Happy Feet

Last updated

Happy Feet
Happy Feet Poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by George Miller
Written by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyDavid Peers
Edited by
Music by John Powell
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • November 17, 2006 (2006-11-17)(United States)
  • December 26, 2006 (2006-12-26)(Australia)
Running time
108 minutes
Countries
  • United States
  • Australia [2]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$100 million [3]
Box office$384.3 million [3]

Happy Feet is a 2006 animated jukebox musical comedy film directed and produced by George Miller and written by Miller, John Collee, Judy Morris, and Warren Coleman. It stars the voices of Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Brittany Murphy, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Hugo Weaving, Anthony LaPaglia, Magda Szubanski and Steve Irwin. An international co-production between the United States and Australia, the film was produced at Sydney-based visual effects and animation studio Animal Logic for Warner Bros. Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures, and Kingdom Feature Productions. It is the first animated film produced by Kennedy Miller and Animal Logic. Set in the cold land of Antarctica, the film follows Mumble (Wood), an emperor penguin who is able to tap dance brilliantly despite his lacking the ability to sing the heartsong to attract a soul mate. After being continuously ridiculed and rejected by peers and his own father (Jackman), Mumble departs on a journey to learn what is causing the local fish population to decline — and to find himself along the way.

Contents

Miller cites as an initial inspiration for the film an encounter with a grizzled old cameraman, whose father was Frank Hurley of the Shackleton expeditions, while partially inspired by earlier documentaries such as the BBC's Life in the Freezer . Though primarily a computer-animated film, the film does incorporate motion capture of live action humans in certain scenes. Composer John Powell composed the score while the film features more than 10 songs from famous artists, mostly to fit with the mood of the scene or character.

Happy Feet was released in North American theaters on 17 November 2006, and in Australian theaters on 26 December 2006, which was simultaneously released in both conventional theatres and in IMAX 2D format. [4] 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. [5]

Happy Feet received generally positive reviews from critics with praise for its visuals, storyline and songs, and grossed $384 million against its $100 million production budget, becoming the tenth-highest-grossing film of 2006. It earned the recipient of the inaugural BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film, and the fourth non-Disney or Pixar film to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. [6] It was nominated for the Annie Award for Best Animated Feature and the Saturn Award for Best Animated Film, both losing to Cars . A sequel, Happy Feet Two , was released in 2011.

Plot

Every emperor penguin attracts a mate by singing a unique "heartsong". If the male penguin's heartsong matches the female's song, the two penguins mate. Norma Jean, a female penguin, falls for Memphis, a male penguin and they become mates. They lay an egg, which Memphis cares for while Norma Jean leaves with the other females to fish. While the males struggle through the harsh winter, Memphis briefly drops the egg. The resulting chick, Mumble, is unable to sing but can tap dance. Nevertheless, he is enamored with Gloria, a female penguin who is regarded as the most talented of her age. One day, Mumble encounters a group of hostile skua, with a leader who is tagged with a yellow band, which he says is from an alien abduction. Mumble narrowly escapes the hungry birds by falling into a crevice.

Now a young adult, Mumble is frequently ridiculed by the elders and their leader Noah. After escaping from a leopard seal attack, Mumble befriends five Adelie penguins named Ramón, Nestor, Lombardo, Rinaldo and Raul, known collectively as "the Amigos", who embrace Mumble's dance moves and assimilate him into their group. After seeing a hidden human excavator in an avalanche, they opt to ask Lovelace, a rockhopper penguin, about its origin. Lovelace has the plastic rings of a six pack entangled around his neck, saying that they have been bestowed upon him by mystic beings.

For the emperor penguins, it is mating season and Gloria is the center of attention. The Amigos unsuccessfully attempt to help Mumble win her affection by having Ramón sing a Spanish version of "My Way" behind Mumble, with the latter lip syncing. After Mumble desperately begins tap dancing in synch with her song, she falls for him and the youthful penguins join in for singing and dancing to "Boogie Wonderland". The elders are appalled by Mumble's conduct, which they see as the reason for their lean fishing season. Memphis begs Mumble to stop dancing, for his own sake, but when Mumble refuses, he is exiled.

Mumble and the Amigos return to Lovelace, only to find him being choked by the plastic rings. Lovelace confesses they were snagged on him while swimming off the forbidden shores, beyond the land of the elephant seals. Not long into their journey, Gloria encounters them, wishing to become Mumble's mate. Fearing for her safety, he ridicules Gloria, driving her away.

