Mumble is an emperor penguin who cannot sing, which is a problem in a colony that finds love through song. He can tap dance instead, and his gift gets him exiled. His search for why the fish are vanishing leads to the human world. Watch for how dancers' movements were turned into animation.
Happy Feet is a 2006 animation, family and comedy film directed by George Miller. This breakdown covers 5 techniques (2 cinematography, 2 sound and 1 narrative), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, Mean Streets uses several of the same techniques.
Recording an actor's body and face with sensors, then transferring the movement onto a digital character. The actor's subtle expressions carry over to a creature that does not exist.
How this film uses it
Human dancers performed the dance scenes. Tap dancer Savion Glover provided Mumble's tap dancing and co-choreographed, and performers went to a Penguin School to learn how to move like birds. The feet and the timing look like real tapping because they come from a real dancer.
Where to see it
Mumble discovers tap: While escaping skuas, Mumble finds that his feet make rhythm.
Playing an existing popular song at a precise moment in the film. The song's lyrics, era and associations add irony, period feel or emotion that an original score could not.
How this film uses it
The film is a jukebox musical that fits existing pop songs into the story. Prince approved the use of Kiss and wrote a new song for the film. Familiar songs make the penguin world feel instantly friendly.
Where to see it
The Boogie Wonderland number: Mumble and the young penguins dance to the song at the mating grounds.
Telling the story through someone at the margin, such as a lowly servant, an animal or a drifter, so the world looks different from their position.
How this film uses it
The story is told through the one penguin the group rejects. Mumble sees the colony's rules and the human world from outside, so you notice what the elders cannot see about the fish shortage.
Where to see it
The zoo: Mumble is taken to a zoo in Miami, where he nearly loses his mind before he dances for visitors.
Placing the camera where a character's eyes are, or shooting the scene the way that character experiences it. You see and feel things from inside their head.
How this film uses it
Miller used virtual cameras that could go anywhere, and the film uses a lot of flying camera moves. The camera swoops and slides with the penguins, so chases feel like rides.
Where to see it
The leopard seal chase: Mumble slides across the ice while a predator hunts him.
Questions
Happy Feet: quick answers
What filmmaking techniques does Happy Feet use?
CineCode breaks down 5 techniques in Happy Feet (2006): Performance Capture, Song as Character Expression, Pop Music Needle Drop, Outsider Viewpoint and Subjective Camera.
Who directed Happy Feet?
George Miller directed Happy Feet, released in 2006. CineCode also covers Mad Max: Fury Road (2015).
What films are similar to Happy Feet?
Films that share techniques with Happy Feet include Mean Streets (1973), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), Goodfellas (1990), The Departed (2006).
