As I told you last week (here), Warner Brothers totally spoiled us over Christmas, delivering a huge Santa sack stuffed full of DVDs to watch with the family. Even if many of them are Christmas-themed, I'll be reviewing them here on my blog over the coming weeks as you can come back to them next year for festive family viewing ideas.
First up was a well-known classic, Happy Feet. The sequel Happy Feet 2 has just hit the screens in cinemas so it was great to watch the original again. This film holds special memories too, as it was the first film I ever went to see with the kids in a real cinema.
You must have been living in a cave if you have no idea of the plot, but just in case, here's the official blurb on the back of the DVD. "Emperor penguins are born to sing. All except young Mumble, who was born to dance ... tap dance. Such un-penguin-like behaviour eventually gets Mumble kicked out of Emperor Land and into the big, cold world. Joined by his Adelie Amigos and an all-knowing Rockhopper penguin named Lovelace, Mumble embarks on an epic journey and ultimately proves that by being true to yourself, you can make all the difference in the world!"
It's a totally charming, sometimes hilarious, sometimes sentimental film that also has a strong ecological message that young viewers find easy to understand, and a whole host of positive values such as tolerance and accepting differences.
The all-star cast of voices (and songs) includes Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Brittany Murphy, Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman. I guarantee the mums and dads will be singing along to the classic Elvis and Motown hits while their kids try to hide in embarrassment !
This was actually on TV over Christmas but the DVD offers some cool bonuses, including two new fully-animated additional sequences (Mumble Meets a Blue Whale and a Happy Feet Moment), a private dance lesson with Savion Glover where you'll "Dance Like a Penguin : Stomp to the Beat", a behind-the-scenes feature and the music video for Brittany Murphy's "Somebody To Love".
Inside our copy, with a funky festive sparkly snowflake-covered slipcase featuring Mumble in a Santa hat, we also had a voucher for a "kids go free" offer at Sealife centres/sanctuaries. (However, please note that while the sticker on the case says valid until 31/12/2012, the validity date on the voucher itself inside the box is actually 31/3/2012.)
I call the pupils in my class Happy Feet when they keep jiggling about, so I can't wait to show this to them next Christmas or at the end of the school year when they've all handed their textbooks in !
star rating : 5/5
RRP : currently only £3.99 on amazon
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I haven't watched Happy Feet yet, I should do!
ReplyDeleteAmazing film
ReplyDeleteOoh anything with penguins in it = a sure winner for me.
ReplyDeleteWe love Happy Feet in our house, it's a great film
ReplyDelete