Movies

Pirouetting penguin Mumble (Elijah Wood) has grown up and is now a father. The insecurities we came to adore in the franchise's first film, which raked in a near $400 million worldwide and won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature, have been passed on to his equally awkward son Erik (Ava Acres).

Erik, with his two loyal friends in tow, embarks upon on a soul-searching mission following Ramon (Robin Williams) back to his own clan of penguins. They come across God-like penguin 'The Mighty Sven' (Hank Azaria) who is the last of his kind, having cheated death by using his miraculous ability to fly.

Mumble sets off to retrieve his son but when they all return to Emperor-Land, they find that an iceberg has struck their homes and the population is trapped in high walls of ice.

The subplot of two krills, Bill and Will, voiced by Matt Damon and Brad Pitt, trying to move up the food chain provides the film's laughs, while director George Miller subtly threads in the theme of global warming.

During the impressive opening scenes, it's impossible not to tap along to tunes blasted out by Gloria (Pink), yet the songs soon grow tired and the stunning visual graphics are saddled by a laborious plot.

Happy Feet Two is cute holiday entertainment for the kids, but there isn't enough substance to the film's narrative to keep a mature audience interested in whether the penguins find a way to save one another or not.