Happy Feet

I was looking forward to watching this movie because it had garnered heaps of praise, tons of cash and even an Oscar for Best Animated Feature, beating out Monster House and, above all, Pixar's Cars.

What a disappointment!!

The concept isn't bad, but it's not new either: a young penguin that doesn't fit in is rejected by his community because of his diversity and has to show them his worth. We've all seen it before, but because of the botched end result, its mundanity is more striking here.

The technical aspect is astoundingly well executed, on par with Pixar's work or (GASP!) even better, and for that reason alone I accept this movie's victory over a much better (and more watchable) movie like Cars. Even Monster House's concept was more original, and the animation, although at times odd, was quite groundbreaking.

When Happy Feet was over, I couldn't believe how underwhelmed I felt. The movie just never made me "feel" or "care" for the protagonist. Sure, I didn't want him to end up badly, but I didn't care much about his fate either. That's the worst outcome on the part of the audience.

Ray felt the same way. A mediocre film that sported a cute character that in the end left you wanting. He couldn't believe it either when I told him this movie had beat Monster House (which at least offered some good scares) and Cars (which grows in my appreciation with each viewing -- the 7.5 I gave it would be 8 now for sure).

Like I said, the only superior thing in this movie is the animation itself. If you don't care for that, skip it safely.

Grade: 5