Happy Feet is a 2006 Australian-American computer-animated musical family film, directed and co-written by George Miller. It was produced at Sydney-based visual effects and animation studio Animal Logic for Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures and Kingdom Feature Productions and was released in North American theaters on November 17, 2006. It is the first animated film produced by Kennedy Miller in association with visual effects/design company Animal Logic.
Though primarily an animated film, Happy Feet does incorporate motion capture of live action humans in certain scenes. The film was simultaneously released in both conventional theatres and in IMAX 2D format.[2] The studio had hinted that a future IMAX 3D release was a possibility. However, Warner Bros., the film’s production company, was on too tight a budget to release Happy Feet in IMAX digital 3D.[3]
Happy Feet was the first Australian film to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and won the inaugural BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film, and was nominated for the Annie Award for Best Animated Feature and the Saturn Award for Best Animated Film.
The film was dedicated in memory of Nick Enright, Michael Jonson, Robby McNeilly Green, and Steve Irwin.
A sequel, Happy Feet Two, was released into theatres November 18, 2011 and received mixed reviews.
Every penguin sings a unique song called a "heartsong" to attract a mate. If the male penguin's heartsong matches the female's song, the two penguins mate. Norma Jean, a female penguin, sings "Kiss", whereupon Memphis, a male penguin, sings "Heartbreak Hotel". Norma Jean chooses Memphis as her mate. She lays an egg, which is left with Memphis while Norma Jean leaves with the other females to fish. While the males struggle through the harsh winter, Memphis accidentally drops the egg, briefly exposing it to the freezing Antarctic temperatures. The resulting chick, Mumble, has blue eyes, ever-lasting down feathers, and a terrible singing voice. However, Mumble has a talent that no other penguin has ever seen before: tap dancing. One day Mumble wanders into a secluded area, where he is free to dance without any complaints. Mumble is interrupted when Boss Skua and his posse Dino, Frankie, and Vinnie attempt to eat him. Mumble stalls by asking the leader of the pack about a yellow band that is attached to his right ankle. The Boss Skua tells Mumble that he had been abducted by "aliens". Mumble narrowly escapes the hungry birds by falling into a crevice.
Years later, Mumble, now an adult but still half-covered in fluffy down, joins his class graduates on their first trip into the ocean, where they find a large iceberg to rest on. After interrupting the graduates' song, Mumble is forced to leave, and finds a smaller iceberg. A leopard seal chases him off the iceberg. After escaping the leopard seal, he befriends a small group of bachelors which are Adelie Penguins who form a club called "the Amigos": the leader Ramon, the brothers Raul and Nestor, and twin brothers Rinaldo and Lombardo. The Amigos quickly embrace Mumble's dance moves and assimilate him into their misfit group. Mumble's joy is cut short when he accidentally starts an avalanche and causes a hidden human excavator to tumble out from a glacier. Driven by curiosity, he sets out to find the "aliens" responsible for the machine. Mumble has a lot of questions, and the group suggests that he ask Lovelace, a Rockhopper penguin who answers questions in exchange for stones and is known as the guru. Lovelace has the plastic rings of a six pack entangled around his neck, which he uses to project his guru image. When asked if the rings were from the aliens, Lovelace denies that aliens exists and claims that the plastic rings were bestowed upon him by mystic beings.
In Mumble's old home, it is mating season, and Gloria is the center of attention. Although she is surrounded by a large horde of suitors, none of their heartsongs interest her. Ramon tries to help Mumble by singing a Spanish version of "My Way". Gloria is not fooled, however, for she knows Mumble cannot sing. She then notices Ramon behind Mumble's back. Gloria becomes angry and turns her back on Mumble. Gloria continues towards the other males visibly distraught. As a last resort, Mumble tries to persuade her to sing along to his tapping rhythm. Because of her affection for him, she complies. As Mumble's beat speeds up, Gloria finds the chorus to her heartsong, and realizes it is "Boogie Wonderland". Overcome with happiness that they can now be mates, the pair begin dancing, along with the other penguins.
Noah the elder sees their lack of fish as punishment from the Great 'Guin for Mumble's dancing. Mumble tries to explain about the mysterious "aliens", and that they are the cause of the scarceness of fish, but only his mother and Gloria believe him. Noah exiles Mumble from the colony. Mumble vows that he will find the real cause of the famine. He and the Amigos return to Lovelace only to find him being choked by the plastic rings. Lovelace confesses that he got stuck in the rings while swimming near the forbidden shores. He reveals that the forbidden shores are located past the land of elephant seals and beyond the blizzard country. Mumble, the Amigos and Lovelace start their journey. Gloria tries to come, but Mumble, fearing for her safety, drives her off by insulting her singing talents. They travel across vast territories till they reach the shore.