At the forbidden shore, Mumble, Lovelace and the Amigos are attacked by two orcas, during which Lovelace gets free from the plastic rings. After escaping, they find a fishing boat. Mumble exhaustingly pursues it alone, eventually washing up on the shore of Florida, where he is rescued and kept at Sea World with Magellanic penguins. After a long and secluded confinement in addition to fruitlessly trying to communicate with the humans, he nearly succumbs to madness. When a girl attempts to interact with Mumble by tapping the glass, he starts dancing, which attracts a large crowd. He is released back into the wild, with a tracking device attached to his back. He returns to his colony and challenges the will of the elders. Memphis reconciles with him, just as a research team arrives, verifying Mumble's statements of "aliens" existing. The entire colony engages in dance in front of the research team, whose expedition footage prompts a worldwide debate, which eventually leads to the banning of all Antarctic overfishing, satisfying both the emperor penguins and the Amigos.

Cast

Happy Feet Premiere (307976990).jpg
Happy Feet Premiere (307987303).jpg
Happy Feet Premiere (3).jpg
Happy Feet Premiere (307982333).jpg
Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Brittany Murphy and Nicole Kidman at the film's European premiere in London, UK.

Production

George Miller cites as an initial inspiration for the film an encounter with a grizzled old cameraman, 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." [7] [ check quotation syntax ]Happy Feet was also partially inspired by earlier documentaries such as the BBC's Life in the Freezer . [8] In 2001, during an otherwise non-sequitur 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 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.

The animation is 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. [9] 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. [10]

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. [11]

According to 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." [12]

The film was dedicated to the memory of Nick Enright, Michael Jonson, Robby McNeilly Green, and Steve Irwin.

Music

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 31 October 2006 and 19 December 2006, respectively.

Prince's "Song of the Heart" won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. The film won Golden Trailer Award for Best Music. [13] The song was written by Prince specifically for Happy Feet shortly after he was given a private screening of the film in order to gain his approval for the use of his song "Kiss" in a musical number. [14] Prince enjoyed the film, gave his approval for the use of "Kiss" and offered to write an original song for the production, which he completed a week later. [14]

Soundtrack

Happy Feet: Music from the Motion Picture
Soundtrack album by
Various Artists
Released31 October 2006
Genre
Length47:47
Label
Producer
Happy Feet soundtrack chronology
Happy Feet: Music from the Motion Picture
(2006)		 Happy Feet: Original Score
(2006)
Singles from Happy Feet
  1. "Hit Me Up"
    Released: 22 January 2007

Happy Feet: Music from the Motion Picture is the lyrical soundtrack album from the 2006 animated film Happy Feet. As of March 2007, the OST has sold over 272,627 copies in the US.

Happy Feet: Music from the Motion Picture [15]
No.TitleWriter(s)Performer(s)Length
1."The Song of the Heart" Prince Prince4:35
2."Hit Me Up"Brian Kierulf, Josh Schwartz & Gia Farrell Gia Farrell 3:16
3."Tell Me Something Good" Stevie Wonder Pink 3:08
4."Somebody to Love" Freddie Mercury Brittany Murphy 3:47
5."I Wish" Stevie Wonder Patti LaBelle, Yolanda Adams and Fantasia Barrino 3:31
6."Jump N' Move"Simon Bartholomew, Jan Kincaid, Andrew Levy & Jamal Mitchell The Brand New Heavies (featuring Jamalski)3:18
7."Do It Again"Brian Wilson & Mike Love The Beach Boys 2:24
8."The Joker mash-up with Everything I Own""The Joker" by Steve Miller, Eddie Curtis & Ahmet Ertegün;
"Everything I Own" by David Gates		"The Joker" by Jason Mraz;
"Everything I Own" by Chrissie Hynde 		4:05
9."My Way (A Mi Manera)" Paul Anka, Jacques Revaux, Claude François & Gilles Thibault Robin Williams 1:44
10."Kiss mash-up with Heartbreak Hotel""Kiss" by Prince;
"Heartbreak Hotel" by Mae Boren Axton, Thomas Durden, and Elvis Presley 		"Kiss" by Nicole Kidman;
"Heartbreak Hotel" by Hugh Jackman 		2:36
11."Boogie Wonderland"Allee Willis & Jonathan Lind Brittany Murphy 5:07
12."Golden Slumbers / The End" John Lennon & Paul McCartney k.d. lang 4:16
13."The Story of Mumble Happy Feet" John Powell  5:50
Total length:47:37

