Review: 'Happy Feet Two' is enjoyable

Film: Happy Feet Two (U/A)
Cast: Elijah Wood, Sofía Vergara, Robin Williams, Pink, Ava Acres, Hugo Weaving, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon
Director: George Miller
Rating: ***1/2

Happy Feet Two takes audiences back to the icescapes of Antarctica. The star of the earlier film, the tap dancing sensation Mumble (Wood), is now a father to rhythmless fledgling Erik (Acres). Perpetually out of step, Erik , who sticks out like a sore thumb in a community of dancing emperor penguins is taken in by the mysterious Sven (Azaria), a Scandinavian penguin who can fly. Worshipped by the shaman Lovelace (Williams) the large billed Sven is a widely regarded as a messianic figure of sorts, though Mumble is less credulous.

For Erik, things far worse lie in store than social ostracism.  When a malignant iceberg, let stray thanks to global warming, hems in his home with its waddling denizens -- from diva mother Gloria (Pink) to elder Noah (Weaving), leaving them vulnerable to starvation, its up to Mumble, his son and their friends to save the day.

Happy Feet Two, much more than a pleasant watch, lives up to its predecessor’s wit and charm. And for a movie about digitally created penguins shaking it to popular numbers, it never descends into juvenile silliness either.  Aside of song-and-dance based thrills, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon provide breakout character- level amusement in a parallel plot as Will and Bill, two krill on a quixotic quest to ascend the food chain in a bid to evade existential terror. Azaria as the Aryan Sven and Williams, as Lovelace and the lovelorn Adélie Penguin Ramon in an anti-Latin lover avatar, shine with their voice-overs.

Apart from top-notch animation that sets up the achingly beautiful and desolate stretches of the continent and its sometimes surreal fauna, the 3D is above spectacular, with several striking visuals magnificently obliterating the fourth wall, which makes for a delightful spectacle in sequences involving action.

In Happy Feet Two lessons such as how together, everyone can accomplish more are imparted, but not in a sanctimoniousness manner. While one could say that as the film progresses, focus and consistency are lost, diversions such as Will and Bill are welcome and stray elements eventually do manage to come together to form a powerful statement.

All in all, Happy Feet Two is an enjoyable romp keeps you enthralled and amused with its visuals, wit and foot-tapping music.