Merrick here...

Yellowguy sent in this look at HAPPY FEET – the film to which George Miller defaulted after complications with logistics and financing thwarted MAD MAX: FURY ROAD. You know…because the natural fall back for balls-to-the-wall, NOS injected, post-apocalyptic carnage is…cute penguins.

In all seriousness, Miller’s great with this kind of material (the BABE movies – particularly the subversively dark PIG IN THE CITY). And penguins? Well, even though that penguin house at Sea World smelled like a granny’s unwashed crotch (not that I’d know), I walked away from MARCH OF THE PENGUINS feeling these little fellows have more chutzpah and more integrity than many humans I know.

See? I’m anthropomorphizing them already…thus providing a natural segue into Yellowguy’s review…

What up, ppls?

First time reviewer, so please be gentle, kind Talkbackers.

Earlier, I attended a screening of Happy Feet at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences w/ my girlfriend, who was VERY excited to be seeing the movie. She kinda has a thing for penguins. It worries me.... Anyhoo, the theater was packed with mostly adults, so I didn't feel so silly being there. After a few minutes, the lights were dimmed and the showed the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix trailer, which kicks ass, BTW. Lots of ppl applauded the trailer, including me. Sorry, I just had to mention that. Soon after, the movie began and I braced myself for another animated waste of time...

But, doods, it was a great movie. Seriously. I really liked it. I think it's on par with Monster House. Happy Feet is definitely worth watching. If your thinking about seeing this flick, read no more. It's best if you don't know about the plot, as I was pleasantly surprised. Moving along...

Mumble(Elijah Wood) is born without the ability to sing, which really sucks for him cause all of the Emperor penguins need to know their "Heart song" in order to find a mate. What he can do is dance, he hatched dancing, literally. Which brings shame to his pops, Memphis(Hugh Jackman), who thinks it might be his fault his son is "special." Of course, his mother, Norma Jean(Nicole Kidman), loves him anyway, and hopes that school will help him learn to sing. But he doesn't ever learn, as much as he tries. The other chicks tease him, except for Gloria(Brittany Murphy), who defends him but seems embarrassed by his antics as well. Graduation day comes and Mumble watches all of his peers march off to their very first trip to the ocean. Although he did not graduate, he decide to tag along. And it is here that his journey really begins.

And what a cool journey it is. There are some really sweet scenes in the movie, like when Mumble and the Amigos fall off the ice, and go into this really long slide down the side of the ice. It funny, fast and kinda suspenseful. It ends with them splashing down into the ocean, when suddenly this huge machine come crashing down with them out of the ice. When you see the machine, it genuinely surprises you, cause you just spent the last 40 minutes only looking at ice and penguins. It's one of a few cool, little twists that made me like the movie. Also, when Mumble, Lovelace, and the Amigos trek though the blizzard, with the sun behind them, very cool little scene.

For those of you wondering whether your going to see "Turtle Butt," fret not. The movie takes itself seriously, and is funny without all of those stupid puns and tongue-in-cheek jokes. Bleh. Happy Feet is in it's own little world, thankfully. The plot is pretty well rounded, and by the time the movie ends, you'll really feel like Mumble went on this epic journey. Really! Don't give me that look! I guess it's kind of like the Lion King, where the kid goes off on his own, only to come back to show his worth.

The voice acting is pretty damn good, too. I really hate when I go see a new animated movie, cause I always end up sitting there trying to figure out who is doing what voice. Not so much here. Everyone does a good job. Robin Williams is really funny as Ramon, part of the Amigos. I think it is his best voice work, cause now he actually acting, instead of ranting like a maniac. Hell, I didn't even know Hugo Weaving was in the movie until I saw him in the credits. I guess I liked the fact that the voice actors didn't get in the way of their characters, it makes them more believable.

All in all, the movie is just plain ol' great, man. The plot is there. The laughs are there. And it has heart. Its theme of individuality and its view on how tradition rejects change is relevant, and kinda caught me off guard. It's fun and you won't regret seeing it, I promise. After the movie ended, they held a Q & A, which I didn't stay for cause I had to go to work, which sucks. Well, until next time.

If you use this, call me Yellowguy.

THANKS!!!!

The Penguins take on James Bond November 17.