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [16] Gold35,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Reception

Box office

The film opened at number one in the United States on its first weekend of release (17–19 November), grossing $41.6 million and beating Casino Royale for the top spot. [17] [18] It remained number one 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 . [19] As of 8 June 2008, Happy Feet had grossed $198.0 million in the US and Canada, and $186.3 million in other countries, making about $384.3 million worldwide. Happy Feet was the third highest grossing animated film of 2006 in the US, behind Cars and Ice Age: The Meltdown . The film was released in about 35 territories at the close of 2006. [20] [21]

The production budget was $100 million. [3]

Critical reception

Happy Feet received generally positive reviews from critics. On review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 76% approval rating based on 170 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The site's consensus reads, "Visually dazzling, with a thoughtful storyline and catchy musical numbers, Happy Feet marks a successful animated debut from the makers of Babe ." [22] Metacritic reports a 77 out of 100 rating, based on 30 critics. [23] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale. [24]

Marjorie Baumgarten, film critic for The Austin Chronicles, wrote a positive review, saying "Happy Feet treads material common to kids films and cartoons, most notably Dumbo: A young animal stands out from his herd or flock because of his inability to perform like the other animals, although he seemingly compensates for this defect by demonstrating a certain skill that sets him apart from the others, who ostracize him for his weirdness." Baumgarten also says the CGI re-creation at Antarctica are "stunning, allowing the film to shift among glorious long shots of the ice and penguin population and midshots and close-ups of the character interactions". [25] James Berardinelli, film critic for ReelViews, praised its musical numbers (particularly "Kiss" and "Boogie Wonderland") and Robin Williams's performance by awarding the film three out of four, saying "The ingredients for greatness are there. It's too bad the movie lost its way on the approach to the finish line. I recommend Happy Feet, but not as enthusiastically as I wish I could." [26]

Analysis

Film critic Yar Habnegnal wrote an essay 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. [27] Vadim Rizov of IFC sees Mumble as just the latest in a long line of cinematic religious mavericks. Some Christians have also considered the film to be anti-Christian (or antireligious in general) due to the imagery and behaviours of various characters. [28] [29]

On a technical or formal level, the film has also been recognised for its innovative introduction of Miller's roving style of subjective cinematography into contemporary animation.

Home media

Happy Feet was released on home media on 27 March 2007, [30] 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 pack. [31] Overall, Happy Feet was the third best-selling film of 2007 with 12.2 million units sold and earning a revenue of $196.9 million. [32]

Among the DVD's special features is a scene that was cut from the film where Mumble meets a blue whale and an albatross while pursuing the fishing boat. 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 Irwin's memory. This scene is done in documentary style, with the albatross describing the other characters in the scene, and the impact people are having on their environment. Another special feature included with the DVD is the 1936 Merrie Melodies short I Love to Singa .

Accolades

The film appeared on numerous critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2006. [33] [34]

AwardCategoryWinner/NomineeResult
Academy Awards Best Animated Feature Won
American Film Institute Awards Honored as one of the Top Ten Best Films of the YearWon
Annie Awards Best Animated Feature George Miller Nominated
Best Writing in an Animated Feature Production George Miller, John Collee, Judy Morris, and Warren ColemanNominated
British Academy Children's Awards Best Feature FilmWon
British Academy Film Awards Best Animated Feature Film Won
Golden Globe Awards Best Animated Feature Film Nominated
Best Original Song "Song of the Heart" by Prince Won
Golden Trailer Awards [35] Best MusicWon
Grammy Awards Best Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media John Powell Nominated
Best Song Written for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media "The Song of the Heart", PrinceNominated
Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Animated MovieWon
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards Best AnimationWon
New York Film Critics Circle Awards Best Animated FilmWon
Satellite Awards Best Motion Picture, Animated or Mixed Media Nominated
Saturn Awards Best Animated Film Nominated

Video games

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 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and Wii. [36]

Artificial Life, Inc. has also developed a mobile game for the Japan market. [37]

Sequel

Happy Feet Two was produced at Dr. D Studios [38] and released on 18 November 2011.