Mumble sees a boat and swims after it. He swims far, and is washed up exhausted onshore. He is rescued and kept at Marine World with some Magellanic Penguins. He tries to communicate with the "aliens", but when his pleas fail, Mumble nearly succumbs to madness after long confinement. When a girl attempts to interact with Mumble by tapping the glass, he starts dancing, and soon a large crowd gathers. He is released back into the wild, with a Tracking system on his back. He leads the humans to his colony. The other penguins are skeptical, but when Gloria notices the device, they realize that the "aliens" exist. Convinced, the penguins, along with the elders, dance with Mumble to get the humans' attention.
A research team arrives and film the penguins dancing. They bring the footage back and a worldwide debate ensues. The governments realize they are overfishing. Antarctic fishing is banned, and the fish population recovers. At this, the Emperor Penguins and the Amigos celebrate. In the final scene, a baby penguin is seen dancing next to Mumble and Gloria, revealed to be their son Erik in Happy Feet Two.
Miller cites as an initial inspiration for the film an encounter with a grizzled old camera-man, whose father was Frank Hurley of the Shackleton expeditions, during the shooting of Mad Max 2: "We were sitting in this bar, having a milkshake, and he looked across at me and said, ‘Antarctica.’ He’d shot a documentary there. He said, ‘You’ve got to make a film in Antarctica. It’s just like out here, in the wasteland. It’s spectacular.’ And that always stuck in my head.”[4] Happy Feet was also partially inspired by earlier documentaries such as the BBC's Life in the Freezer.[5] In 2001, during an otherwise non-sequiter meeting, Doug Mitchell impulsively presented Warner Bros., studio president Alan Horn with an early rough draft of the film's screenplay, and asked them to read it while he and Miller flew back to Australia. By the time they'd landed, Warner Bros. had decided to provide funding on the film. Production was slated to begin sometime after the completion of the fourth Mad Max film, Fury Road, but geo-political complications pushed Happy Feet to the forefront in early 2003.
An earlier cut of the film seems to have included a large subplot regarding aliens in the extraterrestrial sense, whose presence was made gradually more and more known throughout, and who were planning to siphon off the planet's resources gradually, placing the humans in the same light as the penguins. At the end, through the plight of the main character, their hand is stayed and, instead, first contact is made. This was chopped out during the last year of production, and has yet to see the light of day in a finished form, although concept art from these sequences were showcased at the Siggraph 2007 demonstration,[6] and are available online, as well.
The animation in Happy Feet invested heavily in motion capture technology, with the dance scenes acted out by human dancers. The tap-dancing for Mumble in particular was provided by Savion Glover who was also co-choreographer for the dance sequences.[7] The dancers went through "Penguin School" to learn how to move like a penguin, and also wore head apparatus to mimic a penguin's beak.[8]
Happy Feet needed an enormous group of computers, and Animal Logic worked with IBM to build a server farm with sufficient processing potential. The film took four years to make. Ben Gunsberger, Lighting Supervisor and VFX Department Supervisor, says this was partly because they needed to build new infrastructure and tools. The server farm used IBM BladeCenter framework and BladeCenter HS20 blade servers, which are extremely dense separate computer units each with two Intel Xeon processors. Rendering took up 17 million CPU hours over a nine month period.[9]
As things progress, there is increasing emphasis on environmental problems in the Antarctic. The film's denouement shows a group of researchers taking video of the colony of dancing emperor penguins, and the footage is broadcast globally. After many heated arguments this publicity generates considerable pressure to stop commercial overfishing of the Antarctic.
According to the director, George Miller, the environmental message was not a major part of the original script, but "In Australia, we're very, very aware of the ozone hole," he said, "and Antarctica is literally the canary in the coal mine for this stuff. So it sort of had to go in that direction." This influence led to a film with a more environmental tone. Miller said, "You can't tell a story about Antarctica and the penguins without giving that dimension."[10]
Happy Feet is a jukebox musical, taking previously recorded songs and working them into the film's soundtrack to fit with the mood of the scene or character. Two soundtrack albums were released for the film; one containing songs from and inspired by the film, and another featuring John Powell's instrumental score. They were released on October 31, 2006 and December 19, 2006, respectively.
