-go was taken aback by the sexually overloaded tones of the opening scene. It was cheesy too, but mostly the whole Memphis/'Mama' thing was kind of uncomfortale to watch.

Later, and don't think there were not other sexual inuendo and scary moments (for the wee'uns) i was again surprised by the Lovelace character. The girls, the choking... heck the Orca scene even creeped me out a little and i'm all growed-up. It was interesting to see the way they worked the zoo with real people, however the 'global changes' scene was completely stupid and the ending was, well, a good hard hammer-on-nail bang that reminded me i'd blown over thirty dollars on this piece of mis-advertised plop.

Thankfully i saw The Fountain a few days later and thankfully it left me so curious and thoughtful that i totally forgot about the preachy/horrific Slappy Feet.

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If you came in 3 minutes late, went to get popcorn when Lovelace was choking and left when Mumble swam after the ships you saw the best kids movie with animated penguins. Sure a few parts were a little tense (my wife jumped at the seal), but for the 8-15 yr olds it was pretty good.

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My children and I actually enjoyed Happy Feet overall. They are 8 and 12, and I am still a kid at heart, and love to watch movies with my children.

However, I do think the ads for the film were rather misleading. All of the ones I have seen only show cute, cuddly penguins singing and dancing. And that will appeal to younger children. But I also think the fact the movie had a PG rating should have been a red flag for parents of small children. I always try to do some research on movies my kids wish to see.

After the leopard seal chase, a young boy behind us asked his parent, "Can we go home now?"

I knew before we went that the movie had an environmental theme to it, but it was a much heavier message than claimed by the movie makers. There was a sense of it almost being two different movies combined into one. I didn't like the way the movie presented the zoo. Most of the major zoos around the world are proponents of animal conservation and protection, and make people aware of species they might not know exist and need help.

As for the overt sexuality, I didn't seem to see the same things others have posted about. After all, a great theme of the movie was about the penguins finding a mate by singing their heart song. I found the opening between the parent penguins to be rather campy. And I wasn't aware of the Lovelace stuff. I thought that was just Robin Williams' personality.

I was more offended by the Elders being portrayed as puritanical, stiff-minded religious zealots. To me, that is as much of a stereotype of evangelical Christians by movie makers as a stereotype based on culture or race.

At the end of the movie, most of the audience was moved to applaud spontaneously. Most movies we go to don't have that effect.

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the ads were incredibly misleading. i walked into this movie thinking it was going to be a fun, amusing, hilarious penguin movie.
im a teen, but i still believe im a kid at heart. im prolly the only one in my circle of friends who still goes out and sees the latest cgi kids or family film opening weekend.
that being said, i thought 'happy feet' was the worst cgi feature i had ever seen. not an exaggeration. it was unfunny and even though it was only 90 minutes, it felt so long and dull. i was seriously happy to be leaving the theater. it amazes me how this film managed to be number one again because it shouldnt be word of mouth.

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I went with my two grandchildren and felt the film was terrific--highly entertaining with great music and enough tenderness to touch the heart.

The producers took the subject of penguins that live a very harsh existence, surviving to reproduce in the most extreme environment, and created an upbeat and beautiful story--

My hunch is that your survey is somewhat skewed at this point and that most felt as I did--at least I hope it is so.

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First some bg on me: I'm a 15 year old filmmaker form Vancouver, BC. [also featured on Cinematical on Nov.4th ;)]

This film was AMAZING, and I don't care what others say. Everything, from the cinematography to the photorealistic-ness of it all was a real testament to what's possible with today's technology. Some parts were so effectively creepy, and the fact that this was made by a visual effects company was evident by the flawless water and environments. I really 'felt' like I was in Antarctica, away from all humans, and the water just 'felt' cold, something very rare in films; to actually be able to communicate environments and scale so well.

I'm so happy that the ads didn't tell the whole story - that would have ruined it for me, I think - the last bit of the movie was so jarring an unexpected, in the best way possible! I was so happy that the filmmakers didn't shy away from showing kids some stuff that they did near the end there (I really don't want to ruin it for anyone), but I can honestly say that that was extremely inspiring and, as a teen filmmaker myself, just taught me what a big difference camera moves can make while communicating story and emotion.

Overall, an excellent film, and definitely a recommended see! Should you take your kids to it? Be warned: If you do, all other animated films may seem too simplistic and boring. Elijah Wood + Robin Williams are great, and DANG can Brittany Murphy SING! That said, there are some pretty scary bits for the cinema, I guess, but this may be one of the first movies I actually buy on DVD. And maybe buy a nice, BIG HDTV for. Yeah. A nice, big HDTV.