4-D attraction

Happy Feet 4-D Experience is a 12-minute 4D film shown at various 4D theaters over the world. It retells the condensed story of Happy Feet with the help of 3D projection and sensory effects, including moving seats, wind, mist and scents. Produced by SimEx-Iwerks, the 4D experience premiered in March 2010 at the Drayton Manor Theme Park. [39] Other locations included Sea World (2010–2011), [40] Shedd Aquarium (2010–2012), [41] Moody Gardens (2010–2011), [42] Nickelodeon Suites Resort, [43] and Adventure Aquarium. [44]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Saludos Amigos</i> 1943 animated film by Walt Disney

Saludos Amigos is a 1942 American live-action/animated propaganda anthology film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Set in Latin America, it is made up of four different segments; Donald Duck stars in two of them and Goofy stars in one. It also features the first appearance of José Carioca, the Brazilian cigar-smoking parrot. Saludos Amigos premiered in Rio de Janeiro on August 24, 1942. It was released in the United States on February 6, 1943.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Miller (filmmaker)</span> Australian filmmaker (born 1945)

George Miller is an Australian filmmaker, best known for his Mad Max franchise, whose second installment, Mad Max 2, and fourth, Fury Road, have been hailed two of the greatest action films of all time, Fury Road winning six Academy Awards. Miller is very diverse in genre and style as he also directed the biographical medical drama Lorenzo's Oil, the dark fantasy The Witches of Eastwick, and the Academy Award-winning animated film Happy Feet, produced the family-friendly fantasy adventure Babe and directed the sequel Babe: Pig in the City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elijah Wood</span> American actor (born 1981)

Elijah Jordan Wood is an American actor and producer. He rose to international fame for his portrayal of Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001–2003) and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012).

<i>Fantasia 2000</i> 1999 animated film by Walt Disney Feature Animation

Fantasia 2000 is a 1999 American animated musical anthology film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Produced by Roy E. Disney and Donald W. Ernst, it is the sequel to Disney's 1940 animated feature film Fantasia. Like its predecessor, Fantasia 2000 consists of animated segments set to pieces of classical music. Segments are introduced by celebrities including Steve Martin, Itzhak Perlman, Quincy Jones, Bette Midler, James Earl Jones, Penn & Teller, James Levine, and Angela Lansbury in live action scenes directed by Don Hahn.

<i>Robots</i> (2005 film) 2005 American film

Robots is a 2005 American animated science fiction adventure comedy film produced by Blue Sky Studios and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The film was directed by Chris Wedge and co-directed by Carlos Saldanha from a screenplay by David Lindsay-Abaire and the writing team of Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, based on a story conceived by Lindsay-Abaire, Ron Mita, and Jim McClain. It stars the voices of Ewan McGregor, Halle Berry, Greg Kinnear, Mel Brooks, Amanda Bynes, Drew Carey and Robin Williams. The story follows an ambitious inventor robot named Rodney Copperbottom (McGregor), who seeks out his idol Bigweld (Brooks) to work for his company in Robot City, only to discover a plot by its new owner Ratchet (Kinnear) and his mother to cheat older robots into buying expensive upgrades.

<i>The Chipmunk Adventure</i> 1987 animated film by Janice Karman

The Chipmunk Adventure is a 1987 American animated musical-adventure comedy film based on the Saturday-morning cartoon series Alvin and the Chipmunks and the Alvin and the Chipmunks virtual brand and media franchise created by Ross Bagdasarian Sr.. Directed by Janice Karman and written by Karman and Ross Bagdasarian Jr., it follows the Chipmunks and the Chipettes as they go on a hot air balloon race around the world that is the cover for a diamond smuggling ring while their owner David is out on a trip and being hunted down by Claudia and Klaus Furschtein.

<i>March of the Penguins</i> 2005 French film

March of the Penguins is a 2005 French feature-length nature documentary directed and co-written by Luc Jacquet, and co-produced by Bonne Pioche and the National Geographic Society. The documentary depicts the yearly journey of the emperor penguins of Antarctica. In autumn, all the penguins of breeding age leave the ocean, which is their normal habitat, to walk inland to their ancestral breeding grounds. There, the penguins participate in a courtship that, if successful, results in the hatching of a chick. For the chick to survive, both parents must make multiple arduous journeys between the ocean and the breeding grounds over the ensuing months.

