Happy Feet

"Everybody dance now!"

2006 1h 48m EN

😐

6.2

MID

★6.2TMDB · 5,609

AnimationComedyFamily

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Into the world of the Emperor Penguins, who find their soul mates through song, a penguin is born who cannot sing. But he can tap dance something fierce!

“Everybody dance now!”

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Cast

Elijah Wood
Mumble (voice)
Robin Williams
Ramon / Lovelace (voice)
Brittany Murphy
Gloria (voice)
Hugh Jackman
Memphis (voice)
Nicole Kidman
Norma Jean (voice)
Hugo Weaving
Noah (voice)
Anthony LaPaglia
Boss Skua (voice)
E. G. Daily
Baby Mumble (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: George Miller
Writers: George Miller, Judy Morris, Warren Coleman
Languages: English, Spanish
Countries: Australia, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

$100M budget — tentpole studio territory.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.8× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 20 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Australia, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Happy Feet Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

390+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by George Miller, shot by David Peers. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

George Miller directs. David Peers behind the camera. John Powell scores. Christian Gazal cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Australia, United States of America. Dialogue in English, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1$100M budget — tentpole studio territory.
2Made its money back 3.8× over at the box office.
3Released 20 years ago.
4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.
5International production across 2 countries: Australia, United States of America.
6Part of the "Happy Feet Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
7390+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
8Directed by George Miller, shot by David Peers. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
9Original score by John Powell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
10Editor Christian Gazal shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
11Elijah Wood and Robin Williams and Brittany Murphy carry the top of the cast.
12Marketing tagline: "Everybody dance now!".
13IMDB entry: tt0366548 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
14Classified under 15 themes, including "fish", "ocean", "zoo", "penguin".

The technical file

Cinematography: David Peers
Original score: John Powell
Editing: Christian Gazal
Production design: Mark Sexton
Makeup / hair: Lesley Vanderwalt
VFX supervisor: Andrew Jackson
Sound: Wayne Pashley
Runtime: 108 min · 1h 48m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $100,000,000
Box office: $384,335,608
Return: 384% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Happy Feet (2006)

Awards

Genesis Award
Academy Award for Best Animated Feature
BAFTA's Children & Young People Award - Feature Film
Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Animated Movie

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

Happy Feet Collection

Join Mumble the Emperor Penguin and friends as the show that not everyone dances to the beat of the same drummer.

Also by

George Miller

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Andre Gonzales2023-05-25
★ 6/10
It was at least a different kind of a movie. They do look cute. They looked pretty funny dancing.
CinemaSerf2026-01-04
★ 6/10
When a young penguin is born to a colony that communicates largely via song, I felt it’s pain. Not only because of the endless set piece numbers “Mumble” has to endure, but because he’s completely tone deaf. Indeed, as Cynthia Erivo might have said, “…he couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket”. He can, however, dance. Boy can he dance. That’s no use though as his love interest “Gloria” has the voice of an angel and the curmudgeonly (and Scottish) elder “Noah” blames their sudden paucity of fish on this youngster’s inability to croon. Now shunned by his own tribe, and thanks to an encounter with a lithe and fearsome leopard seal, he is befriended by some more Hispanic guins and off they set to seek the sagely advice of “Lovelace”. He claims that he was the victim of an alien abduction and that they gave him a very special necklace made of plastic. "Mumble" reckons the aliens might be the source of the food problem, so they travel the breadth of the snowy continent, facing peckish orca and huge great elephant seals as they go, before discovering just who these extra-terrestrials actually are. It’s at this point that the environmental message of the film kicks in, and though that’s all perfectly laudable and clear, the plot loses it’s way and becomes something of a mess. Sure, it’s encouraging us not to be judgmental of those different to ourselves, or the masses; and it’s also showcasing the enormous damage caused to the seas and oceans by trawling and litter contamination, but the story doesn’t really emphasise any of these connections using “Mumble”, especially at a conclusion which is really quite rushed. At times this is quite a lively affair, but the threads are too bare and the characterisations too lacklustre to sustain this as a feature length animation. Condensing it into half an hour with a couple of catchy tunes might have done better; focused more on it’s messages, and allowed for his Fred Astaire impersonations to have more impact. It’s original and fine, but sadly forgettable.