About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
Best: Really engaging, excellent learning approach.
Very Good: Engaging, very good learning approach.
Good: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
Fair: Somewhat engaging, okay learning approach.
Not for Learning: Not recommended for learning.
Not for Kids: Not age-appropriate for kids; not recommended for learning.

A safe community is important to us.
Please observe our guidelines.

All parent reviews for Happy Feet

Age
8
Adult
April 9, 2008
 
I walked out on this movie!
This movie was so offensive to me that I walked out on the last 20 minutes of it. My husband and I took our 3 children and a cousin to see what we expected to be a cute, entertaining children's film. The whole point of creating this movie, in my opinion, was to convey a liberal political message, through our most vulnerable, impressionable audience--our children. Christians were attacked throughout this film, from protraying the penguin "elders" as condemning religious leaders who quoted bible verses and a "televangilist"-like leader who blasphemed Scripture, speaking of "Going forth and multiplying", then taking several female penguins out of sight to "have pleasure" on his couch, asking, "who will be first?". Mumble, the main character, decides to find out who the "aliens" are and ask them to stop taking the penguins' food supply, fish. The "aliens", who are clearly definied as human beings, are protrayed as evil, uncaring, scary, pollutive and destructive. As Mumble crests a hill looking for signs of "alien" life, the first structure that is shown is a church. Sexual innunendo is all over this movie, as male penquins frequently try to "get laid" and sing offensive secular songs that I don't let my children listen to, such as, Salt 'n Peppa's "Let's talk about sex baby" as well as Prince's "Kiss" and others. Mumble's parents are basically Marilyn Monroe and Elvis personified, and very "sexual" in their speaking and body movements. Mumble's penguin friends are very sexual when speaking about getting femle penguins, at times thrusting their pelvis' when speaking about how "hot" and desirable they are. There are two very scary and violent scenes, including one very graphic one where a very evil-looking leopard seal chases after and almost attacks Mumble and his friends, and another scene where they are chased by killer whales. My 5-year-old step-daughter covered her eyes in terror during both scenes. Zoos and animal aquariums, which are excellent family places for children to learn about animals, are shown as scary and prison-like, and are offensively compared to "Heaven" by Mumble. If all of these elements don't offend you, let me tell you that the movie as a whole was not very entertaining. I guess I'm spoiled by all the Disney/Pixar films, who write all their own music and lyrics. This film's producers could not even take the time to do that, intent as they were to convey their negative environmental message. This film is deceptively packaged in excellent special effects, cute penguin dancing and star character voices (Elijah Wood, Nicole Kidman, among others), but is inappropriate for all children, and adults really shouldn't waste their time on it either. Protect your children from it's negative, Anti-Christian messages by not taking them, not buying the DVD, and telling other parents about this film!

Flag as inappropriate 
Adult
April 9, 2008
 
Only for children too young to understand the lyrics!
I watched this movie last night with 4 of my grandchildren ages 4,6,8,9. They had already seen it, I had not. I was appalled by the song lyrics as it began and if it had been my home, it would have been turned off then. I soon realized the children weren't hearing/understanding the words, they just enjoyed the music and animation, but with an adult's ability to understand the words... and it was NOT inuendo, it was blatant in many cases... I was glad my 14 yr old son was NOT with me. Religion was also subtlely trashed in the movie. "Noah" quoted partial scriptural references and in the course of the movie it was obvious that Mumble was correct, the aliens were taking the fish, while "Noah" insisted it was the penguin deity controlling the situation and took punitive steps against Mumble. Ultimately, Noah 'joined the crowd' in adopting attitudes and behaviors he had just denounced. He was portrayed as narrow minded, bigoted, out of touch, etc. and, in the end, without conviction. I had been warned about the environmental stuff, the UN taking action, as if!, so it was less obnoxious. In 30 years everyone saying I am over reacting will be living with the reality that I am not.

