November 21, 2006
A Parent's Review of Happy Feet
As most of you don't know... I have a thing for penguins. I love all penguins, and have been known to stalk a few of my fine feathered friends at the Central Park Children's zoo. But I am especially fond of the most beautiful of their species - the Emperor Penguins. Here's one of my favorite photos of them. However, these sweet, mild mannered creatures which were portrayed so nobly in the March of the Penguins are not the Penguins you will encounter in Happy Feet, so you are forwarned.
To begin with, Happy Feet has a rating of PG for some mild peril and rude humor. Well, I normally pre-screen all the movies my sun watches, except for this one. Having been written and directed by George Miller (writer/director of Babe) I thought it would be a safe movie. Well, I was wrong. And you know kids, the thing that makes the adults laugh most (the rude humor) is exactly what kids will remember most and mimmick with amazing accuracy. Well, I learned that parental lesson on Sunday morning when my son mimmicked exactly one of the rude and sassy Puffer Penguins on our way to church.
I must admit that I was both mortified and trying very hard to contain my laughter, while seriously explaining why mimmicking that character was not appropriate . Sigh!
I think a PG13 rating would have been more appropriate. Thirteen year olds have the ability (hopefully) to understand, that while certain gestures are very funny for a cartoon on a movie screen, they are inappropriate for a man of any age to approach a woman with, unless he doesn't mind being smacked by his mother or the woman.
On the other hand, the movie is appropriate for adults who love Robin Williams, have a good sense of humor, and who enjoy cartoons and music. The only other thing that bothered me was the way Miller tried to stretch the movie's theme from self-acceptance to "regulating the overfishing of the Antarctic oceans". While most adults were scratching there heads at the significance of the UN General Assembly scene. I was frustrated over the factual inaccuracies of the film. The 2 biggest of these are: a) Penguins are endangered (they are instead reaching over-population) and b) the thinking that the UN or it's members have any jurisdiction over Antartica. They do not. Here's a factoid to tuck away in your heads: since Antartica is not a country and its uninhabited, the UN has no jurisdiction over the ice caps or it's mammalian occupants. Still, if you're able to overlook all that, then I dare say you might enjoy the film.
As for me, I really enjoyed the computer animation. Oh, and the penguins!
LOL - Oh my I can imagine. Yes, they do always pick up on the very worst bits and retain them with deadly accuracy. Well, consider it a learning experience for him... some things are not for polite company. *grin*
You'll be surprised when he gets to be older - he will actually watch his mouth around you... he is learning this even if you sometimes wonder.
And I'm also laughing at the "indoctrination" they constantly try to pull in these movies. Holy cow. ROFL.
Posted by: Teresa at November 22, 2006 12:49 AMFunny True Penguin Story:
When I was in college, someone was marketing coffee cups showing different animals subtly drawn in compromising positions.
The college I attended, Dominican in San Rafael, CA, was run by sisters of the Dominican order. The school mascot was a penguin, a chiding play on the fact that the sisters resembled penguins in their habits.
Someone had given one of the sisters one of the coffee cups I referred to , emblazoned with the amorous penguins. As I said, they were subtly drawn and the sister, obviously not aware of the actual meaning, had the cup proudly displayed on her desk as a pen and pencil holder. Probably still has it to this day!
Posted by: Mark at November 22, 2006 06:52 PM