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55-454: Happy Feet is a 2006 animated jukebox musical comedy film directed and produced by George Miller and written by Miller, John Collee , Judy Morris and Warren Coleman. It stars the voices of Elijah Wood , Robin Williams , Brittany Murphy , Hugh Jackman , Nicole Kidman , Hugo Weaving , Anthony LaPaglia , Magda Szubanski and Steve Irwin . An international co-production between

110-546: A blue whale and an albatross while pursuing the fishing boat. The albatross was Steve Irwin 's first voice role in the film before he voiced the elephant seal in the final cut. The scene was finished and included on the DVD in Irwin's memory. This scene is done in documentary style, with the albatross describing the other characters in the scene, and the impact people are having on their environment. Another special feature included on

165-607: A documentary there. He said, 'You've got to make a film in Antarctica. It's just like out here, in the wasteland. It's spectacular.' And that always stuck in my head." Happy Feet was also partially inspired by earlier documentaries such as the BBC 's Life in the Freezer . In 2001, during an otherwise non-sequitur meeting, Doug Mitchell impulsively presented Warner Bros. studio president Alan Horn with an early rough draft of

220-445: A grey heron . On the breeding grounds, the three, more slender northern breeding species commonly eat lemmings . Those species that breed in the southern oceans largely feed on fish that can be caught near their colonies. The eggs and chicks of other seabirds, primarily penguins , are an important food source for most skua species during the nesting season. In the southern oceans and Antarctica region, some skua species (especially

275-402: A rockhopper penguin , about its origin. Lovelace has the plastic rings of a six pack entangled around his neck, saying that they have been bestowed on him by mystic beings. For the emperor penguins, it is mating season, and Gloria is the center of attention. The Amigos unsuccessfully attempt to help Mumble win her affection by having Ramón sing a Spanish version of " My Way " behind Mumble, with

330-918: A famous musician or musical group, while incorporating songs from throughout their career. Artists whose life and songs have served as the basis for a jukebox musical include Peter Allen , Susan Boyle , Shlomo Carlebach , Johnny Cash , Cher , Patsy Cline , Bobby Darin , The Drifters , Emilio and Gloria Estefan , Buddy Holly , Michael Jackson (twice), Janis Joplin , Carole King , The Kinks , Fela Kuti , John Lennon , Udo Lindenberg , Bob Marley (twice), Johnny O'Keefe , The Seekers , Dusty Springfield (twice), Donna Summer , The Temptations , Tina Turner (twice), Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons , Hank Williams , Neil Diamond , and ABBA . Others who have gotten similar treatment include songwriter/producers Bert Berns , Berry Gordy and Ellie Greenwich , record producer Florence Greenberg , and composer/songwriter Norbert Glanzberg . For jukebox musicals with

385-568: A fictional plot, one common approach is to center the plot around one or more (fictional) singers or musicians, thus letting some of the songs be performed as songs within the show. Examples of such musicals include Boogie Nights (1998), Mamma Mia! (1999), We Will Rock You (2002), Hoy no me puedo levantar (2005), Bésame mucho, el musical (2005), Rock of Ages (2005), Daddy Cool (2006), Never Forget (2007), Viva Forever! (2012), All Out of Love (2018), and Jukebox Hero (2018). Some jukebox musicals are adaptations of

440-472: A film, in which songs from the film's soundtrack are now sung by the characters; examples include Saturday Night Fever (1998), Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (2006), Cruel Intentions: The '90s Musical (2015) and My Best Friend's Wedding (2024). Some shows and films combine original and previously-released songs; it may be a matter of opinion whether these qualify as jukebox musicals. For example,

495-417: A fishing boat. Mumble exhaustingly pursues it alone, eventually washing up on the shore of Florida , where he is rescued and kept at Marine World with Magellanic penguins . After a long and secluded confinement in addition to fruitlessly trying to communicate with the humans, Mumble nearly succumbs to madness . When a girl attempts to interact with Mumble by tapping the glass, he starts dancing, which attracts

550-529: A fleshy cere above the upper mandible. The skuas are strong, acrobatic fliers. They are generally aggressive in disposition. Potential predators approaching their nests will be quickly attacked by the parent birds, which usually target the heads of intruders – a practice known as ' divebombing '. The genus Stercorarius was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 with

