Happy FeetMovie Reviews

Poster art for "Happy Feet."

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Avg. Critic Score: 77 out of 100 Generally favorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
5 OK for kids 5+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 90
    Washington Post | Desson Thomson

    What's truly surprising about Happy Feet is not its giddily brilliant entertainment, its intimate knowledge of the culture or its toe-tapping music. It's how commonplace these qualities have become in computer-animated movies Happy Feet may be just one of the crowd, but what a great crowd it is. Read full review

  • 80
    The Hollywood Reporter | Kirk Honeycutt

    This animated all-penguin musical is terrific fun. Read full review

  • 80
    Los Angeles Times | Kenneth Turan

    No film with as many elements as Happy Feet is successful with all of them, and the romantic-emotional elements of this story feel overly familiar. But the music and dancing are fresh and new, and this strong an ecological message has not been seen since Hayao Miyazaki's "Princess Mononoke." Read full review

  • 80
    Variety | Todd McCarthy

    One of the very best directed animated films on record. Not surprisingly from the force behind the "Babe" movies, the attention to detail is phenomenal, the humor ample. Read full review

  • 75
    San Francisco Chronicle | Ruthe Stein

    Don't little ones have enough to worry about without ecological concerns popping up in family entertainment? Happy Feet should have stayed light on its feet. Read full review

  • 75
    Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum

    A moderately adorable, musically wacky, ecologically activist CG family comedy. Read full review

  • 75
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    The dazzling animation, catchy songs and Broadway-worthy dance numbers give the film even broader appeal. Read full review

  • 75
    Boston Globe | Ty Burr

    The movie's an uncategorizable mixture of the tacky and profound, and on some weird level, you have to respect it. Read full review

  • 70
    Wall Street Journal | Joe Morgenstern

    The essence of this inventive though erratic animated feature is joyous music and eye-popping motion. Read full review

  • 70
    The New York Times | Manohla Dargis

    While compromised by the uplift and affirmation that mainstream animation regurgitates like a mommy penguin, it also shows a remarkable persistence of vision. Even in a story about singing-and-dancing fat and feather, Mr. Miller can't help but go dark and deep. Read full review

View more reviews for Happy Feet on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 5+ Ultra-cute kid flick has a few scary, emotional moments.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that kids will definitely want to see this appealing animated film. The movie includes themes of humans intruding on natural habitats but avoids the heavy-duty questions of how to solve the problem. Some of the chase sequences and elephant seal scenes might be scary for younger kids. Also, racial stereotypes come into play: Latin-inspired penguins are caricatured as party-loving animals, and an African-American-type penguin comes across as an oversexed, fundamentalist preacher. Still, the movie's themes of social acceptance and embracing your own uniqueness shine through.
  • Families can talk about how to accept and embrace each person's unique qualities. What makes Mumble different from the other penguins? Do you think it's hard for him to pursue his dream even when the others think it's weird?
  • Why do some people think that everyone should conform and "fit in"? Has there ever been a time when you didn't feel like you fit in? How did that make you feel?
  • How can people's individual abilities benefit their community and the larger world?
The good stuff
  • educationalvalue true1 Educational value: Kids are likely to pick up some "talking points" about conservation and environmentalism. They'll also learn the importance of being true to yourself.
  • message true3 Positive messages: Despite the fact that the main character is initially ostracized for being different, ultimately, the message of embracing your own uniqueness shines through. The movie also has strong environmental messages and themes.
  • rolemodels true3 Positive role models: A young penguin stands out from his flock because he's different. He tries to compensate for his "handicap" by doing something (dancing) that sets him apart from the others, but they still treat him poorly for his weirdness -- though they eventually sing another tune. On the other hand, there's some stereotyping.
What to watch for
  • violence false2 Violence and scariness: The penguins are attacked by scary elephant seals. They must face cold and blizzards.
  • sex false1 Sexy stuff: The penguins must sing a unique "heart song" to find a mate. Mumble bumps into another penguin's private parts. Reference to male penguins not wanting to hug each other. Some innuendoes from a male penguin about female penguins wanting him.
  • language false1 Language: "Freakin'," reference to kissing penguins' butts.
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Not an issue
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false0 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Not an issue
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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