-Mr. Noodles
http://www.mkpmedia.net/films

P.S. As for the innuendo, it's INNUENDO. If the kids, don't get it, they won't. If they do, then they already know what's going on and you may have bigger things to worry about ;)

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Took the 5 year old to see this, knowing full well that it was PG and had some scary stuff.

The 5 year old enjoyed it. Laughed when things were funny. Scared when things were scary. The environmental message, call it heavy handed if you must, went right over her head. After the movie: Can We Go to McDonalds? Got a filet o fish no less!

This movie is successful not because of "misleading marketing" but because its a movie both parents and kids can enjoy together, though for different reasons.

And I know someone without kids who saw it. Don't forget, the director did Road Warrior, and there are many scenes reminiscent of that movie here, in tone and in theme ("barren wasteland" anyone???).

I think you worry too much. Let people see it and decide for themselves - it is "cinematic", and worth seeing. The kids will either not get the message, or have something to talk about with their parents. if they do. Good thing, right?

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I saw the film over the weekend and enjoyed it. I read the comments on your initial review of the film before I saw it. I think people are forgetting that this movie was rated PG and not G. Even though PG is considered a family-friendly rating, every single PG film has stuff in it that may not be appropriate for little children. Even then, Happy Feet is certainly tamer than some other PG-rated animated flicks.

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Remember how angry people were at the choking dog in Babe: Pig in the City? Here George Miller goes and does it again, only with a penguin. I'm not a parent, but I'm so glad I didn't have a kid with me when I saw this one. Didn't mind the propaganda, but did it have to be so clumsy? I'm frankly terrified about the fate of the oceans, and anyone who isn't, isn't paying attention (have a look at the article about acidification of the oceans in the Nov 20 New Yorker, and maybe you'll be up worrying at 3 am, like me.)

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I thought it was a long and boring film filled with bad ethnic stereotype voices, mostly by Robin Williams. The sexual overtones and environmental heavy-handedness didnt really bother me at all as a parent, the fact that I paid so much for such a crappy movie did. And the worse thing is that my kids were very bored and asked to leave before then end of the movie. It was close to the end so we stayed but I think the worse part is that the reasons we went in the first place was because my 4 year old asked, and that was mainly due to the marketing, via television and fast food chains. In the end he liked the cheap toys from Burger King much better than the movie.

I don't blame the movie business I blame myself and a gullible public who attend this crap, we need to stop going to stop more from being made.

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I went on Thanksgiving with my 6 year-old niece. The theater was packed with parents and kids. I personally thought there were a lot of scary and very dark, almost ominous scenes. We almost left a couple of times, but I was hoping for a lighter ending. The dancing and singing was very cute and I notice this weekend March of the Penguins was on TV. Probably a better bet this season.

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I took a friend to see this the first Sunday it was out.

Now granted, we are both in our 40's, but we laughed so hard we cried. We gasped and jumped when the seal started to chase Mumbles through the water...

We LOVED that OUR music was all though out the film. We kept leaning toward each other saying.... Who did that song... I think it was Queen...

Then ending was NOT heavy handed.... Heavy handed would have been a LOT longer, and would have shown more meeting rooms and people spouting their "opinions" instead of getting things done.

At least this film HAD a message...most of the annimated films out today don't, and we, as adults, need to be reminded that it is NOT "all about us", but that there are others, human and non, that need and deserve our respect.

That said, I loved ALL of it. Have recommended it to EVERYONE I know. (Even those who are afraid of penguins due to childhood drama)

I bought the sound trac yesterday, and will Most Certainly buy it when it comes out on DVD.

Oscar for Best Annimated film.... (with or without a message).

Blessings to All.

PS: I totally agree with the PS by Mr Noodles - Post #6

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"As for the innuendo, it's INNUENDO." Says Mr. Noodles.

Well, from where I was sitting it was clearly a visual suggestion of INYEREND-O rather than the more subtle version Mr. Noodles suggests. For those whose minds (God bless 'em) are still as pure as the driven snow (pun intended), let me point it out: the little sliding about dance the two young penguins did at the beginning, as they crashed into each other repeatedly, had them colliding together in various sexual positions. I had come in late with my two children and that was the first scene I had the pleasure of witnessing.

