Even if there is tons of that like in this film here. I liked the first film mostly for the charm and emotional story lines, for example the one about Mumble and his dad. This sequel, which came out five years after the first, lacks completely in that area. They tried to do the same as in the first film (that won the Best Animated Feature Oscar) in some areas, for example they included once again a mix of live action and animation with the animation being the far dominant part. However, this turned out a disappointment. Not even the small fluffy penguins were a delight anymore as they were written so annoyingly with stupid rap songs and without the slightest ounce of obedience to their elders. Talking about the music, it was really really bad early on, but got a bit better as the film went wrong. Still I heavily object to the casting of Pink here. In terms of voice acting, she adds nothing to this movie, simply because she never does it. All she does is sing and her loud scratchy voice did not bring any emotion that this film was so badly in need of. She even sort-of destroyed the final scene with her rendition of Queen's "Under Pressure". As an animal choir the way it started I liked it, but then she started singing and all the magic was gone.
This movie was shout completely at the Annie Award (animation Oscar) that year and that says it all. It is a bit of a joke this film had 3 directors and 6 writers and this is what they came up with. Truly embarrassing. The core filmmaker was also the one who directed the first "Happy Feet" movie and he is otherwise mostly known for directing "Mad Max" (the old and the new). What a strange collection of movies he worked on. It does not get any further apart than "Mad Max" and "Happy Feet". One of the film's intended most emotional moments was when the walrus is trapped and Mumble goes to rescue him, so he can reunite with his children. Sadly, the execution really took out all the emotion for some reason. This could have been so much more. Apart from that, this scene made it obvious that the walrus would return the favor at some point later in the movie and now this film was not only void of any heart, but also fairly predictable. The film gets a bit better after the 30-minute-mark, but that does not mean that it becomes a quality movie, just that it really really sucked early on.
Another oddity in here is the inclusion of Brad Pitt and Matt Damon as voice actors. I wonder what they were thinking including the duo as krill. I guess they only wanted to advertise the film with these two superstars as their characters basically had nothing to do at all with Mumble and the gang. It was like they were in their own movie, even more extreme than with Scrat and the "Ice Age" films. And Bill's and Will's storyline adds absolutely nothing to this sequel here. So far, there is no news yet about a third "Happy Feet" installment and I do not really think it is necessary unless they somehow manage to come up with something a lot better than they achieved here. The director is busy anyway right now with the "Mad Max" sequel, but who knows. Between film 1 and 2, also a lot of time went by.
Another weakness is that the film takes itself so seriously at times and then again is so goofy and childish on other occasions. You really don't know what to think of that. For example there are really all kinds of musical styles in here from rap music to almost opera music or stuff you would expect in "Les Misérables". The only truly positive thing here was the animation. The finale was mesmerizing to watch actually and that was only on a small computer screen. But as I wrote in the title: This is not enough.
This movie was shout completely at the Annie Award (animation Oscar) that year and that says it all. It is a bit of a joke this film had 3 directors and 6 writers and this is what they came up with. Truly embarrassing. The core filmmaker was also the one who directed the first "Happy Feet" movie and he is otherwise mostly known for directing "Mad Max" (the old and the new). What a strange collection of movies he worked on. It does not get any further apart than "Mad Max" and "Happy Feet". One of the film's intended most emotional moments was when the walrus is trapped and Mumble goes to rescue him, so he can reunite with his children. Sadly, the execution really took out all the emotion for some reason. This could have been so much more. Apart from that, this scene made it obvious that the walrus would return the favor at some point later in the movie and now this film was not only void of any heart, but also fairly predictable. The film gets a bit better after the 30-minute-mark, but that does not mean that it becomes a quality movie, just that it really really sucked early on.
Another oddity in here is the inclusion of Brad Pitt and Matt Damon as voice actors. I wonder what they were thinking including the duo as krill. I guess they only wanted to advertise the film with these two superstars as their characters basically had nothing to do at all with Mumble and the gang. It was like they were in their own movie, even more extreme than with Scrat and the "Ice Age" films. And Bill's and Will's storyline adds absolutely nothing to this sequel here. So far, there is no news yet about a third "Happy Feet" installment and I do not really think it is necessary unless they somehow manage to come up with something a lot better than they achieved here. The director is busy anyway right now with the "Mad Max" sequel, but who knows. Between film 1 and 2, also a lot of time went by.
Another weakness is that the film takes itself so seriously at times and then again is so goofy and childish on other occasions. You really don't know what to think of that. For example there are really all kinds of musical styles in here from rap music to almost opera music or stuff you would expect in "Les Misérables". The only truly positive thing here was the animation. The finale was mesmerizing to watch actually and that was only on a small computer screen. But as I wrote in the title: This is not enough.