Continuing the adventures of Happy Feet
In 2006, a movie came along that not only delighted audiences, but had them tapping their toes and singing heartsongs. "Happy Feet" was an unqualified global hit that appealed to critics and audiences of all ages. The film went on to earn numerous awards, culminating in the Academy Award® for Best Animated Feature. It also fueled greater efforts for environmental and wildlife conservation and even entered the modern lexicon, with "happy feet" becoming a synonym for tap dancing, its star Mumble's particular talent.
George Miller explains, "I often say that these stories are for the adult in the child and the child in the adult. I think one of the reasons why 'Happy Feet' resonated is that it had a kind of nourishment to it, with the time-honored ideas of being true to yourself, being brave and trying to treat the world and yourself with respect."
The idea for the story of "Happy Feet Two" actually began even as Miller and his team were putting the finishing touches on the first film.
"When you work on a film like that for so long, you actually fall in love with the characters. They became a part of your family," the filmmaker continues. "As you're thinking about them, new stories arise, which is what led to 'Happy Feet Two.' It was surprisingly easy to go back there, and so much fun hanging out with them once again."
But Miller, who directed, produced, and also co-wrote the film with writers Gary Eck, Warren Coleman and Paul Livingston, aimed to do much more than simply return to Antarctica with Mumble, Gloria and the other penguins. He explains, "I think what a storyteller wants from every film is to have the audience somehow experience something that they can relate to, so that they can see their own lives through it. I think this new film--which is about family and community--gives them the opportunity to be able to do that through the characters of the penguins."
In the new film, Miller wanted to imbue even more physical comedy and action, while staying true to the spirit of the first movie. "'Happy Feet Two' has all the singing and dancing and beautiful Antarctic landscape, but there are new characters of every dimension, from the largest scale to very tiny creatures," he says. In fact, the tiniest of the film's creatures are voiced by two of today's biggest stars: Brad Pitt and Matt Damon as Will and Bill The Krill.
Producer Bill Miller elaborates, "We had to reacquaint the audiences with the characters they know and love from the first film, but we needed to take those characters and the audience somewhere different. And we had to raise the bar with the music and dance."
As the story opens, the vocally challenged but choreographically gifted Mumble, once again voiced by Elijah Wood, and the golden-throated Gloria, voiced by Alecia Moore (P!nk), are parents. Mumble's own difficult adolescence, however, did not prepare him to be the ideal dad. His son is a fluffy fledgling named Erik, who seems disinterested in dancing, while the rest of the Emperor nation is movin' and groovin'. But when Mumble encourages him to try tripping the light fantastic, Erik simply trips over his own feet… landing him head first in the snow and the object of derision. Erik hides in shame, and Mumble's attempts to reassure his self-doubting son only make matters worse.
George Miller observes, "Mumble is now a parent, and the tables have turned on him. Now he has the problem of being a father with a child who doesn't completely conform to the way Mumble thinks his son should be! And he truly wants to connect with his son. We all think when we become parents that somehow, we'll know how to do better than our parents did. And, of course, we often make the same mistakes, because there's no real instruction manual about how to be a good parent. And that's what I speculated in the story would happen with Mumble."
Producer Doug Mitchell comments, "One of the themes in the film is clearly about the relationship between father and son. Mumble, like all parents, struggles with the intent to offer unconditional love and support--he wants the best for Erik, but he also may need to let go a little and let his son find his identity for himself."
But the filmmakers ratcheted up the stakes: Mumble not only has to find his way through fatherhood, he ultimately must find a way to save the entire Emperor community, pitting penguin against nature. Violent shifts in the glacial landscape are threatening the Emperors' very survival, and it falls to Mumble to rally creatures both great and small, to save them.

