Happy Feet Two

Happy Feet Two has all the allegorical animation requirements in one amusing story about a little penguin's growth to self-knowledge and courage, a family that fights for each other, and an entire village of empire penguins determined to survive in the face of a daunting environmental catastrophe.

And don't forget the dancing penguin routines, now a part of our cultural memory because who would have ever thought such a conceit would work? In the case of this film, the dancing is central to the survival of the colony, all of which is just metaphor for having imagination and invincible spirit to overcome the odds.

The chances for Happy Feet Two being sappy and repetitive were significant, but its ebullient spirit, gifted voices like Robin Williams,' and a creative plot make the penguins an unlikely symbol of intrepid imagination. Anyway, when I hid in a trench in New Zealand to see the little lovelies trundle home as they always do at the same time each day, I was hooked to see an animation renewing our cultural romance with penguins and the beast fable itself.