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 Location:  Home » Kids & Family » General » Happy Feet (Full Screen Edition)November 23, 2008  


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Happy Feet (Full Screen Edition)
Happy Feet (Full Screen Edition)
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Actors: Peter Carroll, Richard Carter, Savion Glover, Nicole Kidman, Anthony Lapaglia
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD

List Price: $19.98
Buy New: $1.88
You Save: $18.10 (91%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $1.88

Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars(541 reviews)
Sales Rank: 966

Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Full Screen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 108 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.6

MPN: WARD112088D
UPC: 085391120889
EAN: 0085391120889
ASIN: B000MV9026

Release Date: March 27, 2007
Theatrical Release Date: November 17, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Editorial Reviews:

Description
In the great nation of Emperor Penguins, deep in Antarctica, you're nobody unless you can sing - which is unfortunate for Mumble (ELIJAH WOOD), who is the worst singer in the world. He is born dancing to his own tune...tap dancing. As fate would have it, his one friend, Gloria (BRITTANY MURPHY), happens to be the best singer around. Mumble and Gloria have a connection from the moment they hatch, but she struggles with his strange "hippity- hoppity" ways. Away from home for the first time, Mumble meets a posse of decidedly un-Emperor-like penguins - the Adelie Amigos. Led by Ramon (ROBIN WILLIAMS), the Adelies instantly embrace Mumble's cool dance moves and invite him to party with them. In Adelie Land, Mumble seeks the counsel of Lovelace the Guru (also voiced by ROBIN WILLIAMS), a crazy-feathered Rockhopper penguin who will answer any of life's questions for the price of a pebble. Together with Lovelace and the Amigos, Mumble sets out across vast landscapes and, after some epic encounters, proves that by being true to yourself, you can make all the difference in the world.

Amazon.com
For anyone who thought the Oscar-winning documentary March of the Penguins was the most marvelous cinematic moment for these nomads of the south, you haven't seen nothing yet. Happy Feet is an animated wonder about a penguin named Mumble who can't sing, but can dance up a storm. George Miller, the driving force behind the Babe (and Mad Max) movies, takes another creative step in family entertainment with this big, beautiful, music-fueled film that will have kids and their parents dancing in the streets. From his first moment alive, Mumble (voiced Elijah Woods) feels the beat and can't stop dancing. Unfortunately, emperor penguins are all about finding their own heart song, and the dancing youngster--as cute as he is--is a misfit. Luckily, he bumps into little blue penguins and a Spanish-infused group (led by Robin Williams) and begins a series of adventures. Miller has an exceptional variety of entertainment: Busby Berkley musical numbers, amusement-park thrills, exciting chase sequences (seals and orca lovers might like think otherwise), and even an environmental message that doesn't weigh you down. Best of all, you don't know where the movie is going in the last act, a rare occurrence these days in family entertainment. A fusion of rock songs, mashed-up and otherwise, are featured; this movie is as much a musical as a comedy. Mumble's solo dance to a new version of Stevie Wonder's "I Wish" by Fantasia, Patti, and Yolanda may be the most joyful moment on camera in 2006. --Doug Thomas

On the DVD
There are two new animated sequences, which aren't incorporated into the film. One's a half-minute hackysack-themed bit, but the other is a good-looking, two-minute scene featuring the late Steve Irwin as an albatross, who, with Mumble, encounters a blue whale. "Dance Like a Penguin: Stomp to the Beat" is hosted by Savion Glover, whose dancing was motion-captured for the film, but other than a couple basic tips, it's pretty much a demonstration rather than a lesson. In addition to the two music videos (Gia's "Hit Me Up" and Prince's "The Song of the Heart"), "I Love to Singa" is an appropriately matched 1936 Merrie Melodies cartoon in which a young owl ruffles feathers by wanting to sing jazz for his classical-music-loving family. --David Horiuchi

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Customer Reviews:   Read 536 more reviews...

