It was inevitable that a sequel to the immensely enjoyable Happy Feet would be made (in spite of its extraordinary penguin-mental-breakdown section), but Happy Feet Two shows that the concept has nowhere else to go. The first movie was not only successful solely because of dancing/singing penguins but also benefitted from a focussed emotional journey for the charming central character. Here, a number of subsidiary characters are given more screen time (and to its credit, an expansive starry voice cast does sterling work), themes and narrative wander arbitrarily, and the attempt to make Will The Krill an appealing comedy character like Ice Age's Scrat is k(r)illed by excruciating puns. The 80s pop catalogue is plundered randomly- indeed, the whole movie feels less organic than the original - and whilst the baby penguins are cute, and the 3D/digital animation is never less than breathtaking, Happy Feet Two creates a disappointing lack of engagement in terms of emotion, comedy and general entertainment.
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