Rated PG for some mild peril and rude humor.
Directed by George Miller (Babe: Pig in the City)
Starring Elijah Wood, Brittany Murphy & Robin Williams
Let me be honest, my 5-year old son wanted to see this movie… me, I’d rather go see Apocalypto, which was playing in the theater next door. I guess I was expecting a typical “I don’t fit in – zero to hero transformation – save the day – happy ending” movie. And even though Happy Feet may fit into that category, it took enough turns, made enough jokes and showed enough dancing penguins to keep me interested. Yeah I’ll admit I loved the dancing penguins.
The story begins with Memphis (Hugh Jackman) and Norma Jean (Nichole Kidman) singing their “heartsong” and setting the stage for the plot of the film. As the women leave to fish, Memphis stays behind with the other men, protecting their eggs. Unfortunately Memphis gets distracted and allows the Egg to roll into the cold.
When Mumble (Elijah Wood) finally breaks free from his shell, his dad knows something is wrong right away and tries everything to hide it. When the women return, Norma Jean is introduced to her son for the first time. She too realizes Mumble is different but is able to overlook it while Mumble’s dad repeatedly cries, “It just ain’t penguin.”
After every attempt to make Mumble a true penguin fails, he sets off on his journey of self-discovery.
The message of accepting those who are different is the overwhelming theme of Happy Feet. As a Christian, this gives us a great opportunity to talk about the ultimate display of love and acceptance, but in our politically correct culture… well you know where that can go.
SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
My son loved it and as soon as the lights came up he wanted to show me his Happy Feet dance. But there were definitely a few scary and jump-out-of-your-seat moments throughout the movie. You know, where his hands were covering his eyes and he had crawled up on my lap. So take them… just be ready to be wearing some of their popcorn.
Conversation Starter
Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):
- What are some of the messages or themes you observed in this movie?
- How do you suppose we—as serious Christ-followers—should react to this movie?
- How can we move from healthy, Bible-based opinions about this movie to actually living out those opinions?