1 out of 5 stars it'll get better later on, it can't be this bad the whole way through...   November 17, 2008
That's what I told myself as the film unfolded in all its lameness:
- the adult penguins are incredibly ugly (and not in a cute way), I figured the movie would quickly move away from them, but no, they kept showing up
- the hordes of black and white penguins in an arctic environment, way too much white, and the huge numbers were offputting, I was counting on the action to move somewhere else, a tropical island, etc. (I don't care about realism in kid films, I want entertainment). But no, WAY too much of the movie was just penguins on ice, and huge crowds of ugly penguins
- even the main character Mumble, he was halfway cute as a kid but then he quickly grows up into this rather uninteresting, not very cute penguin
- the music was mostly cheeseball
- the plot was scattered, trying to be a modern version of Dumbo but failing, some of the chase scenes were way too scary for small kids

This is the worst kids DVD I've ever bought. My mistake, don't let it be yours!




4 out of 5 stars The Good, The Bad & The Elephant Seals ...   November 17, 2008
  0 out of 1 found this review helpful


The good:

I really liked the overall story of the plight of the penguin. The outcast going on the odyssey and then returning home with a hero's welcome.

Children **really** love this movie.

The music was well done and many very nice, but not too overplayed hits were threaded delicately into the soundtrack. I would've loved to have heard more than just a few bars of K.D. Lang's version of 'Golden Slumbers', but I guess that's what the soundtrack is for.

I thought Robin Williams did good work as Ramon here. I will revisit his contribution in the next section as well.

This movie had a very subtle message of conservation that wasn't preachy or contrived.

It was funny to listen to the King of Steampunk voice the King of Rock n' Roll. I think his penguin Elvis definitely breaks new ground with with old ideas about the King's voice.

Steve Irwin would've loved this movie.


The bad:

I felt the scene that's added in the extras titled: 'Mumble meets a Blue Whale' should've been added into the film for all the reasons that the introduction to the clip stated. I found it odd that Robin Williams could have multiple parts in a film but it was a bit much to have the seagull version of Steve Irwin doing a parody of himself which was very touching. The scene with the elephant seals was dull and difficult to pick out the dialogue. Steve Irwin should've been given his moment in this as this may have bee the last major motion picture that he was attached to.

Robin Williams having two very large parts within the film was not just disconcerting but off-putting. While I did like the character of Ramon, I couldn't get around the thought that Williams was probably taking bread off the table of another actor. Cedric the Entertainer comes to mind as well as Bernie Mac. I think Bernie would've been fantastic in the role of Lovelace and it even seems written for him.

Also, while we're meant to rightly assume that the narrator is Lovelace, the narration is almost a role in itself as you're left guessing which character it is because he has multiple speaking parts. So chalking up three jobs seems very much over the top.


Overall:

I really enjoyed the film and think most others will as well. The points I make are minor ones that the bulk of children wouldn't even give two shakes about. My thoughts about Robin Williams role in this has been repeated quite a bit in many of the other reviews. It looks very good in HD / Blu-Ray as well.

... ...




5 out of 5 stars Everything Fantastic!   September 13, 2008
Just a short review this time. Animation, sound, music & story just all come together. Had to watch it a second time within a few hours of the first viewing to really make sure it was as good as I thought it was the first time. This a.m. the smallest members of the family were over and gave it to them, so am now ordering my second copy for myself which I will hide away for just Dan & me to enjoy. The kids were going right home to watch it, so can't wait to hear what they think of it.

Mark Zimmerman - the Bipolar Bear!



4 out of 5 stars Happy Feet   September 8, 2008
The DVD was in good condition. This is an up lifting DVD. Highly recommend it.


1 out of 5 stars Totally misleading   September 3, 2008
  1 out of 3 found this review helpful

I absolutely hated this movie because of blatant environmental message. I actually agree with the message they're trying to give, but they've done it completely wrong. I felt like they tricked me into watching it. The movie was advertised as a fun kids movie. Read the description, watch the trailer, and you'll expect a normal, fun movie. There's no hint that the entire movie is about how humans are destroying the environment. If I wanted to see that I'd watch a documentary.

It seems people do love they animation. If you want to see brilliant animation with an appropriate balance an actual plot and an environmental message I'd recommend Wall-E instead.



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