The film opened at #1 in the United States on its first weekend of release (November 17–19) grossing $41.6 million and beating Casino Royale for the top spot.[11] It remained #1 for the Thanksgiving weekend, making $51.6 million over the five-day period. In total, the film was the top grosser for three weeks, a 2006 box office feat matched only by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. As of June 8, 2008, Happy Feet has grossed $198.0 million in the U.S. and $186.3 million overseas, making about $384.3 million dollars worldwide. Happy Feet was the third highest grossing animated film in the U.S., behind Cars and Ice Age: The Meltdown. The film has been released in about 35 international territories at the close of 2006.[12][13][14]
The production budget was $100 million.[1]
Happy Feet received generally positive reviews. Review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes reported that the film has a 75% fresh rating, with an 82% percent from the Top Critics.[15]
The film has also garnered, since its release, quite a bit of analysis and dissection from various places. Film critic Yar Habnegnal has written an essay, published in Forum on Contemporary Art and Society, that examines the themes of encroachment presented throughout the film, as well as various other subtexts and themes, such as religious hierarchy and interracial tensions.[16] And, Vadim Rizov of the Independent Film Channel sees Mumble as just the latest in a long line of cinematic religious mavericks.
On a technical or formal level, the film has also been lauded in some corners for its innovative introduction of Miller's roving style of subjective cinematography into contemporary animation, among other things.
Happy Feet was released on home media on March 27, 2007[17] in the United States in three formats; DVD (in separate widescreen and pan and scan editions), Blu-ray Disc, and an HD DVD/DVD combo disc.[18]
Among the DVD's special features is a scene that was cut from the film where Mumble meets a blue whale and an albatross. The albatross was Steve Irwin's first voice role in the film before he voiced the elephant seal in the final cut. The scene was finished and included on the DVD in memory of Steve Irwin. This scene is done in Steve's classic documentary style, with the albatross telling the viewer all about the other characters in the scene, and the impact people are having on their environment.
Academy Awards
60th British Academy Film Awards
- Best Animated Feature Film
Golden Globes
American Film Institute Awards 2006
- Honored as one of the Top Ten Best Films of the Year
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards
New York Film Critics Circle Awards
Golden Trailer Awards[19]
Heartland Awards
- The Truly Moving Picture Award
Kids' Choice Awards
British Academy of Film and Television Arts - Children's Awards
Golden Globe Award
Annie Awards
- Best Animated Feature
- Best Writing in an Animated Feature Production
Satellite Awards
- Best Motion Picture, Animated or Mixed Media
Grammy Awards
- Best Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media, John Powell, nominee
- Best Song Written for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media: "The Song of the Heart", Prince, nominee
American Film Institute
Saturn Awards
The film appeared on numerous critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2006, including AFI's Annual list, which is listed above.[20][21] AFI's jury said:
"HAPPY FEET is a one-of-a-kind motion picture experience. George Miller continues to paint outside the lines of traditional filmmaking, and his genius expands upon the animated art form to illuminate a world where penguins embrace dance and differences to survive and thrive. But that is just the tip of the iceberg, as the environment, religion and the chasm between generations enrich this sweet and subtle tale - one that is fun and funny, brilliant and beautiful, groundbreaking and global in its message."
- 1st - Jack Matthews, The New York Daily News
- 1st - Stan Urankar, Sun News
- 2nd - William Arnold, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
- 2nd - Mark Palermo, The Coast
- 3rd - Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter
- 4th - Edward Douglas, ComingSoon.net
- 5th - Scott Foundas, Village Voice
- 5th - Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor
- 5th - Matthieu Santelli, Critikat (Film review, in French)
- 5th - Kurt Loder, MTV
- 5th - Missy Thompson, Tooele Transcript Bulletin
- 6th - Constance Garfinkle, The Patriot Ledger
- 6th - Carole Wrona, Critikat (Top 10 lists for 2006 films, in French)
- 6th - Lou Lumenick, New York Post
- 6th - Kyle Smith, New York Post
- 6th - Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
- 6th - Keith Cohen, Sun Newspapers
- 8th - Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald
- 9th - Schlomo Schwartzberg, Box Office Magazine
A video game based on the film was developed by A2M and published by Midway Games. It has the same main cast as the film. It was released for the PC, PlayStation 2, GameCube, GBA, NDS, and Wii.[22]
Artificial Life, Inc. has also developed a Happy Feet mobile game for the Japan market.[23]
Main article: Happy Feet TwoHappy Feet Two was produced at Dr. D Studios[24] and released on November 18, 2011. Wood and Williams reprised their roles for the sequel. Brittany Murphy was not be able to reprise her role, due to her death. Matt Damon and Brad Pitt signed on as Bill the Krill and Will the Krill respectively.[25][26]
In an interview with Collider.com, director George Miller mentioned the small possibility of Happy Feet Three, stating that if he came up with an idea for a third film, that he and his studio would produce it if they both agreed the idea was better than the first two. As of now, however, he has yet to mention if he has any ideas for a third film since the interview.[27]
- ^ a b Happy Feet (2006). Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
- ^ "Happy Feet: The IMAX Experience". IMAX. http://www.imax.com/ImaxWeb/filmDetail.do?type=comingSoon&movieID=code__.__30. Retrieved 2007-03-15.
