Funnily enough, I was pondering the day before yesterday if they were gonna release a Happy Feet 2 trailer soon and whether it would be similar to the first one’s rather spectacular teaser.
Well, it’s just been released over on Apple Trailers, and yes, it’s pretty similar to the first movie’s teaser. It has lost the mystery and appeal of the first movie’s teaser, which took the world by storm because it was so unexpected and most people were unaware of the movie was even in-production (I certainly didn’t know of Animal Logic before 2006). But hey, it’s still cute as hell.
Now instead of one lone penguin, we got a double-team of little stompers in a face-off. And at the end, we have what looks like the protagonist and possibly her godfather or guardian. If any of you have seen the end of the first movie, you’d probably have an idea who she is, judging from her bow-tie mark.
Can’t say I’m over-the-moon as excited for this as I am for Kung Fu Panda 2 or Brave, but Animal Logic has never disappointed me before, so I’m hopeful.
The only thing I’m annoyed with is that they repeated the first movie’s tagline (“Novemburr”… wow, it’s even the same release month as the first!) and that they could’ve used less recent music. When I was pondering about the trailer, I actually imagined they would use this song to a huge Bollywood-style dance number, but sadly we get a cheesy ‘Step Up’ showdown instead.
Oh well, can’t wait for the full-length trailer! I wonder where they’re gonna take the story so it doesn’t become a repetition of the first’s themes.
So they aren’t doing that plot of “penguins meet aliens” that the original movie was going to have? I think it sounded like it could be really cool, but probably would seem like a cheesy follow up. I’m not really excited about this one at all. According to Wikipedia, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon have been cast to play the krill, which to me is the most pointless thing ever, to the point that it is comical.
Personally, I’m not so much concerned about the choice of voice actors (insert Team America: World Police joke here) as more of the story’s themes and message. I really am curious how they’re going to avoid it becoming a retread of the first film’s plot.
For Cars 2 for example, I love that they turned the first film’s settings and character development on its head, so that now instead of the city-slicker getting a taste of small-town life, it’s the country bumpkin who gets to see the world. Or Kung Fu Panda 2, where now that the protagonist is confident in his own abilities, he has to face something dark from his past and defeat an enemy who has the power to destroy his strength of Kung Fu.
For Happy Feet 2, it will be an obvious continuation of Mumble and Gloria’s chick’s story (the stuff of many an enthusiastic fanfiction writer). But where will they take the story next? Does it deserve a continuation? What is so special about the protagonist this time round, and what role does that elephant seal play in the picture (He seems like an important character, unless he’s just thrown into the teaser for comical effect).
Also, what’s up with the needlework design in the logo? Is this significant?
That’s why this press release raises more questions, which I suppose is a good thing, rather than blowing the entire plot straightaway.
I think the fact that we know literally nothing about this film is the reason I’m not excited. I need something to tell me that its not the same movie as the first all over again.
It could be good, but I really don’t know. They have gotten me interested enough that I want to re-watch the first movie, so I guess that’s good enough of an effect for such a short teaser.
Happy Feet is the only animated movie that I hate with a passion. The only one. There are movies I dislike, and others I’m partial too. But I can’t stand Happy Feet. If I talk about it any more I’ll get into a downer, long, rant. I’ll spare you guys from that.
The most of this movie I’ll see is the trailers. I’ll tell you that.
Yeah, this is what concerns me the most. I wasn’t as miffed by the environmental message as others were, but I wouldn’t want the same lesson to be repeated again (which, for me personally, happened with Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3 on ‘forgiveness’ and ‘trust’).
I also could’ve done without the ‘Sexy Back’ dance face-off (as I mentioned earlier, it’s cute as heck, but incredibly cheesy). It would’ve been much more adorable if they had just started off with Erik (according to the synopsis, it’s a ‘he’, but I thought that chick sounded more like a girl) and had him do that a little waltz number with that elephant seal or something. Something like the first movie’s teaser, which felt much more charming to me, personally.
Make the mean bird take it back!
Well, I’m curious to hear why you despise it so much, but if it makes you uncomfortable or it takes up too much time, I respect your opinion.
I don’t mind saying it, but I just didn’t want to be a downer to your guys thread, because you like Happy Feet. But if you want to know, I’ll say.
I was bored to death the frist time I saw it and fell to sleep. I decided to be fair and watch it again, with a friend who also fell asleep a seperate time. We saw it and were pulling out our hair. She wanted to stop the movie, but I wanted to see the whole thing. I didn’t like the story, characters, or movies. THose are the three things that make a movie. I don’t have a concrete reason, just all of those three things got on my nerves. The movie went on too long, the songs were horrible, and Robin William’s character ruined it for me. I don’t think I’d dislike this movie so much if everyone likes it so much and raves about it. Because I don’t understand why people do, or why it got an Oscar.