605-581: A group of predatory seabirds with seven species forming the genus Stercorarius , the only genus in the family Stercorariidae . The three smaller skuas, the Arctic skua , the long-tailed skua , and the pomarine skua , are called jaegers in North American English . The English word "skua" comes from the Faroese name for the great skua , skúgvur [ˈskɪkvʊɹ] , with

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660-411: A large crowd. Mumble is returned to the wild with a tracking device attached to his back. He returns to his colony and challenges the will of the elders. Memphis reconciles with him as a research team arrives, verifying Mumble's statements of "aliens" existing. The entire colony engages in dance in front of the research team, whose expedition footage prompts a worldwide debate, which eventually leads to

715-414: A meaning in mind other than the contemporary one, since most of that film's songs were original. Although jukebox musicals had achieved success for years (for example, the 1989 musical Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story ), a surge in popularity was led by the success of Mamma Mia! (1999), built around the music of ABBA . The most common format for jukebox musicals is a show that tells the life story of

770-455: A mobile game for the Japanese market. Happy Feet Two was produced at Dr. D Studios and released on 18 November 2011. Happy Feet 4-D Experience is a 12-minute 4D film shown at various 4D theatres around the world. It retells the condensed story of Happy Feet with the help of 3D projection and sensory effects, including moving seats, wind, mist and scents. Produced by SimEx-Iwerks ,

825-420: A plot are also usually not described as jukebox musicals, although plotless shows that include a dance element sometimes are. In Europe in the 17th and 18th century, many comic operas were produced that parodied popular songs of the time by performing them with modified lyrics. Comédie en vaudevilles and ballad operas are two genres that made heavy use of well-known melodies. The Beggar's Opera (1728),

880-519: A single artist or group. Other films that combine old and original songs include Singin' in the Rain (1952), Trolls (2016), and Cinderella (2021). In a different category are films or stage musicals based around a concept album , in which the story being told is not original but rather a fleshed-out version of the narrative already contained in the album. Examples include: Skua See text . The skuas / ˈ s k juː ə / are

935-619: A thoughtful storyline and catchy musical numbers, Happy Feet marks a successful animated debut from the makers of Babe ." Metacritic reports a 77 out of 100 rating, based on 30 critics. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on a scale of A+ to F. Marjorie Baumgarten, film critic for The Austin Chronicle , wrote a positive review, saying, " Happy Feet treads material common to kids films and cartoons, most notably Dumbo: A young animal stands out from his herd or flock because of his inability to perform like

990-402: Is a jukebox musical , taking previously recorded songs and working them into the film's soundtrack to fit 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 31 October 2006 and 19 December 2006, respectively. Prince 's " Song of

1045-452: Is the reason for both Mumble's lack of a heartsong and his dancing), but when Mumble refuses, he is exiled. Mumble and the Amigos return to Lovelace for answers regarding the aliens, which Mumble concludes might have knowledge about the fish shortage, but find him being choked by the plastic rings. Lovelace confesses that they were snagged on him while swimming off the forbidden shores, beyond

1100-578: The South Pole . Outside the breeding season, skuas take fish, offal , and carrion . Many practice kleptoparasitism , which comprises up to 95% of the feeding methods of wintering skuas, by chasing gulls, terns and other seabirds to steal their catches, regardless of the size of the species attacked (up to three times heavier than the attacking skua). Larger species, such as the great skua , regularly kill and eat adult seabirds, such as puffins and gulls and have been observed killing birds as large as

1155-467: The parasitic jaeger ( Stercorarius parasiticus ) as the type species . Skuas are related to gulls , waders , auks , and skimmers . In the three smaller species, all nesting exclusively in the Holarctic , breeding adults have the two central tail feathers obviously elongated, and at least some adults have white on the underparts and pale yellow on the neck. These characteristics are not shared by

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1210-508: The south polar skua ) will readily scavenge carcasses at breeding colonies of both penguins and pinnipeds . Skuas will also kill live penguin chicks and sick or injured adult penguins. In these areas, the skuas will often forfeit their catches to the considerably larger and very aggressive giant petrels . Skuas have also been observed to directly pilfer milk from the elephant seal 's teats. Skuas are medium to large birds , typically with grey or brown plumage, often with white markings on