- ^ "Happy Feet Won't Debut in IMAX 3-D". VFXWorld. http://www.vfxworld.com/?sa=adv&code=3631a5a1&atype=news&id=17882. Retrieved 2007-03-15.
- ^ "The filmmaker behind the 'Mad Max' and 'Babe' franchises turns his attention to musical fowl". In Focus. Retrieved 2010-11-13.
- ^ "Penguin suits up for a cinema hit". The Australian. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20753501-2702,00.html. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
- ^ (August 6, 2007). Live from the Happy Feet discussion at Siggraph 2007. Retrieved 2010-11-13.
- ^ Savion Glover (2007). Happy Feet (DVD). Warner Brothers.
- ^ Kelley Abbey (2007). Happy Feet (DVD). Warner Brothers.
- ^ "Animal Logic builds rendering farm with IBM eServer BladeCenter". IBM Australia. http://www-01.ibm.com/software/success/cssdb.nsf/cs/mcag-6h2sr2?opendocument&site=corp. Retrieved 2010-02-01.
- ^ Kelly, Kate (2006-11-17). "The New Animated Film Happy Feet Doesn't Dance Around Serious Issues". The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB116373257478225933-QS7Oc7yiEQI503rfJ2N42OUiVH8_20071119.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top. Retrieved 2007-03-15.
- ^ Weekend Box Office Results for November 17–19, 2006. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2010-11-13.
- ^ Happy Feet (2006) - Weekend Box Office Results. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2010-11-13.
- ^ IMDb Charts. IMDb. Retrieved 2010-11-13.
- ^ Weekend Box Office Results for February 1–3, 2008. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2010-11-13.
- ^ "Happy Feet Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/happy_feet/. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
- ^ Yar Habnegnal on Happy Feet. Scribd.com. Retrieved 2010-11-13.
- ^ "Happy Feet (2006) - Elijah Wood, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman". Retrieved 2011-01-02.
- ^ "Happy Feet to Dance on Blu-ray, HD DVD This March | High-Def Digest". Retrieved 2011-01-02.
- ^ Golden Trailer Awards. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
- ^ "Film Critic Top Ten List, 2006 Critics' Picks". http://www.metacritic.com/film/awards/2006/toptens.shtml. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
- ^ "The Critics". http://www.moviecitynews.com/awards/2007/top_tens/critics_01.html. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
- ^ Happy Feet. Midway.com. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
- ^ (2007-04-24). Parthajit; "Happy Feet Goes Mobile". Softpedia. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
- ^ "About Dr. D Studios". Retrieved 2010-11-13.
- ^ (January 19, 2010). "Matt Damon, Brad Pitt to Voice Characters in Happy Feet Sequel". ShowbizSpy.com. Retrieved 2010-11-13.
- ^ "Happy Feet 2's first look at Pitt, Damon". RTE Ten. 2011-09-30. http://www.rte.ie/ten/2011/0930/happyfeet2poster.html. Retrieved 2011-10-13.
- ^ Christina Radish (November 16, 2011). "Director George Miller Talks HAPPY FEET TWO, MAD MAX, and JUSTICE LEAGUE". collider.com. http://collider.com/george-miller-happy-feet-2-mad-max-interview/126581/. Retrieved January 21, 2012.
- ^ "NY Times: March of the Penguins". The New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/328540/March-of-the-Penguins/details. Retrieved 2008-11-23.
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![Happy Feet [trailer] (2006)](http://web.archive.org./web/20130408085902im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/dr0-BF0APPY/default.jpg "Release Date 2006
Company Kingdom Feature Productions")