<i>Surfs Up</i> (film) 2007 American computer-animated mockumentary comedy film

Surf's Up is a 2007 American animated mockumentary comedy film produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. It was directed by Ash Brannon and Chris Buck from a screenplay they co-wrote with Don Rhymer and producer Chris Jenkins, based on a story by Jenkins and Christian Darren. The film stars the voices of Shia LaBeouf, Jeff Bridges, Zooey Deschanel, Jon Heder, and James Woods. It is a parody of surfing documentaries, such as The Endless Summer and Riding Giants, with parts of the plot parodying North Shore. Real-life surfers Kelly Slater and Rob Machado have vignettes as their penguin surfer counterparts. To obtain the desired hand-held documentary feel, the film's animation team motion-captured a physical camera operator's moves.

Bill Miller is a Sydney-based feature film producer.

<i>Happy Feet</i> (video game) 2006 video game

Happy Feet is an action-adventure game based on the comedy movie of the same name. It was released in 2006 by Midway (publisher) and A2M (developer) for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Wii, and Microsoft Windows. Elijah Wood, Brittany Murphy, Elizabeth Daily, Dee Bradley Baker, and Carlos Alazraqui all reprise their voice roles from the film.

<i>The Ant Bully</i> (film) 2006 American computer-animated film

The Ant Bully is a 2006 American animated film written and directed by John A. Davis and based on the 1999 children's book of the same name by John Nickle. Starring the voices of Julia Roberts, Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, Paul Giamatti, Regina King, Bruce Campbell and Lily Tomlin, it was produced by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman's Playtone, Davis and Keith Alcorn's DNA Productions, and Legendary Pictures in their first animated film, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.

<i>Shine a Light</i> (film) 2008 documentary film directed by Martin Scorsese

Shine a Light is a 2008 concert film directed by Martin Scorsese documenting the Rolling Stones' 2006 Beacon Theatre performances during their A Bigger Bang Tour. The film also includes archive footage from the band's career and makes use of digital cinematography for backstage sequences, the first time Scorsese used the technology in a film. The film takes its title from the song of the same name, featured on the band's 1972 album Exile on Main St. A soundtrack album was released in April 2008 on the Universal label. This is also the last movie by Paramount Classics, as the company merged into its sister company Paramount Vantage after the movie was released.

Judith Ann Morris is an Australian character actress, as well as a film director and screenwriter, well known for the variety of roles she played in 58 different television shows and films, starting her career as a child actress and appearing on screen until 1999, since then she has worked on film writing and directing, most recently for co-writing and co-directing a musical epic about the life of penguins in Antarctica which became Happy Feet, Australia's largest animated film project to date.

<i>Madagascar</i> (2005 film) DreamWorks Animation film

Madagascar is a 2005 American animated survival comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation SKG and PDI/DreamWorks, and distributed by DreamWorks Pictures. The film was directed by Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath and written by Darnell, McGrath, Mark Burton, and Billy Frolick. The film stars the voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, and Andy Richter. It centers around a group of animals from the Central Park Zoo who find themselves stranded on the island of Madagascar and must adjust to living in the wild.

<i>Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of GaHoole</i> 2010 animated film by Zack Snyder

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole is a 2010 animated fantasy adventure film directed by Zack Snyder. Based on the Guardians of Ga'Hoole book series by Kathryn Lasky, the film was written by John Orloff and Emil Stern and features the voices of Helen Mirren, Geoffrey Rush, Jim Sturgess, Hugo Weaving, Emily Barclay, Abbie Cornish, Ryan Kwanten, Anthony LaPaglia, Miriam Margolyes, Sam Neill, Richard Roxburgh, and David Wenham. An international co-production between the United States and Australia, the film was produced by Village Roadshow Pictures and Animal Logic, following their success with the 2006 film Happy Feet. In the film, Soren (Sturgess), a barn owl, is kidnapped and taken to St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls led by Metal Beak and Nyra (Mirren), where owlets are brainwashed into becoming soldiers. He befriends a fellow owl named Gylfie (Barclay), and they later escape the facility to find the Island of Ga'Hoole with new-found friends and together fight against the evil army.

<i>The Pebble and the Penguin</i> 1995 film

The Pebble and the Penguin is a 1995 American independent animated film directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. The film stars the voices of Martin Short, Jim Belushi, Tim Curry, and Annie Golden. Based on the true life mating rituals of the Adélie penguins in Antarctica, the film focuses on a timid, stuttering penguin named Hubie who tries to impress a beautiful penguin named Marina by giving her a pebble that fell from the sky and keep her from the clutches of an evil penguin named Drake who wants Marina for himself.

