Happy Feet Two 2011

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: 97 minutes of nonstop joy. Read more

David Germain, Associated Press: Sticks to the formula of the original while adding enough variety to give it a life of its own. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: Centuries from now, cultural historians will look at "Happy Feet Two'' and ask one question: What the heck were they smoking? Read more

Tom Keogh, Seattle Times: Aside from novel and smart uses of 3D effects, the new movie is largely a bore, all but sidelining Williams and straining to offset the monotony of a protracted rescue story with the sour misadventures of a pair of fussy krill. Read more

James Rocchi, MSN Movies: Happy Feet 2 may not be blazing a trail as smoothly and distinctively as the original film did... but you and your kids will find it a pleasant enough journey. Read more

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: Like father, like son; like Disney, like everyone else. And like first movie, like sequel. Read more

Keith Uhlich, Time Out: March away, penguins. Far away. Read more

USA Today: For a computer-animated movie about dancing penguins, it's surprisingly leaden. Not even the impressive voice talent can rev up this clumsy spectacle. Read more

Tasha Robinson, AV Club: This is a film smart enough to set up atypically nuanced, supportive relationships between Erik and his baby-penguin friends, and dumb enough to regularly lean on repetitive broad physical comedy. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: The original won an Oscar for best animated film. I wouldn't hold out the same hopes for the sequel. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: If it weren't for the comic relief provided by Will and Bill, tiny shrimplike crustaceans known as krill and voiced by Brad Pitt and Matt Damon, this would be a forbidding return to Antarctica indeed. Read more

Nancy Churnin, Dallas Morning News: It's hard to resist a children's movie where two comic krill named Will and Bill toss off a reference to existential angst one minute and make really bad wordplays, as in "Goodbye, krill world" and "one in a krillion," the next. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: Much like its Oscar-winning predecessor, the story focuses on lads and dads, though there are strong mama figures and daughters, too. Read more

Adam Graham, Detroit News: The disjointed, undercooked sequel to the Oscar-winning 2006 hit aims to tell life lessons and celebrate pop music, but this would-be toe-tapper is curiously out of step. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: Miller makes nice, subtle points about interdependence on earth. Meanwhile, the earthmates in Happy Feet Two continue to dance, sing, and, yes, charm. Read more

William Goss, Film.com: Follows in the original's footsteps on a more reasonable scale while sparing audiences an emotional ambush. Read more

Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter: Other than commercially, more is less in this antic, not so funny sequel to the 2006 blockbuster. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: It's hard to resist dancing penguins, but "Happy Feet Two" may make you want to try. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: For all the noise and flapping, the movie, like its heroes, remains flightless. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: The animation remains impressive, and there are some very funny moments, courtesy of the talented cast. But fans of the original will want to lower their expectations. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: Happy Feet was one of the greatest and most original animated films, but the sequel can't even decide what it's about for the first 40 minutes. Read more

Sam Adams, Philadelphia Inquirer: It's familiar enough not to spook fans of the (highly profitable) first, but Happy Feet Two branches out beyond prefab coming-of-age stories and gimmicky pop-song set pieces. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: For me, "Happy Feet Two" is pretty thin soup. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: The movie's bereftness of invention can be measured by how no story element builds on another. Instead, "Happy Feet Two" is plotted so that a bunch of disparate things happen, until it's time to end the movie. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Even though it mimics the original, "Happy Feet Two" is incoherent, and if there's an actual story here, it's drowned out by the vapid pop songs, yapping wisecracks and flapping wings of too many characters. Read more

Jennie Punter, Globe and Mail: The film reminds viewers young and old that to make a positive change, sometimes the little guy at the bottom of the food chain needs to stomp his feet. Read more

Derek Adams, Time Out: If there's a saving grace, it's the visuals, especially the beautiful scenes of orange krill. But that's about all. Read more

Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: We get a feeling we've seen it all before. Read more

Justin Chang, Variety: Though it retains the buoyant musical stylings and splendid visuals that made its predecessor so distinctive, this chatterbox of a sequel loses its way with a raft of annoying side characters. Read more

Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice: Has absolutely everything except the light touch required for unaffected charm -- the mugging is savage -- a single piece of memorable original music, or a production number that's celebratory rather than trampling. Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: The gotta-move protagonist of the first animated, Antarctica-set feature -- a misfit young Emperor penguin named Mumble -- returns for the sequel. Only this time he's all grown up... and a lot less fun. Read more