Fresh and Exciting

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Happy Feet 2 (2011): Dir: George Miller / Voices: Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Hank Azaria, Alecia Moore, Sofia Vergera: Pathetic followup to the popular kids animation that seemed released on the heels of March of the Penguins. This sequel is disappointing with its evangelistic take on the Mighty Sven. This is disturbing and its target audience will not likely get it. Elijah Wood voices Mumble whose son is inspired by the Mighty Sven. This bothers Mumble but he does manage to save a father elephant seal. Robin Williams voices Ramon who finds love. The only characters of interest are Sven, voiced by Hank Azaria who is actually a puffins who fakes as a flying penguin, and two krill who seek adventure outside their normal environment. Plot melts away faster than ice in a microwave, and the climax is actually not as surprising as it should be. It involves glaciers moving and thousands of penguins trapped in a snowy valley unable to climb out. Mumble is not very interesting, and Ramon is more or less Williams doing standup. Araria brings life to Sven who means well but has a concealed past. Alecia Moore voices Gloria, Mumble's romantic other and although it is great to hear her beautiful voice in song, the role is cardboard. Sofia Vergara also lends her standout voice to this animated junk. Directed by George Miller who made Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome and Babe: Pig in the City. He is experienced in this sort of genre and is backed with stunning animated visuals, but the only feet that will be happy are those shuffling towards the exit after the film. Score: 2 ½ / 10

I only really loved this movie because of the main characters. This does not include Sven, however. I thought the sequel was rather darker than its prequel, but I loved it because of Mumble, Gloria, and Erik. I hated Sven as a character because I just thought he was a waste of the movie. He seems to think he can get everyone's attention in emperor land by making himself a fool! Trying to fly isn't the best way to make friends with an emperor penguin, especially if your a puffin! The elephant seals were very mean and selfish. There were too many other penguins in the story, and not enough of the five amigos! What is up with that?! It was as if the movie was crammed with too many characters. I wished they had focused more on the main ones that were in the first movie. Erik and Mumble were trying to get closer to each other, and I thought it was very touching that little Erik sung to Mumble at the end of the movie. This I thought was the best part! I loved Gloria for her singing talent, and let me say, she seems a bit tougher in this sequel! Mumble even seems a bit tougher also, although I have no idea why his fluff grew back! I love him with his fluff though, so it's no big deal! I thought the messages given were very good, but there were just too many characters in the movie that I didn't care for. Erik is the cutest little penguin you will ever meet! He was why I couldn't stop watching the movie anyway! If only they would have added more scenes with this little penguin, but it seemed as if the movie didn't contain enough of him. I was upset by some of the rude comments about how the music was unnecessary. Well, it just goes to show how nice people are when they judge a spectacular voice that they are jealous of! The music was beyond fantastic in my opinion, and to be honest, I listen to the songs all the time! There was a big chunk missing from the movie, and that was the way beginning. It seemed as if they cut out the beginning in my opinion. I love penguins, so that is why I love both Happy one and Happy Feet two!

I rented this film before renting the first one to see how they compare and this one is on par with the first with some of its aspects better than others.The characters and backgrounds here are just as realistic as those in the first although it's environmental message isn't quite as valuable or memorable as that in the first. While Elijah Wood and Robin Williams reprise their roles as Mumble, Ramon and Lovelace respectively, Pink replaces Brittany Murphy (who sadly passed away in 2009 aged just 32 - RIP) as Gloria, so it is forgivable that Gloria's singing voice differs significantly here from that in the original but it is instantly recognisable. Her song 'Bridge Of Light' (not your average angsty Pink song) to encourage Erik to find more fish for the colony whilst being trapped by a giant iceberg is beautiful as well as the scene that accompanies it. Although it takes place at night, it is more detailed than the 'Somebody To Love' scene from the original and still has the lovely Northern-Lights style effect illuminating the sky. In addition to 'Bridge Of Light,', the best ones were the opening medley of 'Dance And Shout,' a version of 'SexyBack,' 'Ain't Nobody,' 'Do Your Thing' and 'Rhythm Nation' as well as a cute rap from one of the baby penguins; 'Under Pressure' during the climax; 'We Are The Champions (that's three Queen songs performed in the 'Happy Feet' franchise!)'and the amusing sing-songs of 'Dragostea Din Tei' (AKA the 'Mai a hee' song that everyone was singing back in 2004 - oh, the memories!) by Sven and 'Wake Me Up Before You Go Go' and 'Never Gonna Give You Up' by Bill the Krill. Further to the new characters, Erik is adorable but he looks very similar to baby Mumble in the first film and reminds me of a the typical Disney sequel offspring (especially Melody from 'The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea' since she wanted to be a mermaid while Erik wanted to fly like Sven); Sven is a hoot with a distinguishing Swedish accent albeit his involvement with the 'Liar revealed' cliché when he reveals he can fly because he's a puffin, not a penguin; while Will and Bill are comical side characters with a roller-coaster friendship. As for Carmen, she was pretty forgettable apart from being Ramon's love interest but she has a seductive Spanish accent. While Will, Bill and Sven were the funniest characters here, I chuckled when at the beginning of the film Mumble encouraged Erik to dance but Erik refused, Mumble said, "say why" to which Erik replied, "Why." As with other sequels, there are some elements of this one that are similar to those in the first such as Mumble spoiling the opening musical medley and the inclusion of real humans, this time on a boat to save Sven and Lovelace. The choreography is not as prominent as that in the original but Mumble still executes it perfectly.Overall this is a worthy follow-up to 'Happy Feet' with its character and background designs and musical numbers as its redeeming merits. 8/10.

Both the films were a disappointment from me. The first one was more depressing than this one. However the only thing I found cogent in this was the story line was somewhat reasonable. The first part was utterly disgusting. What I think now the primary reason for my disliking the film to be the dancing along with those irritating voices of singing songs together. The film cannot be liked by a mass audience and can be liked by a special category only. Looking on the positive side it is unquestionable that the animated penguins looked to be lifelike. I have not seen such lifelike characters before. All in all for me this dancing musical series is a great disappointment for animation fans."Watch at your own risk."