I want to start off saying that I liked the first Happy Feet. While it was not perfect, with a final twenty minutes(or so) that felt like a completely different movie, it was gorgeously animated and I loved the songs and choreography. I wasn't expecting the sequel to be as good, but I was not expecting it to be so disappointing either. Is it a terrible movie? I don't think so. The animation like with the first Happy Feet is simply spectacular, especially in the very detailed backgrounds. The characters are really cute looking too, then again I have always had a soft spot for penguins. The songs are also toe-tapping, with the best being Under Pressure, and the choreography dazzles, though I will be honest in saying that the first one in both areas was more memorable.
The voice cast do an admirable job, Elijah Wood is suitably humble and Robin Williams is quite good if not as funny but it was Hank Azaria who stole the show. I wasn't so sure though about Pink as Gloria, she didn't do too bad a job but while I can understand why it was a different voice actress as Brittany Murphy had died I found Murphy brought more likability and charm to the character.
On the other hand, the script feels thin here, nothing of note stands out, not helped by and the humour with the Krill felt out of place and unfunny to me. The Loney Goatherd yodel scene was the only one that made me smile at least. The characters I didn't like as much, there were too many to emphasize with and few of them charmed me in any way, Mumble is not as cute as he was in the first movie and his son Erik felt like one of those stereotypical "kid of hero/heroine" that you'll find in the Disney sequels for example, Lovelace is underused, Gloria is not as likable or as charming and the Krill despite enthusiastic vocal work from Matt Damon and Brad Pitt didn't amuse me in the slightest. In fact the sole bright spot was Sven.
The biggest fault though was the story. Granted the story was not the first movie's strong point either, but despite the thin structure and preachy final act it was still cute and grasped my attention. This sequel doesn't do that. It is glacially paced, has next to none of the charm of the first one, is too anti-climatic and worst of all it doesn't seem to know what type of story it wants to be. It relies too much at times on the musical numbers, has a pointless side-story with the Krill and for me the whole story here actually manages to be more heavy-handed than the final act of the first movie.
All in all, as much as I did want to like Happy Feet Two(and I am one of those who can understand why some will like it and some won't, likewise with the first), it was a disappointing and unnecessary sequel that has some things to like but has too many glaring flaws that sadly can't be overlooked. 4/10 Bethany Cox
The voice cast do an admirable job, Elijah Wood is suitably humble and Robin Williams is quite good if not as funny but it was Hank Azaria who stole the show. I wasn't so sure though about Pink as Gloria, she didn't do too bad a job but while I can understand why it was a different voice actress as Brittany Murphy had died I found Murphy brought more likability and charm to the character.
On the other hand, the script feels thin here, nothing of note stands out, not helped by and the humour with the Krill felt out of place and unfunny to me. The Loney Goatherd yodel scene was the only one that made me smile at least. The characters I didn't like as much, there were too many to emphasize with and few of them charmed me in any way, Mumble is not as cute as he was in the first movie and his son Erik felt like one of those stereotypical "kid of hero/heroine" that you'll find in the Disney sequels for example, Lovelace is underused, Gloria is not as likable or as charming and the Krill despite enthusiastic vocal work from Matt Damon and Brad Pitt didn't amuse me in the slightest. In fact the sole bright spot was Sven.
The biggest fault though was the story. Granted the story was not the first movie's strong point either, but despite the thin structure and preachy final act it was still cute and grasped my attention. This sequel doesn't do that. It is glacially paced, has next to none of the charm of the first one, is too anti-climatic and worst of all it doesn't seem to know what type of story it wants to be. It relies too much at times on the musical numbers, has a pointless side-story with the Krill and for me the whole story here actually manages to be more heavy-handed than the final act of the first movie.
All in all, as much as I did want to like Happy Feet Two(and I am one of those who can understand why some will like it and some won't, likewise with the first), it was a disappointing and unnecessary sequel that has some things to like but has too many glaring flaws that sadly can't be overlooked. 4/10 Bethany Cox