I WILL say that I liked Steve Irwin’s voice role. It was only for a second, but I’ll give the movie that. I enjoyed that part.
bryan: I’m a bit unimpressed with the contemporary music too, but a Youtube commenter had this to say:
Which sort of makes sense, I guess!
EJE: I think it was kind of difficult to concentrate with the rather monotonous environment (white ice and blue skies)? Although I thought the photo-realistic avalanches, Northern Lights, and the evening sunset when Mumble jumped off the cliff were pretty breathtaking.
And some of the songs were oldies, so I loved the references. Robin Williams’ character seems to be a fan-favourite and got a lot of laughs both times I saw it in cinemas (yeah, first time I went alone, the second time was with my entire family because my mum was dying to see it).
I can see how it might have elicited the ‘overrated’ reaction from you. I kind of felt the same way with ‘The Social Network’. People adored it because of the drama and Jesse Eisenberg’s character and all that, but I absolutely hated the film because it was very depressing (it was pessimistic with the ‘friends will betray you and there’s no chance-in-h*ll of redemption or forgiveness’ message) and none of the characters are likeable at all.
So yeah, I can see why you might have reasons for not liking it. On the flip side, I have to agree with you that I liked Steve Irwin’s voice… only that I’m not sure which elephant seal he was! May have to watch again, those Aussie accents can be pretty tricky to distinguish.
I’ve never been too thrilled about the first film, though it left quite an impression to me. Last time while watching it I could enjoy it because we were on a bus trip to not-quite-summer-yet-camp, I found it fun to recognize voices (lo and behold, it was in Dutch… that’s what you get in a bus full of kids).
I will probably see the sequel… I’m not sure if I will see it in the cinema, though.
But really, methinks Animal Logic should get started on that darned Bone film already!
The original was one of the many movies we watched during the last few weeks of school. I actually got sent to another classroom for something (I can’t remember what) and they were watching it in there, so I just sat back, relaxed, and watched it. Now I love penguins and all (they’re my favorite animals, actually), but this movie just makes them look like a joke. I hated it. I mean, it wasn’t TMMT III terrible, but it was terrible, nonetheless.
I loved Happy Feet when I saw it back in 2006. A great film though stuffed with some pretty obvious political messages.I think that movie deserved a better score on Rotten Tomatoes as well, to be honest. Great film.
However, a sequel? I can’t help but worry. This could end in a disaster and the trailers didn’t seem to promising. Perhaps it’s just me being all pessimistic but I won’t get my hopes up for this one.
Coming Novemburr, the most unnecessary sequel since all of DreamWorks’s sequels! I thought the first one “stunk out loud”, to quote Brad Bird, and not just because it beat Cars for Best Animated Feature. I felt it was way too long and too drawn out. It just bored me. I will probably not end up seeing this.
I hope The Muppets turns out to be the greatest film of Novemeber 2011, at least beating in critics to twilight 4.1, happy feet 2, arthur christmas and puss
PS: I’m gonna give arthur christmas the benefit of the doubt (after all the studio behind it, was the creator of chicken run and wallace)
Wow… this is rather… disappointing for me, to say the least. It seems that a lot of members didn’t like/appreciate the first movie.
Don’t feel bad about trashing it, we all are entitled to our opinions, and it’s interesting to learn your reasons for not liking it! I know you weren’t sarcastic with that phrase above, but in light of the rather pessimistic response from most folks here, I’m inclined to think that it can be read in that way, heheh.
Seriously, I struggle to comprehend why people didn’t like Happy Feet’s message. It’s not a political thing, it’s a ‘human decency’ thing. How advanced a society is, can be judged by how well it treats those who are different from it, such as animals. Granted, it was practically lectured to the audience at the end, but isn’t it the same with other movies such as Up’s constant repetition of ‘Live your own adventure’, or Toy Story 3’s theme of ‘letting go and saying goodbye’ being milked into a melodramatic farewell sequence? Or Rango’s ‘Become the Hero’ or Rio’s ‘Protect endangered species’ lessons. Every film has a moral, a message, a theme.
I think the trailers and the opening were deceptive. People expected a usual feel-good movie about a penguin beating his ‘disability’ and conforming to society, but when they get the message that it is ‘okay to be different’ (which some have read as a call to gay rights), they feel shortchanged. And it wasn’t like they pulled the environmental theme out of left-wing (if you’ll pardon the pun). There were clues from the beginning about the food shortage, how they prayed to Glaux for more fish, Gloria and Mumble fighting over the last fish, Lovelace being choked by his necklace, etc. So the audience had already been hinted that the whole environmental stewardship theme was gonna play an important role later on.
