Thursday Movie Picks: Villainous Children

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Happy Feet Two

Directed by George Miller.

2011. Rated PG, 100 minutes.

Cast:

Elijah Wood

Robin Williams

Pink

Benjamin Flores Jr.

Hugo Weaving

Brad Pitt

Matt Damon

Common

Sofia Vergara

Hank Azaria

John Goodman

Carlos Alazraqui

Ava Acres

Lombardo Boyar

Mumble (Wood), along with seemingly every penguin in the world finds themselves trapped when a giant hunk of ice blocks their path out of a frozen valley. Meanwhile, Will and Bill, a pair of krill played by Brad Pitt and Matt Damon, respectively, break loose from their school and venture out into the ocean on their own. Pop song medleys and dancing ensues.

As with its predecessor, the singing and dancing is the strength of the movie. The way songs most of would never think of in the same sentence blend seamlessly is brilliant. The numbers are lively and make time speed  by as we tap our own happy feet and maybe even sing along. That is, of course, as long as the thought of musicals aimed at children doesn’t automatically turn your stomach.

Where the first movie falters is in its sudden twist in tone. After two cheerful acts encouraging kids to be true to themselves, the third is an excruciatingly dark one involving man’s exploitation of animals for financial gain and destruction of the environment on top of our hero suffering spells of dementia. Even though we never get anywhere near those depths this time around, we’re only given one fun act before settling in for lots of penguins fretting about their pending doom and worshipping false idols. Sure, there are plenty of attempts at humor but most of them fall flat. To gauge this, I made sure to notice my children who weren’t laughing very often. The truth is the penguins and most of the other creatures fail to engage us unless they’re belting out a tune.

One exception, at least on a minor level, is Mumble’s son Erik (Ares). Like his dad, he’s a bit different than the other penguins. He doesn’t join in on any of the songs they sing. In fact, he doesn’t say much at all and spends as much time as possible hiding. As in almost every other movie ever made that features such an insecure character, this is all leading up to the moment he bursts out of his shell. The pleasant surprise is how effective a moment this is. It’s an absolute showstopper, by far my favorite part of the entire movie.

The rest of the film proceeds as it must, efficiently but not always joyfully. Everything happens right on time as we’ve been trained by countless other kiddie flicks. The climax is ridiculous, even for a cartoon about singing penguins. All of this would be forgivable if it didn’t commit a cardinal sin. There are large chunks of Happy Feet Two that are just plain boring.

MY SCORE: 5/10

9

Directed by Shane Acker.
2009. Rated PG-13, 79 minutes.
Cast:
Elijah Wood
Christopher Plummer
Martin Landau
Jennifer Connelly
John C. Reilly
Alan Oppenheimer
Crispin Glover

Plot: Man has been completely destroyed by it's war with machines. A group of dolls created shortly before this that have been given life, is the closest thing to humanity left. Each is known only by a number, and appear to be made of burlap. Together, they try to overcome what man couldn't.

The Good: It's an interesting take on a post-apocalyptic world where man vs. machine has technically become machine vs. machine. The overally dusty look works well and aids in the mood of the story. The moral dilemma of whether to run and hide or stay and fight is played quite nicely. On top of those things, we get excellent visuals during the many chase sequences.

The Bad: At only 79 minutes, it doesn't seem to fulfill it's potential. So much more could've been said and done. It's PG-13 rating ensures that it's not strictly for kids so worrying about the audience's attention span shouldn't be an issue. Therefore, it should've been free to expand it's world, situations and relationships, becoming a serious epic. Instead, it ends and leaves us feeling like it pulled it's punches.

The Ugly: We get perhaps the most menacing use of Somewhere Over the Rainbow, ever.

Recommendation: First, don't go in thinking this is another cuddly kiddie flick because it's not. Though the creative minds behind The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride are producers, Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov, don't even think this is in a similar vein to those. This is not a musical and is a rather humorless affair. That said, it is a fascinating watch. I just wish there were more of it to see and absorb.

MY SCORE: 7/10