<i>Madagascar 3: Europes Most Wanted</i> 2012 animated comedy film by DreamWorks

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted is a 2012 American animated comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and PDI/DreamWorks and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The third installment in the Madagascar franchise, it is the sequel to Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008), and was the first film in the series to be released in 3D. It was directed by Eric Darnell, Conrad Vernon and Tom McGrath from a screenplay by Darnell and Noah Baumbach. The film stars Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, McGrath, Chris Miller, Christopher Knights, and Vernon reprising their voice acting roles from the previous installments, alongside new cast members Jessica Chastain, Bryan Cranston, Martin Short and Frances McDormand. In the film, the main characters—a party of animals from the Central Park Zoo whose adventures have already taken them to Madagascar and Africa—attempt to return to New York City, and find themselves traveling across Europe with a circus while being chased by a relentless French Animal Control officer.

<i>Happy Feet Two</i> 2011 animated film by George Miller

Happy Feet Two is a 2011 animated jukebox musical comedy film directed, produced and co-written by George Miller. It is the sequel to the 2006 film Happy Feet starring Elijah Wood, Robin Williams in his final animated feature, Hank Azaria, Alecia Moore (P!nk), Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Sofia Vergara, Common, Hugo Weaving, Richard Carter, Magda Szubanski and Anthony LaPaglia. Wood, Williams, Weaving, Szubanski and LaPaglia reprised their roles with Moore and Common replacing the late Brittany Murphy, and Fat Joe respectively. In addition, E.G. Daily also returned in different roles. In the film, Erik, the son of Mumble (Wood) and Gloria (Moore) who is reluctant to dance, runs away from home and encounters the Mighty Sven (Azaria), a tufted puffin that can fly. But when the penguins are trapped by a giant wall of ice and snow, they must stop the apocalypse of Antarctica and get a chance to see the true colors.

<i>Rio</i> (2011 film) Film by Carlos Saldanha

Rio is a 2011 American animated musical adventure comedy film produced by Blue Sky Studios and 20th Century Fox Animation. It was directed by Carlos Saldanha from a screenplay written by Don Rhymer, Joshua Sternin, Jeffrey Ventimilia, and Sam Harper, based on a story conceived by Saldanha and the writing team of Earl Richey Jones and Todd Jones. The title refers to the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, where the film is set. The film features the voices of Anne Hathaway, Jesse Eisenberg, Jemaine Clement, Leslie Mann, George Lopez, and Jamie Foxx. It tells the story of Blu (Eisenberg), a domesticated male Spix's macaw who is taken to Rio de Janeiro to mate with a free-spirited female Spix's macaw, Jewel (Hathaway). The two eventually fall in love, and together they have to escape from being smuggled by Nigel (Clement), a cockatoo.

<i>Penguins of Madagascar</i> 2014 American DreamWorks film

Penguins of Madagascar is a 2014 American animated spy action comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and PDI/DreamWorks and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Directed by Eric Darnell and Simon J. Smith from a screenplay written by Brandon Sawyer and the writing team of Michael Colton and John Aboud, and a story conceived by Alan Schoolcraft, Brent Simons, Colton and Aboud, it is a spin-off of the Madagascar franchise, and the fourth film overall. Despite the title of the film, it is directly unrelated to the Nickelodeon TV series of the same name. Starring the voices of Tom McGrath, Chris Miller, Christopher Knights, Conrad Vernon, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ken Jeong, Annet Mahendru, Peter Stormare and John Malkovich, it takes place directly after the events of Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012), following the adventures of four Adélie penguins - Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private - as they join forces with the North Wind intelligence agency to stop the Giant Pacific octopus Dave, who seeks revenge on all Adélie penguins across the Earth for being upstaged by capturing them.