1265-609: The tenth-highest-grossing film of 2006 . It earned the recipient of the inaugural BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film , and the fourth non- Disney or Pixar film to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature . It was nominated for the Annie Award for Best Animated Feature and the Saturn Award for Best Animated Film , both losing to Cars . A sequel, Happy Feet Two , was released in 2011, and failed to match

1320-583: The 4D experience premiered in March 2010 at the Drayton Manor Theme Park . Other locations included Sea World (2010–2011), Shedd Aquarium (2010–2012), Moody Gardens (2010–2011), Nickelodeon Suites Resort and Adventure Aquarium . Jukebox musical Some jukebox musicals use a wide variety of songs, while others confine themselves to songs performed by one singer or band, or written by one songwriter. In such cases,

1375-434: The DVD is the 1936 Merrie Melodies short I Love to Singa . The film appeared on numerous critics' top-ten lists of the best films of 2006. A video game based on the film was developed by A2M and published by Midway Games . It has the same main cast as the film. It was released for Microsoft Windows , PlayStation 2 , GameCube , Game Boy Advance , Nintendo DS and Wii . Artificial Life, Inc. has also developed

1430-538: The Heart " won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song . The film won Golden Trailer Award for Best Music. The song was written by Prince specifically for Happy Feet shortly after he was given a private screening of the film to gain his approval for the use of his song " Kiss " in a musical number. Prince enjoyed the film, gave his approval for the use of "Kiss" and offered to write an original song for

1485-474: The Shackleton expeditions, while partially inspired by earlier documentaries such as the BBC 's Life in the Freezer . Although primarily a computer-animated film, the film incorporates motion capture of live-action humans in certain scenes. Composer John Powell composed the score , while the film features more than ten popular songs, usually to fit with the mood of the scene or character. Happy Feet

1540-501: The United States and Australia , the film was produced at Sydney -based visual effects and animation studio Animal Logic for Warner Bros. Pictures , Village Roadshow Pictures and Kingdom Feature Productions. It is the first animated film produced by Kennedy Miller and Animal Logic. Set in the cold land of Antarctica , the film follows Mumble (Wood), an emperor penguin who is able to tap dance brilliantly despite lacking

1595-399: The ability to sing a heartsong to attract a soulmate. After being continuously ridiculed and rejected by peers and his own father (Jackman), Mumble departs on a journey to learn what is causing the local fish population to decline — and to find himself along the way. As an initial inspiration for the film, Miller cited an encounter with a grizzled old cameraman whose father was Frank Hurley of

1650-415: The banning of all Antarctic overfishing , satisfying both the emperor penguins and the Amigos. As an initial inspiration for the film, George Miller cited an encounter with a grizzled old cameraman whose father was Frank Hurley of the Shackleton expeditions, during the shooting of Mad Max 2 . "We were sitting in this bar, having a milkshake, and he looked across at me and said, 'Antarctica'. He'd shot

1705-407: The critical and commercial success of the original film. Emperor penguins attract a mate by singing a unique "heartsong". If the male penguin's heartsong matches the female 's song, the two penguins mate. Norma Jean, a female penguin, falls for Memphis, a male penguin, and they become mates. They lay an egg, which Memphis cares for while Norma Jean leaves with the other females to fish . While

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1760-609: The dance scenes acted by human dancers. The tap dancing for Mumble was provided by Savion Glover , who was also co-choreographer for the dance sequences. The dancers went through "Penguin School" to learn how to move like a penguin, and also wore head apparatus to mimic a penguin's beak. Happy Feet needed an enormous group of computers, and Animal Logic worked with IBM to build a server farm with sufficient processing potential. The film took four years to make. Lighting Supervisor and VFX Department Supervisor Ben Gunsberger said that this

1815-573: The film three out of four, saying, "The ingredients for greatness are there. It's too bad the movie lost its way on the approach to the finish line. I recommend Happy Feet , but not as enthusiastically as I wish I could." Film critic Yar Habnegnal wrote an essay in Forum on Contemporary Art and Society that examines the themes of encroachment presented throughout the film, as well as various other subtexts and themes, such as religious hierarchy and interracial tensions. Vadim Rizov of IFC sees Mumble as just

