I just watched Happy Feet 2 and was preparing to write my review when I googled it and found a column by NY Post columnist Kyle Smith accusing the film of being part of a leftist agenda. It’s hilarious. Too bad he wasn’t kidding. You can read it here. In it, he accuses the film of espousing, among other things: vegetarianism, same-sex marriage, collectivism, international bailouts, and Occupy Wall Street. Wow.
I thought it was a film about singing and dancing penguins.
To be fair, though, the film does have an environmental issue at its heart, as did the first one. If anything, the environmental problem the penguins face is even more central to the plot of the movie than the first one, and the mythology of the singing, dancing, penguins take a back seat to this. The film is less comprehensively written than its predecessor, with a plot that is both simpler and thinner than the first. It feels like a smaller film, and for me, it’s better for it. There were times in the first movie where the movie had an epic scope, which was fine, but it was also tiring. This one is, arguably, much lighter fare.
Visually, the penguins remain as cute as ever, though I found it disturbing that Mumble, the hero of the first movie, still had his “baby” fur. Though this kept him cute, and probably easier to animate with expressions, it was disturbing to have the hero of the film physically immature even after having his own child. It was also telling that even if the elder penguin remains, Mumble’s parents aren’t around anymore. The animation does not really make any huge progress here, given how groundbreakingly beautiful the first film was. And even then, the film seemed smaller, with angles and vistas curiously unimpressive. Of course, this may be the fault of being bombarded with so many epic visuals of late that the film simply becomes one of many, and thus, is unimpressive.
The music, which was so much a part of the first film, also becomes a smaller affair here, with fewer songs, and fewer numbers. Interestingly, the most surprising number here belongs to the smallest member of the cast, and it is an aria, no less. It is as funny as it is fascinating to listen to, but it feels like novelty. Pink deserves special credit for her taking over the role of Gloria, that the late Brittany Murphy played in the original. Her voice is perfect for the character, and given her natural talent, it works really well in the film. Elijah Wood and Robin Williams do their fair share of the work too, carrying plenty of the emotional weight on the film with their performances.
The really new thing in the film was the addition of Will and Bill Krill, who pretty much steal the show simply by providing a twisted existential debate throughout the movie. It helps that Matt Damon and Brad Pitt play the two characters, and its immediately obvious that they really enjoyed their roles. They pushed the movie to an odd, and oddly poignant direction, and their relevance to the main plot reveals itself at the film’s end.
However, back to the question of it being leftist propaganda: if working together despite your differences is leftist, then I really do worry for those who consider themselves part of the right. Oh, and Mr. Smith, the Krill are red because they’re harder to see underwater that way, it isn’t a political stand, just so you know.
So, is it worth a watch? Yes, especially if you’re fond of watching singing and dancing penguins, which I am. Though personally, I’d watch it just to see Brad Pitt and Matt Damon take two of the most insignificant characters in the food chain, and then turn them into scene-stealers.