References

  1. ↑ "Film Distribution - Village Roadshow Limited". Village Roadshow Pictures . 11 February 2014. Archived from the original on 25 February 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  2. ↑ "Happy Feet". bfi. Archived from the original on 10 August 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 "Happy Feet (2006)". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  4. ↑ "Happy Feet: The IMAX Experience". IMAX. Archived from the original on 5 November 2006. Retrieved 15 March 2007.
  5. ↑ "Happy Feet Won't Debut in IMAX 3-D". VFXWorld. Retrieved 15 March 2007.
  6. ↑ Reid, Joe (14 November 2014). "Big Hero 6's Big Oscar Chances". The Atlantic. Retrieved 18 September 2015. Warner Brothers is far less pedigreed in this category, only having ever won with Happy Feet in 2006,
  7. ↑ "The filmmaker behind the 'Mad Max' and 'Babe' franchises turns his attention to musical fowl" Archived 19 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine . In Focus. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
  8. ↑ "Penguin suits up for a cinema hit". The Australian. Archived from the original on 22 October 2008. Retrieved 28 March 2008.
  9. ↑ Savion Glover (2007). Happy Feet (DVD). Warner Brothers.
  10. ↑ Kelley Abbey (2007). Happy Feet (DVD). Warner Brothers.
  11. ↑ "Animal Logic builds rendering farm with IBM eServer BladeCenter". IBM Australia. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
  12. ↑ Kelly, Kate (17 November 2006). "The New Animated Film Happy Feet Doesn't Dance Around Serious Issues". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 15 March 2007.[ permanent dead link ]
  13. ↑ "The Winners of the 7th Annual Golden Trailer Awards". Golden Trailer. 1 June 2006. Archived from the original on 11 February 2007. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  14. 1 2 "Prince Returns to Hollywood With 'Happy Feet': 365 Prince Songs in a Year". Diffuser.fm. 29 May 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  15. ↑ Gwin, Scott (2006). "REVIEW - Happy Feet: Music From The Motion Picture". Cinema Blend. Archived from the original on 19 October 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  16. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2007 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association . Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  17. ↑ "Casino Royale grosses $40.6 million". Superhero Hype! . 19 November 2006. Archived from the original on 4 October 2007. Retrieved 19 November 2006.
  18. ↑ Weekend Box Office Results for 17–19 November 2006. Box Office Mojo . Retrieved 13 November 2010.
  19. ↑ Friedman, Josh (4 December 2006). "Cool characters on hot streaks at box office". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  20. ↑ Happy Feet (2006) - Weekend Box Office Results. Box Office Mojo . Retrieved 13 November 2010.
  21. ↑ Weekend Box Office Results for 1–3 February 2008. Box Office Mojo . Retrieved 13 November 2010.
  22. ↑ "Happy Feet (2006)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  23. ↑ "Happy Feet reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  24. ↑ https://www.cinemascore.com/ - type "Happy Feet" in the search bar
  25. ↑ Baumgarten, Marjorie (17 November 2006). "Happy Feet". The Austin Chronicles. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  26. ↑ Berardinelli, James. "Happy Feet review". ReelViews. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  27. ↑ Yar Habnegnal on Happy Feet. Scribd.com. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
  28. ↑ Jesus, Your Boy (28 November 2014). "Happy Feet Causes Angry Christians to Speak-Out". Medium . Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  29. ↑ Brevet, Brad (4 December 2006). "Why are People Upset with 'Happy Feet'". Coming Soon . Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  30. ↑ "Happy Feet (2006) - Elijah Wood, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman" Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  31. ↑ "Happy Feet to Dance on Blu-ray, HD DVD This March | High-Def Digest". Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  32. ↑ "Top-Selling Video Titles in the United States in 2007". The Numbers . Archived from the original on 22 May 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  33. ↑ "Film Critic Top Ten List, 2006 Critics' Picks". Metacritic . Archived from the original on 3 January 2007. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  34. ↑ "The Critics". Archived from the original on 6 January 2010. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  35. ↑ Golden Trailer Awards Archived 11 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  36. ↑ Happy Feet. Midway.com. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  37. ↑ (2007-04-24). Parthajit; "Happy Feet Goes Mobile". Softpedia. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  38. ↑ "About Dr. D Studios". Retrieved 13 November 2010.
  39. ↑ "Drayton Manor to open Happy Feet 4D attraction on March 20". Theme Park Tourist. 2 March 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
  40. ↑ "Happy Feet 3-D (Sea World)". Parkz. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  41. ↑ "4D Theater". Shedd Aquarium. Archived from the original on 29 November 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
  42. ↑ "Virtual Reality Theater". Moody Gardens. Archived from the original on 9 December 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
  43. ↑ "Orlando Theater and 4-D Experience". Nickelodeon Suites Resort. Archived from the original on 12 December 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
  44. ↑ "4D Theater". Adventure Aquarium. Archived from the original on 25 November 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
  45. ↑ "March of the Penguins". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . 2008. Archived from the original on 15 January 2008. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.