From tiny Krill to huge predators: a wealth of species
One of the film's biggest adventures is undertaken by its smallest characters. "It's the journey of two tiny krill, Will and Bill," George Miller says. "They live in a great biomass of billions and billions of krill that move with the tides…they're the bottom and the basis of the food chain. Every animal up the chain relies on krill. And in the middle of these indistinguishable billions are Bill and Will, played by Matt Damon and Brad Pitt. Will decides that he feels he's different from everyone else around him and he ventures outside the swarm. Will wants to evolve higher up the food chain. Bill, on the other hand, is terrified. He just wants to stay and continue to behave exactly like all the other krill."
Co-screenwriter Gary Eck expands, "There are a lot of parallels between Will's story and Erik's story in this film. They both set out on a journey; thanks to Sven, Erik thinks he can learn to fly, and Will, just out of his own desire to break away, wants to become a predator. They're both quite delusional ideas, and it's not until the end of the story that they realize the truth. Even though they're miles apart--one lives down in the ocean and the other lives up on ice--their stories are very similar."  Read more

Setting the groove with music and moves
As in the first "Happy Feet," performances were expressed from head-to-toe. The film again boasts some of today's best dance talents, led by Savion Glover, who Miller calls "arguably the best tap dancer in the world." Glover returned to provide Mumble with his signature moves. The film also enlisted choreographer Wade Robson, who was tasked with creating the explosive opening number, with its mixture of styles and legions of hoofers. Dein Perry was asked to inject his signature percussive tap--popularized in "Tap Dogs," his worldwide hit stage show--into the feet of the multitudes of differing species, and Kate Wormald, continued and expanded her work as a principal dramatic and dance motion-capture performer in the original film, this time choreographing and helping coalesce the resulting performances.
Miller asserts, "In the first film, I wanted people to feel they could dance in the aisles. Now, I want people to leave the theater with this intense feeling of what it is to dance--to actually think about what it means to be connected to other people, your friends, your family, your community at large. As the story unfolds, this idea of unity of purpose becomes very clear and is ultimately played out in a very, very spectacular way."
An army of computer artists worked to translate the choreography expressed on the motion-capture stage into the animation. Read more

3D animation: Characters and their environments
George Miller emphasizes, "I think one of the reasons the original 'Happy Feet' worked so well was that it differentiated itself by its look. We went for photo reality as much as we could, as much as the technology and our skills allowed us to do at the time. We based everything on the natural history of Antarctica: the behavior of the penguins; the way that the ice forms; the way the winds and the clouds happen. It had a kind of authenticity to it. But also, it was the beauty of Antarctica. Even though it all looks like just ice and snow, there is incredible richness--the formations of the icebergs, the shades of the water, the colors of the light with the low sun, the beautiful auroras that cross the night sky."
Producer Bill Miller offers, "We could now refine a lot of the techniques learned on the first film and, using the core team that made the film, we were able to take 'Happy Feet Two' into new, advanced areas, increasing the level of photorealism."
Co-director/cinematographer Peers says, "As a cinematic experience, this film takes place across a massive range of amazing environments that we haven't seen before, along with the scale of what goes on in Emperor Land. It's a mix of a love story, an adventure and a disaster movie…with singing and dancing. It's just epic." Read more

Voices of the flock, returning and new
When "Happy Feet Two" begins, "It's party time," says George Miller, "and at the center of everything are Mumble and Gloria. Gloria is singing, Mumble is dancing, and everyone is inspired by the rhythm and chemistry between the two."
Mumble has grown up to be a respected leader within the Emperor penguin community. Elijah Wood returns to the role of the masterful tap-dancing penguin, whose unique talents have captured the hearts of so many. "I knew that George would never do a sequel unless it was something that he felt was true to the original story and that there was another compelling story to tell."
In fact, the same things that attracted the actor to the original film have been reprised in the sequel. "There are beautiful environmental themes throughout, pointing to the change that is occurring in our world now, and how it's affecting our precious animals," Wood continues. "George handles it so well, just as he did in the first film. It's woven into the piece in an organic way, along with the themes of love and identity. I think it's especially good for young people to see a film like this and recognize that it's ultimately the things that differentiate us from others that are our strongest defining characteristics. Those are qualities to be celebrated, not ashamed of."   Read more