Happy Feet
| Category: | Movies |
| Genre: | Animation |
In the great nation of Emperor Penguins, deep in Antarctica, you’re nobody unless you can sing--which is unfortunate for Mumble, who is the worst singer in the world. He is born dancing to his own tune--tap dancing. Though Mumble’s mom, Norma Jean, thinks this little habit is cute, his dad, Memphis, says it “just ain’t penguin.” Besides, they both know that, without a Heartsong, Mumble may never find true love. As fate would have it, his one friend, Gloria, happens to be the best singer around. Mumble and Gloria have a connection from the moment they hatch, but she struggles with his strange “hippity- hoppity” ways. Mumble is just too different--especially for Noah the Elder, the stern leader of Emperor Land, who ultimately casts him out of the community. Away from home for the first time, Mumble meets a posse of decidedly un-Emperor-like penguins--the Adelie Amigos. Led by Ramon, the Adelies instantly embrace Mumble’s cool dance moves and invite him to party with them. In Adelie Land, Mumble seeks the counsel of Lovelace the Guru, a crazy-feathered Rockhopper penguin who will answer any of life’s questions for the price of a pebble. Together with Lovelace and the Amigos, Mumble sets out across vast landscapes and, after some epic encounters, proves that by being true to yourself, you can make all the difference in the world.
Also Known As: The Kingdom
Production Status: Released
Logline: A children's tale about a young penguin with an unusual gift and his adventures
in Antarctica.
Genres: Action/Adventure, Kids/Family, Musical/Performing Arts and Animation
Running Time: 1 hr. 40 min.
Release Date: November 17th, 2006 (wide)
MPAA Rating: PG for some mild peril and rude humor.
Distributors: Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution
Production Co.: Kennedy/Miller Productions, Village Roadshow Pictures Entertainment
Studios: Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
U.S. Box Office: $99,256,766
Filming Locations: Australia
Produced in: United States
MY TAKE ON THE MOVIE:
I didn’t like it as much as the people who recommended that I watch the movie. Mainly because, I saw it as a cartoon adaptation of the documentary film – March of the Penguins. It’s basically the same! But I have to admit, I fell in love with Mambo from that moment when he tapped his feet out of his shell and into the world. He’s cute, he’s happy, and his feet are happy too. But he can’t sing, which makes him the odd one out in the whole pack of emperor penguins. And because of that, he was ridiculed by everyone. This makes me think of how we, the more intelligent creatures, so to speak, treat the “differently-abled” among us. Are we more tolerant or more demanding of them? Or when we find ourselves in a situation where we are being singled out as different, how do react?
I remember that one summer (1998) when I was dragged into studying sign language by an eccentric friend. At the start, it was more of making use of my idle time than really taking interest in the endeavor. So there I was, going to the DAB (Deaf Association of Bacolod) office with no expectations, what so ever. When I arrived, I was directed to this room near the reception area. Luckily, it didn't take a while for my friend to turn in the direction of the door and motion me in. A woman, was already standing in front of the group explaining about the course and how it was going to go. We will we holding classes daily, two students to one tutor - a deaf mute. Lori, that's the name of my friend, and I were assigned to Jane, a college student taking up regular engineering courses in one of the Catholic schools in the city.
Everyday we would meet at around 2pm and we will start the session by exercising our fingers. Then we learn the signs following this module they prepared. At first, it was kind of awkward for us, but soon we were already doing signs like pros. My classmates and I even went to the point of pretending that we were deaf mutes while we were riding a jeepney, conversing in signs while we observe the reactions of the passengers. What they actually didn't know was we were just translating the song My Heart Will Go On into signs.
For our culminating activity, we were asked to talk about one life experience in signs, then we will be evaluated through one-on-one conversation. Of course nobody failed, hehehhehehe. We had an excursion for our graduation activity then it was over.
My deaf mute friends.
Jane was a nice lady but it was with Gemma, Christopher, and the gwapo guy whose name I no longer recall, that I shared fond memories with.
Christopher was the president of the group. He has partial hearing and can talk audibly. He's fortunate to be given a kitchen job at McDonald's. He's married and with kids, I think. Gemma, the one I became really close with, was also working at McDonald's. She's an ex-girlfriend of Christopher but they broke up somehow. The gwapo guy, was working at the IT department of a department store out of town. He's already married to a nurse.
Somehow, Gemma grew fond of me that she started inviting me to hear Sunday mass with her at a chapel ran by the same NGO helping the differently-abled. It was a while before I could finally give in. And when I accepted the invitation, I saw myself hearing mass at a place where I was the "differently-abled." Everybody there was special and the priest and everybody involved in the mass catered to the needs of all who attended mass. They all knew how to do sign language and those who couldn't see played a vital role in the choir. It was a heartwarming experience for me. But I only heard mass there twice, hehehehehhe. I also have my Sunday obligations with my family and relatives, you know.