I didn't appreciate the Lovelace scene too much either, when he declared it mating season and disappeared over the snowy nest with a gaggle (what are a group of penguins called anyway?) of girls, while he asks, "which one of you first?" or something to that effect.

I did find some of the jokes funny; the animation was very good, but all in all the story line was goofy, and the ending scenes where the problem is all solved is really stupid and overly simplistic. I would much rather have waited and rented it on DVD.

Lest anyone accuse me of expecting too much, might I remind you of the cost of taking your kids to the movies when I say I bloody well OUGHT to expect much! I thoroughly enjoyed other animated movies with my kids, such as Ice Age and Finding Nemo, among others, and was glad we watched those on the big screen.

Anyway, I appreciate the chance to speak my piece. I surfed on here because I was looking to see if others were taken aback by the sexually suggestive scence at the beginning, and found this site immediately.

KC

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Have seen countless children's flicks...Took my children 4 and 7 over Thanksgiving. I was stunned! No plot, not funny, too long & terrifying scenes for little ones (attacking birds, sea lion attack, orcas attack, insanity in zoo etc..) Music & Robin Williams was only thing that made me like it as an adult. The explicit sex talk, behavior, lyrics etc. was over the top---capped off by heavy political, anti-religion, environmental, racist stereotyping...need I continue? I'm doing my best to spread the word to other parents to not waste their money. I anticipate the ratings, reviews and rankings will soon illustrate my point--it simply sucks.

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My Mom and I took my 3 and a half year old son to see this movie yesterday afternoon.

As Mr Noodles said, the inuendos were there, but my son didn't have a clue what was going on nor do I think any other kids would unless they have been exposed to something that they shouldn't have been. I always think when I see things like that in what is supposed to be a "kids movie" it is there to give us adults a little giggle.

If anyone has seen March of the Penguins you will notice that the opening scenes are exactly what the penguin mating season is all about. There is no fiction and it was almost an exact replica of the documentary. "Mating season" is precisely what it is, a term commonly used on National Geographic, so if you're offended by it I suggest you avoid nature documentaries.

As far as the story line being too deep, I would have to say that it is important for children to understand the reality of the destructive practices that humans perform every day and the effect that it has on wildlife and the environment. I am not a tree hugger, but I recycle and am conscientious of the role that I play in there being a world for my great great grandchildren to enjoy.

Leopard seal chases, sea gull attacks and orca's are all part of a penguins life and part of the food chain. Is it a harsh reality, sure, but reality nonetheless and my little guy hasn't lost any sleep over it.

I think the animation was great, the combination of animation and real people was amazing and I was glad to see that it had a happy ending.

Two thumbs up.

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Texas Mom,

I saw March of the Penguins, more than once, and I don't recall any female penguins sauntering around with inflated boobs, singing seductively (although, to be fair, I don't speak "penguin"), nor did I see any male penguins going off with their harem of babes. The issue I have with the sexuality has nothing to do with sex as such or the nature of mating. It has to do with the misogynistic view of sex that permeates this film.

I didn't like this film for much the same reason that I loathe the Bratz dolls -- they both present messages about females and sexuality that I don't want my kids (the boys or the girls) to internalize as normal.

In the same way, I don't want my white kids getting the message that the penguins on the "wrong side of the tracks" are Latino. Stereotypes about race and the roles of women aren't what I want my kids seeing.

As for the violence, a 3YO is not as likely to be affected by that as a slightly older child. Night terrors are common in 4-6YOs because they are more aware of the violence in their world and the fact that people get hurt and die. I wouldn't expect a 3YO to be as scared of the sea lions as a 5YO. My own 5YO was terrified, and even my 7YO, who loves Star Wars and Power Rangers, found it scary.

It's not always about whether or not a message
is "over their heads" or not -- it's about the values children absorb without even realizing what is being fed to them. Kids pick up a lot more than we sometimes realize.

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I took my 10 year old son to see "Happy Feet". I had head all of the people up in arms over both the environmental and homosexual messages allegedly in the movie.
Come on- every animated movie has to have SOME sort of appeal to adults- that may be slightly over kid's heads- I'm pretty darn savvy and had to really work to see the homosexual overtones. Like one of the reviews says-that's just Robin Williams' schtick these days.And as for the environmental message- what is the problem with telling our kids that this is something that is going on in the world- no matter what your stance is- although I don't know many anti-Earth people...it just teaches respect for things that you may not see or have direct contact with. Like E.T, and creatures from outer space...no harm done-hopefully some good. All my son came away with was how cool it was to have real humans in a cartoon and the cool music.

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