1870-439: The film's screenplay, and asked them to read it while he and Miller flew back to Australia. By the time they had landed, Warner Bros. had decided to provide funding on the film. Production was slated to begin sometime after the completion of the fourth Mad Max film Fury Road , but geopolitical complications pushed Happy Feet to the forefront in early 2003. The animation is invested heavily in motion capture technology, with

1925-611: The first ballad opera and the most famous, has been called "the original jukebox musical". Films considered early examples of jukebox musicals include An American in Paris (1951), Singin' in the Rain (1952), Rock, Rock, Rock (1956) and Rock Around the Clock (1956). The songwriting team of Robert Wright and George Forrest pioneered the concept of musicals whose songs are derived from one composer's instrumental works, with newly-written lyrics. Some of these musicals also told

1980-457: The hungry birds by falling into a crevice. Now a young adult, Mumble is frequently ridiculed by the elders and their leader Noah. After escaping from a leopard seal attack, Mumble befriends five Adelie penguins named Ramón, Nestor, Lombardo, Rinaldo and Raul, collectively known as "the Amigos", who embrace Mumble's dance moves and assimilate him into their group. After seeing a hidden human excavator in an avalanche , they opt to ask Lovelace,

2035-490: The island of Skúvoy renowned for its colony of that bird. The general Faroese term for skuas is kjógvi [ˈtʃɛkvɪ] . The word "jaeger" or Jäger is German for "hunter". The genus name Stercorarius is Latin and means "of dung"; the food disgorged by other birds when pursued by skuas was once thought to be excrement. Skuas nest on the ground in temperate , Antarctic , and Arctic regions , and are long-distance migrants . They have even been sighted at

2090-415: The land of the elephant seals . The group decide to take Lovelace with them to remove the rings. Not long into their journey, Gloria encounters them, wishing to become Mumble's mate. Fearing for her safety, he ridicules Gloria, driving her away. At the forbidden shore, Mumble, Lovelace and the Amigos are attacked by two orcas , during which Lovelace is freed from the plastic rings. After escaping, they find

2145-653: The larger species, all native to the Southern Hemisphere except for the great skua. Therefore, the skuas are often split into two genera, with only the smaller species retained in Stercorarius , and the large species placed in Catharacta . However, based on genetics , behavior, and feather lice , the overall relationship among the species is best expressed by placing all in a single genus. The pomarine and great skuas' mitochondrial DNA (inherited from

2200-414: The latest in a long line of cinematic religious mavericks. Some Christians have also considered the film to be anti-Christian (or antireligious in general) due to the imagery and behaviours of various characters. On a technical or formal level, the film has also been recognised for its innovative introduction of Miller's roving style of subjective cinematography into contemporary animation. Happy Feet

2255-420: The latter lip syncing . After Mumble desperately begins to tap dance in synch with her song, she falls for him, and the youthful penguins join in for singing and dancing. The elders are appalled by Mumble's conduct, which they see as the reason for their lean fishing season. Memphis begs Mumble to stop dancing, for his own sake, revealing that when he was still in his egg, Memphis dropped Mumble (implying that this

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2310-466: The life story of that composer. Musicals and operettas that they produced in this fashion include Song of Norway (1944, using the music of Edvard Grieg ), Magdalena: a Musical Adventure (1948, music of Heitor Villa-Lobos ), a 1949 reworking of the 1934 musical The Great Waltz (music of Johann Strauss I and Johann Strauss II ), Kismet (1953, music of Alexander Borodin ), and Anya (1965, music of Sergei Rachmaninoff ). The origin of

2365-425: The males struggle through the harsh winter , Memphis briefly drops the egg. The resulting chick, Mumble, is unable to sing but can tap dance . Nevertheless, he is enamored with Gloria, a female penguin who is regarded as the most talented of her age. One day, Mumble encounters a group of hostile skua , with a leader who is tagged with a yellow band , which he says is from an alien abduction . Mumble narrowly escapes

2420-616: The other animals, although he seemingly compensates for this defect by demonstrating a certain skill that sets him apart from the others, who ostracize him for his weirdness." Baumgarten also said that the CGI recreation of Antarctica is "stunning, allowing the film to shift among glorious long shots of the ice and penguin population and midshots and close-ups of the character interactions". James Berardinelli , film critic for ReelViews , praised its musical numbers (particularly "Kiss" and "Boogie Wonderland") and Robin Williams's performance by awarding