The Gwapo Guy. Lori had this some sort of fanaticism over the gwapo guy that we actually came close to stalking him! We researched about him, what he graduated of, where he lived, where he work, his past relationship. And because the deaf mutes are truthful people, it wasn't hard really to dig up such information without sounding like we were interested with him at some weird level. Well, the worst that we actually did was we went to his work place, which was literally an hour's ride from the city just to say hello. How weird is that? I never really took any romantic liking with the guy but Lori insisted that he might be the one for me. Weird!
Learnings.
The sign language class taught me to communicate basic sign language. It made me converse and exchange stories about our lives, hopes and dreams in sign. But what I treasure most from my experience is that I was able to know them more and understand them more that I used to. I learned that they are very opinionated people who have no qualms about expressing their feelings, no sugar-coating whatsoever. I learned that they are very loyal friends and that they stick to each other in times of crises. I learned that they are very transparent about their emotions. And I learned that they gossip too! In fact, they are more of bantayeras and maniningads only we don't know it hahahhahahahah!
Hmmm, the summer ended eventually and we lost touch. I haven't seen any of my deaf mute friends nor my classmates since then. I have even forgotten much of the sign language I learned. It was indeed an unforgettable summer for me, thanks to Lori, I am less different.
I remember that one summer (1998) when I was dragged into studying sign language by an eccentric friend. At the start, it was more of making use of my idle time than really taking interest in the endeavor. So there I was, going to the DAB (Deaf Association of Bacolod) office with no expectations, what so ever. When I arrived, I was directed to this room near the reception area. Luckily, it didn't take a while for my friend to turn in the direction of the door and motion me in. A woman, was already standing in front of the group explaining about the course and how it was going to go. We will we holding classes daily, two students to one tutor - a deaf mute. Lori, that's the name of my friend, and I were assigned to Jane, a college student taking up regular engineering courses in one of the Catholic schools in the city.
Everyday we would meet at around 2pm and we will start the session by exercising our fingers. Then we learn the signs following this module they prepared. At first, it was kind of awkward for us, but soon we were already doing signs like pros. My classmates and I even went to the point of pretending that we were deaf mutes while we were riding a jeepney, conversing in signs while we observe the reactions of the passengers. What they actually didn't know was we were just translating the song My Heart Will Go On into signs.
For our culminating activity, we were asked to talk about one life experience in signs, then we will be evaluated through one-on-one conversation. Of course nobody failed, hehehhehehe. We had an excursion for our graduation activity then it was over.
My deaf mute friends.
Jane was a nice lady but it was with Gemma, Christopher, and the gwapo guy whose name I no longer recall, that I shared fond memories with.
Christopher was the president of the group. He has partial hearing and can talk audibly. He's fortunate to be given a kitchen job at McDonald's. He's married and with kids, I think. Gemma, the one I became really close with, was also working at McDonald's. She's an ex-girlfriend of Christopher but they broke up somehow. The gwapo guy, was working at the IT department of a department store out of town. He's already married to a nurse.
Somehow, Gemma grew fond of me that she started inviting me to hear Sunday mass with her at a chapel ran by the same NGO helping the differently-abled. It was a while before I could finally give in. And when I accepted the invitation, I saw myself hearing mass at a place where I was the "differently-abled." Everybody there was special and the priest and everybody involved in the mass catered to the needs of all who attended mass. They all knew how to do sign language and those who couldn't see played a vital role in the choir. It was a heartwarming experience for me. But I only heard mass there twice, hehehehehhe. I also have my Sunday obligations with my family and relatives, you know.
The Gwapo Guy. Lori had this some sort of fanaticism over the gwapo guy that we actually came close to stalking him! We researched about him, what he graduated of, where he lived, where he work, his past relationship. And because the deaf mutes are truthful people, it wasn't hard really to dig up such information without sounding like we were interested with him at some weird level. Well, the worst that we actually did was we went to his work place, which was literally an hour's ride from the city just to say hello. How weird is that? I never really took any romantic liking with the guy but Lori insisted that he might be the one for me. Weird!
Learnings.
The sign language class taught me to communicate basic sign language. It made me converse and exchange stories about our lives, hopes and dreams in sign. But what I treasure most from my experience is that I was able to know them more and understand them more that I used to. I learned that they are very opinionated people who have no qualms about expressing their feelings, no sugar-coating whatsoever. I learned that they are very loyal friends and that they stick to each other in times of crises. I learned that they are very transparent about their emotions. And I learned that they gossip too! In fact, they are more of bantayeras and maniningads only we don't know it hahahhahahahah!
Hmmm, the summer ended eventually and we lost touch. I haven't seen any of my deaf mute friends nor my classmates since then. I have even forgotten much of the sign language I learned. It was indeed an unforgettable summer for me, thanks to Lori, I am less different.
Labels: movies
posted by roxiegirl at 9:09 PM
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