Happy Feet is a 2006 Australian-American computer-animated musical family film, directed and co-written by George Miller. It was produced at Sydney-based visual effects and animation studio Animal Logic for Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures and Kingdom Feature Productions and was released in North American theaters on November 17, 2006. It is the first animated film produced by Kennedy Miller in association with visual effects/design company Animal Logic.

 

Son of Memphis (Hugh Jackman) and Norma Jean (Nicole Kidman), Mumble (Elijah Wood), a sweet little ball of penguin fluff has one big problem: no matter how hard he tries, he can' t sing a single note. In a world where every penguin attracts their soul mate through their own special heart-song, he cannot ever truly belong. But as it happens, Mumble is a brilliant tap-dancer! When he unleashes his deepest feelings, they don't come from his beak…they pour out through his “happy feet”.

 

As he grows into a teenager who is keen to gain acceptance, he fails to graduate and is the last to lose his adolescent feathers…setting him further apart. But Mumble is curious about the world and not afraid of challenges thrown in his path. And when the seas become depleted of fish, the Elders of the Penguin Nation blame Mumble and his strange ′hippity-hoppity′ gait for disturbing the natural order. So he sets out on a journey across the vast Antarctic landscape to prove them wrong.

 

Though primarily an animated film, Happy Feet does incorporate motion capture of live action humans in certain scenes. The film was simultaneously released in both conventional theatres and in IMAX 2D format. The studio had hinted that a future IMAX 3D release was a possibility. However, Warner Bros., the film's production company, was on too tight a budget to release Happy Feet in IMAX digital 3D.

 

Happy Feet is a jukebox musical, taking previously recorded songs and working them into the film's soundtrack to fit with the mood of the scene or character. Two soundtrack albums were released for the film; one containing songs from and inspired by the film, and another featuring John Powell's instrumental score. They were released on October 31, 2006 and December 19, 2006, respectively.

 

Happy Feet received generally positive reviews. Review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes reported that the film has a 75% fresh rating, with an 82% percent from the Top Critics.

 

Happy Feet won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and the BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film, and was nominated for the Annie Award for Best Animated Feature and the Saturn Award for Best Animated Film.