Anyway, hopefully they’ll handle the story better in the sequel. I don’t mean to step on anyone’s toes, but it sounds a bit hypocritical to be excited for a sequel to a mixed-reception Pixar movie (which, while looking promising, has yet to ascertain Lasseter’s bold claim of being a serious spy movie), while immediately dismissing a sequel from another studio of which we have very little information about beyond this and a simple synopsis.
I choose to remain ‘hopefully skeptical’, as I am with all other movies, Pixar or otherwise.
It was the message that got everyone here so uppity about it that was the reason that I was only able to get three quarters of the way through. I think from the time of it’s release till the time I saw it, a year’s time, I think, the political aspect of it has been shoved down our throats constantly.
In Up and Rango, they’re more of “take charge” themes, be yourself, do what you want. In TS3, everyone can relate because we’ve all been there before, growing up and moving on. Rio… it was upfront that that’s what it was going to be about, and wasn’t a shocker when you went to the theatres, as in with Wall-E, a lot of people here felt as well that it was an extreme environmental lesson shoved down your throat as well.
With Happy Feet, I don’t remember having any idea what the movie was about at it’s release, except that it was about adorable penguins who could dance. The strong environmental themes in it, we don’t want to see that. It’s not fun, it shows how wrong humans could be, and we don’t want to look at that. We don’t want to be lectured on that, especially when it’s seen all over the media anyway.
As for seeing Happy Feet 2, I’ll probably wait until it comes out on DVD and rent it from work for free a week earlier. I’m not really keen on seeing it in theatres. Also, with ticket prices like they are, I’m lucky if I can go see a movie in theatres now-a-days. It’s too expensive to go if you don’t have any idea what the movie is really about, or if you’re not too keen on seeing it anyways.
I should probably rent Happy Feet just to finish it all. But I’ll agree with you, the characters are really cute, and there are some visually-stunning parts in the film.
Like I said, the trailers for Happy Feet were very deceptive. Rio made it clear that the characters were bird-napped by poachers in the trailer. For Wall-E, at least they focused on the romantic aspect (and as many of you know, it wasn’t Stanton’s original intention to have it as an environmental cautionary tale either).
Well, yes, that is a good way to explain the intense dislike of it, especially by those who don’t like to be shown the follies of humanity. I hate ‘greenwashing’ as much as the next pragmatic guy, but what do you personally think?
I thought it was a great message (if it hadn’t come out in the wake of ‘Inconvenient Truth’ and all the greenwashing hype in the media), just like Wall-E showing the adverse effects of what poor waste management and overconsurism can do to the planet. The thing is, Wall-E took that to an absurd (though not impossibe) level and it came off as a parody, although that didn’t detract from the eerie opening sequence. For Happy Feet, with the overfishing to the point of disrupting the food chain, I think it hit too close to home. The end montage of all the nations battling it out and signing a treaty felt too ‘real’, and I think that’s when people felt they were being sold a political message about pressuring their governments to adopt sustainable policies, etc.
I, personally, think this is great. Why wouldn’t you want to teach your children how to treat our planet properly? Yes, global warming may be a myth (at least, according to climate cynics), or maybe those polar ice caps aren’t really melting, entire ecosystems being destroyed could all be a left-wing lie, etc. But what’s wrong with taking preventive measures? I relished how Happy Feet had so many people up-in-arms, when really, it was just a simple movie about treating the environment with respect, and accepting people with differences (be they singing-impaired, mentally-challenged, or of different sexual preferences, depending on hwo much you want to read into Mumble’s character). It showed the power of films and how they were able to affect our emotions and challenge our thinking, and that’s why Happy Feet felt like a success from me, apart from the technological and character standpoints.
I recommend you perservere and watch Happy Feet to the end, if only to see that rather awkward (but well-intentioned) United-Nations montage, so that you can form an opinion of it in its full context. And even if it is a thematic hit-and-miss, the plot structure, character development, and visual-effecst mastery is a resounding success for me.
Off-topic: Have you watched ‘Paulie’ yet? I think you’ve watched ‘Rio’, if I’m not mistaken, and I want to see the former to compare it with ‘Rio’. I remember mentioning that it has several similarities of a bird ‘finding its way home’ to its master that was especially touching (although reading the online reviews, some people say it’s pretty cheesy at parts!).
I think MissCarrera or haijessie mentioned in another thread they loved it, but no one who has replied here seems to be an outright fan.
I wonder where they’re gonna take the story so it doesn’t become a repetition of the first’s themes.
Make the mean bird take it back!
