Review: Happy Feet

UK release date: 8th December

George Miller, the co-writer of Babe, does for penguins what he did for pigs in this fabulous family adventure. Playing like March of the Penguins: the Musical, it combines jaw-dropping computer animation with contemporary and classic tunes to bring to life a simple but eloquent story of an outcast emperor penguin’s struggle for acceptance.

Moral and ecological messages abound as avian cutie Mumble (voiced by Elijah Wood) hatches without the ability to sing — a terrible misfortune in an Antarctic community where penguin couples find their mate through song. What he can do however is tap dance brilliantly, leading to social rejection that prompts him to embark on an exciting quest to prove his worth.

Every element of this heart-warming tale is delightful, from the astonishing visuals and imaginative song and dance numbers to the relentlessly paced (and occasionally scary) action sequences. The voice talent is also seriously classy, with Robin Williams in dual roles a highlight in a cast that also includes Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman as Mumble’s parents.

Radio Times rating:

****

UK cinema certificate U
Running time 108mins

Review by Sloan Freer

News: Robin Williams

The veteran comic puts in his usual bravura performance as a trio of penguins in this week’s Happy Feet, and it won’t be long before he’s back at the multiplexes, cropping up as President Theodore Roosevelt in the promising Ben Stiller family comedy Night at the Museum, out on Boxing Day.

Up next will be another of Williams’ partial departures from his comedy roots, with the fantsy drama August Rush, due around spring 2007. The comedian will play a mysterious stranger – who may or may not be a wizard – who helps young musical genius Freddie (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) Highmore track down his birth parents from the rough streets of New York.

Then it’s a return to more familiar Williams territory with his typically eccentric turn as a priest/marriage councillor in License to Wed, putting a couple – one half of which is made up by pop princess and budding Hollywood starlet Mandy Moore – through a series of insane relationship tests prior to their wedding day. Finally, with typical Williams material, he’ll play a psychiatrist whose emotions start taking on zany physical form in the abysmally-titled The Krazees. As much as he does “nutter” very well indeed, it’d surely be nice if he could do head-cases of the Insomnia or One Hour Photo variety a bit more often than these crazy-by-numbers re-hashes of his old Mork and Mindy routine?

News: Steve Coogan

The comedian still best known as Alan Partridge continues to find interesting film roles. Following his experimental turn in director Michael Winterbottom’s A Cock and Bull Story earlier this year and his supporting role in this week’s Marie Antoinette, Coogan has signed on to play the former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray, in a Winterbottom-directed adaptation of his memoirs, Murder in Samarkand. Detailing Murray’s efforts to expose alleged British involvement in the torture of terror suspects and other human rights abuses, it will be an interesting departure for the comic.

Also in the pipeline for Coogan is a feature-length movie based around his Alan Partridge character, Alan Partridge: The Movie, although the production is currently on hold. Meanwhile, he will be appearing in the Ben Stiller vehicle Night at the Museum alongside the likes of Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Mickey Rooney, Dick Van Dyke and Ricky Gervais – due to hit our screens on Boxing Day.

Coogan will also appear in a cameo role in Hot Fuzz – the British police comedy from the team behind cult favourite Shawn of the Dead – and is currently attached in the Roger Moore role alongside Ben Stiller in a movie version of 60s TV classic The Persuaders.