2475-435: The ozone hole," he said, "and Antarctica is literally the canary in the coal mine for this stuff. So it sort of had to go in that direction." This influence led to a film with a more environmental tone. Miller said, "You can't tell a story about Antarctica and the penguins without giving that dimension." The film is dedicated to the memory of Nick Enright , Michael Jonson, Robby McNeilly Green and Steve Irwin . Happy Feet

2530-597: The phrase "jukebox musical" in its current meaning is unclear. The word " jukebox " dates to around 1939. The first documented use of "jukebox musical" in print may have been in a 1962 description of the musical Do Re Mi , but that was a musical (with original music) about a man who sells jukeboxes. In a 1964 review of the Beatles film A Hard Day's Night , critic Andrew Sarris described that film as "the Citizen Kane of jukebox musicals", but he too may have had

2585-481: The plot is often a biography of the artist or artists. In other jukebox musicals, the plot is purely fictional. For musicals about a musician or musical act, some of the songs can be diegetic , meaning that they are performed within the world of the play or film. Works in which all of the music is diegetic, however, such as a biographical film about a singer who is at times shown performing their songs, are generally not considered jukebox musicals. Revues that lack

2640-579: The production, which he completed a week later. Happy Feet: Music from the Motion Picture is the lyrical soundtrack album from the 2006 animated film Happy Feet . As of March 2007, the original soundtrack sold more than 272,627 copies in the US. Shipments figures based on certification alone. The film opened at number one in the United States on its first weekend of release (17–19 November), grossing $ 41.6 million and beating Casino Royale for

2695-539: The stage musicals 42nd Street (1980), Five Guys Named Moe (1990), Crazy for You (1992), and Xanadu (2007) are all adaptations of earlier source material that added to the original score other well-known songs written by the original songwriters. The stage musicals The Last Ship (2014) and Standing at the Sky's Edge (2019) and film musicals Yellow Submarine (1968) and Idlewild (2006) are all musicals that combine original and previously-recorded songs by

2750-568: The top spot. It remained number one for the Thanksgiving weekend, making $ 51.6 million over the five-day period. In total, the film was the top grosser for three weeks, a 2006 box-office feat matched by only Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest . As of 8 June 2008, Happy Feet had grossed $ 198.0 million in the US and Canada, and $ 186.3 million in other countries, making approximately $ 384.3 million worldwide. Happy Feet

2805-423: The wings. The skuas range in size from the long-tailed skua , Stercorarius longicauda , at 310 grams (0.68 pounds), to the brown skua , Stercorarius antarcticus , at 1.63 kg (3.6 lb). On average, a skua is about 56 cm (22 in) long, and 121 cm (48 in) across the wings. They have longish bills with a hooked tip, and webbed feet with sharp claws. They look like large dark gulls, but have

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2860-450: Was partly because they needed to build new infrastructure and tools. The server farm used IBM BladeCenter framework and BladeCenter HS20 blade servers , which are extremely dense separate computer units, each with two Intel Xeon processors. Rendering took up 17 million CPU hours over a nine-month period. According to Miller, the environmental message was not a major part of the original script. "In Australia , we're very, very aware of

2915-812: Was released in North American theatres on 17 November 2006, and in Australian theatres on 26 December 2006. It 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 of a budget to release Happy Feet in IMAX digital 3D. Happy Feet received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for its visuals, storyline and songs, and grossed $ 384 million against its $ 100 million production budget, becoming

2970-416: Was released on home media on 27 March 2007, in the United States in three formats: DVD (in separate widescreen and pan-and-scan editions), Blu-ray , and an HD DVD /DVD combo pack. Overall, Happy Feet was the third-best-selling film of 2007, with 12.2 million units sold, earning a revenue of $ 196.9 million. Among the DVD's special features is a scene that was cut from the film , in which Mumble meets

3025-486: Was the third-highest-grossing animated film of 2006 in the US, behind Cars and Ice Age: The Meltdown . The film was released in an estimated 35 territories at the close of 2006. The production budget was $ 100 million. Happy Feet received generally positive reviews from critics. On review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes , the film holds a 76% approval rating, based on 170 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The site's consensus reads: "Visually dazzling, with

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