Flag as inappropriate 
Parent of 6 and 16 year old
November 25, 2009
 
Disappointing
I thought that it had too much smutty innuendo, and was very disappointed. It should have had nothing like that at all, since it is made for young children, and is directed at them.
What other families should know:

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 16 years old
December 23, 2010
 
The whole story revolves around penguins "mating"
The countless references to "mating" are very inappropriate for children.
What other families should know:

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 15 years old
May 8, 2010
 
H8ed it. :-( I didn't like how all the penguins that could sing thought they were sooooo hot, even Mumble's mom! :-P It sucked.
What other families should know:

Flag as inappropriate 
Adult
April 9, 2008
 
Not appropriate for young children!

Flag as inappropriate 
Parent of 2 year old
July 20, 2010
 
Disappointing
I am very sensitive to language in kids programming. "Stupid" and "butt" are just not acceptable. Neither is rude humor. I really think they could've made this movie a G. Disappointed they had to include the stuff to get it a PG.
What other families should know:

Flag as inappropriate 
Parent of 8 and 10 year old
April 2, 2011
 
Humans Get A Bad Rap In the Name of Environmentalism
Throughout the entire movie I had the distinct impression that I was being told humans - who are called "aliens" - are condemnable creatures. When the protagonist finally reaches a human village, to ask that they please stop destroying his world, the first image we're given is a dark and gloomy church steeple. What's the message there? At the end, the main penguin is put in a zoo where he begins to loose his mind as zoo visitors observe and laugh at him. Altogether, I found the environmental message took a bad approach.

Flag as inappropriate 
Adult
September 27, 2010
 
Weird.
Eww, eww, eww. I can't believe I even watched this entire movie. Kids movie, huh? The music was gross, and the whole thing was just creepy and weird :( Kind of shocked me for a kids show.
What other families should know:

Flag as inappropriate 
Adult
April 9, 2008
 
We walked out
I took my 6 yr old son to see it. He was terrified of the scene where two crows are chasing the cute little penguin. The crows cornered him in the snow and was going to eat him. At that point we walked out. Wayyyy too scary for the 5 to 6 year olds.

Flag as inappropriate 
Parent of 5 year old
March 5, 2011
 

Flag as inappropriate 
Parent
November 2, 2012
 
Tapping and Singing with a Preschooler to Happy Feet
So I finally joined Common Sense Media tonight just to add my review to this movie. I have used CSM for the last several years to look up tv shows and movies, and then decide what is right for my family. Luckily I have found this site is for parents/families from all kinds of backgrounds, opinions, and beliefs. That being said, tonight I feel the need to stick up for this movie, Happy Feet. If you decided that the movie was not right for your children or belief system, good for you. But I'd like to offer what we found: songs/music by Prince, Elvis, Stevie Wonder, The Beach Boys, Gipsy Kings, Steve Miller Band, Queen, and the Beatles! We also found tap, mambo, hip hop, and jazz dance. If you don't enjoy these varied kinds of music and dancing in real life, you probably won't want your children exposed to it either. We also found plot similarities to Finding Nemo and The Lion King, where the young main character challenges the opinions and traditions of the elders/old guard/leaders of the group. If you don't want your children to learn to think for themselves, you might not want to see this movie. It's also great for a family discussion on how wonderful it is that everyone is good at different things. Another Nemo similarity is that Mumble is captured by humans and put in an aquarium. Again, a good talking point for families about real-life zoos and aquariums. We also found some scary chase scenes involving real-life animals that feed on penguins: skuas, leopard seals, and orcas. These were just as scary as Bruce the shark trying to eat Marlon and Dory, beware. We also found ethnic stereotypes that we'll definitely talk about later: Hispanic mambo-dancing penguins, an ethics-comprised African-American evangelical preacher, and an Irish-American colony leader. There were some plot lines that actually didn't make sense, like the visit to the evangelical preacher and the journey to an old human fishing town. These could have been completely cut from the movie. I also wish they had just used "humans" instead of "aliens," to describe people. My kid loves aliens, so it's just confusing. And so tonight, my 4.5 year-old tap-danced off to bed, and I'm humming Stevie Wonder. Thanks, Happy Feet!
What other families should know:

