Centered around emperor penguins that sing, the story begins with 2 penguins falling in love. They are Norma Jean and Memphis.

Shortly after, the females lay eggs for the males to keep in between their feet. Then they leave for fishing.

However, while they’re gone, Memphis accidentally drops his egg. Little does he know that this will change the way his child lives.

Sometime later, the eggs hatch, and all the chicks are born. When Memphis and Norma Jean’s son, Mumble, is born, though, he has a tendency to tap-dance. Not only that, but he is also unable to sing, unlike the rest of the penguins.

No matter how much help Mumble receives, he still can’t sing. This leads to others misunderstanding him, thus turning on him, including his own father.

Time has passed, and Mumble is now a young adult penguin, but still has the head of a chick. He develops feelings for his childhood friend, Gloria, who performs for the other penguins around Mumble’s age.

But his inability to sing displeases Gloria. He even gets kicked out of her performance and floats away on a piece of ice.

At some point, he meets some Adélie penguins, who are quite different from Emperor penguins. For instance, they don’t sing as much. But they do support Mumble’s dancing.

In addition to the Adélie penguins, Mumble also meets a rockhopper penguin called Lovelace. He has a pack of plastic rings around his neck thanks to the “aliens.”

When mating season comes, Mumble returns to the Emperor penguins’ area and tries to impress Gloria with his “singing.” However, it is actually Ramón, one of the Adélie penguins, singing. Mumble was actually lipsyncing. This annoys Gloria.

The elders are also outraged. Even Memphis demands that Mumble stops dancing, which he refuses. Then Memphis loudly confesses that he dropped the egg Mumble was in. Yet that changes nothing, and Mumble gets exiled.

Crazy things occur from then on. They include Lovelace choking, killer whale attacks, and Mumble ending up in a zoo.

What will happen next?

I did not expect this movie to engage me all the way through. After all, I haven’t seen it since I was a kid.

But it has a strong and creative premise – penguins singing. And they are all pop songs.

Aside from feeling entertained by the penguins singing, I also found the characters to be well-developed – especially Mumble. I felt sorry for him. Others dismissed his inability to sing and his tendency to tap-dance. But he remained likable and determined.

Almost all the penguins were likable, including Memphis. I was glad when he revealed why Mumble was different.

I also adored how Norma Jean was soft, sweet, and understanding of Mumble. She was in the minority.

I considered it interesting for the Adélie penguins to have Hispanic names and accents. It’s a good way to show uniqueness and cultural differences in an unexpected way. I also consider it inclusive.

The character designs were pretty realistic. Although I didn’t mind that for the penguins, it felt a bit bizarre for the humans, despite how little screen time they had. And I considered it kind of peculiar that Mumble looked like a giant chick once he reached adulthood.

On the bright side, though, it is easier to distinguish him from the other penguins.

Overall, I enjoyed Happy Feet. It was a fun, fast-paced movie with surprises, music, and excitement.

I give this film 5 out of 5 stars.