Happy Feet Two

How can one go wrong with cute penguins? It's not easy to do, especially in the aftermath of a hit first film. Mumble is all grown up now but his kids are ready to have adventures of their own. The focus is on little Erik, who dreams of learning to fly but who hasn't yet found a reason to dance. When the movement of an ice shelf leaves the colony trapped, Erik, his father and their friends will need all their resources to save the day.

Fans of musical cinema will enjoy toe-tapping numbers much in the spirit of the original, though lyrics aside, the songs don't always seem to fit very well with what's going on.

The film has a lot of energy and plenty of appealing characters (from Sven the puffin masquerading as an exotic penguin to Brian the pugilistic Australian elephant seal), but it's poorly paced with too many subplots. Younger children may find it hard to keep track of favourite characters who are off the screen for 15 minutes at a time. They may well feel frustrated by the lack of screen time afforded to younger ones. In following its central character into adulthood, the story has rather lost its way.

Adult viewers may relate to themes concerning parenthood and romance, and there's a rather charming tangent with existentialist krill. Despite its sentimentality, Happy Feet Two is a lot more watchable that much kids' Christmas fare. Adults and children alike will be wowed by the beautifully rendered CGI, which makes the surprisingly diverse Antarctic landscape utterly believable.

Though nowhere near as much fun as it should have been, Happy Feet Two will still please devotees and win a few new viewers over.