Flag as inappropriate 
Adult
April 9, 2008
 
My kids just didn't get it but they liked it
I took my 4YO and 6YO to the movie. They didn't get the whole point of all that singing at the beginning so while I was put off by the suggestiveness of it all, my kids didn't much care. They didn't understand the biological drives to mate that were highlighted throughout the movie. They missed the suggestion that the dad was responsible for making Mumble abnormal b/c he dropped the egg. They didn't get the Mexican penguin mating drives. They didn't get why the Preacher type penguin was wearing a 6 pack ring. They didn't get that the aliens were actually the humans. What did they learn from it? That penguins live in a harsh environment, that things can be dangerous in the natural world. That human behaviors have an effect on the food chain (overfishing may have an effect on native animals ability to find food) They also noticed that it was a child who "saved" Mumble. My daughter (6YO) asked me if Leopard Seals only live in that area, so we went to the Oct issue of National Geographic Mag that has a great spread on LS's based on the recommendation of her uncle who works at the Denver Zoo with carnivores. Go check it out. They loved the music, they didn't get the religious references (and we go to church every Sunday). They thought Mumble was too cute, and didn't get that he was abnormal, just that he couldn't sing but that he was a good dancer. They liked the animation and didn't feel guilt at the suggestion that humans are wreckinig the plannet. They were glad the humans came at the end to see the penguins and at the inference that the humans were there to study, learn and help (an inference I had to explain to them, BTW). They just liked it. If you feel angry about being duped, you may be taking your movies to seriously. I teach juniors and seniors in a public HS and I asked them, and they loved it. I think this movie actually raises good food for thought for students who will be in charge of this place after we are all gone, for young people who are trying to figure out where they stand on issues such as environmental responsibility. Older kids may be more compelled to ask the harder questions,because they will notice the underlying implications, but even they are not too bothered by the idea of penguins seeking out mates, making eggs and turning those offspring out into a harsh world to survive and make more penguins, likely thanks to the Animal Planet Channel. (They were perhaps more offended by the Artist Formerly Known as Prince getting air time again! Really, some things are better left alone, don't you think??) Anyway, if you give your littler ones a heads up when the scary parts are coming, they can be OK with it, because all the other stuff that people are annoyed about are pretty much lost on the average 4-8 year old.

Flag as inappropriate 
Parent of 3 year old
October 29, 2011
 
Strange, boring movie
This movie is simply whacked. My wife and I thought it would be fine for our son, but it was just bizarre. And having a song with the line "I want to make love to you" renders it inappropriate for pre-adolescents. The songs (and there are many) are those which you would find on MTV or the like; no cute music here.
What other families should know:

Flag as inappropriate 
Parent
June 10, 2011
 
Nutshell day
The movie begins with a dancing penguin egg, he breaks out, goes to school, dances, gets chased by albotrosses, grows up, runs away, goes to South America, ventures in abandoned town, gets put in zoo, has pshychotic epsiode, goes home, and dances again. THE END
What other families should know:

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 16 years old
August 10, 2011
 
Pure disappointment
I was hoping to see a cute movie about penguins instead I got a movie way to much involved with mating and sad creepy parts Common sense media why 4 stars?! Why did so many people like this movie? Inappropriate stuff is hinted at throughout the whole movie. Do NOT watch.

Flag as inappropriate 
Parent of 5 and 6 year old
September 5, 2009
 
Good theme, some scary parts
The scene in which a seal attacks the penguin is VERY scary. It is a very mean looking seal with large teeth. The movie has a great message in that everybody has different talents and that you don't have to be just like everybody else.
What other families should know:

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 15 years old
April 9, 2008
 
Good
My friend and i saw this movie and I have to say it's not bad! Great movie for younger kids!!! TWO THUMBS UP!

Flag as inappropriate 
Adult
October 16, 2012
 
Cute.
Happy Feet isn't that scary,I mean,there were some scary moments but it was such a cute movie (coming from a male.)

Flag as inappropriate 
Parent of 6 year old
August 25, 2012
 
happy feet
Families can talk about how to accept and embrace each person's unique qualities. What makes Mumble different from the other penguins? Do you think it's hard for him to pursue his dream even when the others think it's weird? Why do some people think that everyone should conform and "fit in"? Has there ever been a time when you didn't feel like you fit in? How did that make you feel? How can people's individual abilities benefit their community and the larger world?
What other families should know:

Flag as inappropriate