Happy Feet
Village Roadshow Entertainment | Release Date: November 17, 2006 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
77
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 30 Critic Reviews
Positive:
26
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
In the year of the animated movie, this one soars above them all. Read full review
100
New York PostLou Lumenick
Happy Feet is not only the year's best animated movie, it's one of the year's best movies, period. Go. Read full review
100
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Edelstein
You should see Happy Feet--not only because it's stupendous, but also because it features the best dancing you'll see on the screen this year. Read full review
91
The A.V. ClubTasha Robinson
It's a gorgeously rendered marvel that pulls out all the stops to wow its viewers, but in spite of its crowd-pleasing ploys, it holds onto its integrity with a smart and surprisingly deep story. Read full review
90
Washington PostDesson Thomson
What's truly surprising about Happy Feet is not its giddily brilliant entertainment, its intimate knowledge of the culture or its toe-tapping music. It's how commonplace these qualities have become in computer-animated movies… Happy Feet may be just one of the crowd, but what a great crowd it is. Read full review
88
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
An animated film that challenges preconceptions about the genre and foregoes the usual romance/adventure structure. Read full review
88
Miami HeraldPeter Debruge
In a year rich with animation options, Happy Feet stands head and shoulders above its competition. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianM. E. Russell
Miller's global harmonizing never feels preachy -- he's too busy cramming Happy Feet with enough entertainment for three movies. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
This animated all-penguin musical is terrific fun. Read full review
80
VarietyTodd McCarthy
One of the very best directed animated films on record. Not surprisingly from the force behind the "Babe" movies, the attention to detail is phenomenal, the humor ample. Read full review
80
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
Antarctica is a beautiful blue paradise, and the final set piece, in which penguins and humans tap their way to a unity of green-minded spirit, is a small masterpiece of conciliatory wackiness. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
No film with as many elements as Happy Feet is successful with all of them, and the romantic-emotional elements of this story feel overly familiar. But the music and dancing are fresh and new, and this strong an ecological message has not been seen since Hayao Miyazaki's "Princess Mononoke." Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
The constant singing and dancing throughout is charmingly presented, and the CGI recreations of Antarctica are stunning. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy Burr
The movie's an uncategorizable mixture of the tacky and profound, and on some weird level, you have to respect it. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Offers dazzling cinematic family fun, and a mad medley of tunes. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
Don't little ones have enough to worry about without ecological concerns popping up in family entertainment? Happy Feet should have stayed light on its feet. Read full review
75
PremiereEthan Alter
It's a movie that keeps flirting with greatness, but settles for being above average. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Happy Feet ends on an upbeat note with singing and dancing, but the weaknesses that precede it deflate the euphoria. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
A moderately adorable, musically wacky, ecologically activist CG family comedy. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
A lot of director George Miller's film is gorgeous and exciting. Its craftsmanship and ambition put it a continent ahead of nearly every other animated feature of the last couple of years. Read full review
75
USA TodayClaudia Puig
The dazzling animation, catchy songs and Broadway-worthy dance numbers give the film even broader appeal. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
The essence of this inventive though erratic animated feature is joyous music and eye-popping motion.
70
Film ThreatMark Bell
Overall, however, for a children's film, it hits all the major notes. Keep it musical, keep it lively, keep it cute and, you know, if you can, slip in a moral. Read full review
70
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
While compromised by the uplift and affirmation that mainstream animation regurgitates like a mommy penguin, it also shows a remarkable persistence of vision. Even in a story about singing-and-dancing fat and feather, Mr. Miller can’t help but go dark and deep. Read full review
67
Seattle Post-IntelligencerGianni Truzzi
Unfortunately, once the "be yourself" story line is resolved (singing and dancing go together, who would have guessed?), the film is only half over. Read full review
63
TV Guide MagazineAngel Cohn
Funny moments can be found throughout, but it's mostly silly and scattered. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
This curious ecological parable was directed by George Miller (Babe: Pig in the City), who still has an eye and a sense of humor but on this particular outing can't get the script he wrote with three others to make much sense. Read full review
60
EmpireHelen O'Hara
Small kids will love the waddlesome dancing and colourful animation, but older viewers will likely be disturbed by the story’s darker elements. Read full review
60
Village VoiceJordan Harper
Children, innocent as they are, may not yet have grown to loathe the actor's (Robin Williams) shtick, but you might like to know that he has two--yes, two--roles in this film. Read full review
50
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
Let's just say this is a perfect film for penguin lovers who also are devoted members of the Green party - and leave it at that. Read full review
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