Happy Feet

In review

Bait-and-switch is the marketing campaign used by the promoters of this film. You think you’re going to see something cute with a good story for kids, but you end up emotionally attached to a political issue and, if you’re a Christian, insulted. Maybe actually assaulted.

There is a very specific agenda behind the film: stop marine harvesting. Fine. Good. Whatever. BUT it goes much further than that and actually seems to blame Christians for hurting the environment. The logic is as follows: Republicans typically aren’t in favour of environmentally-conscious agendas; Republicans equal Christians; Christians are to blame for the diminishing quality of the environment.

Now, politics aside, I don’t care what they think about the environmental problems and who’s to blame. I don’t have an opinion either way. My problem is with the spiteful message they are sending to kids, to my 3-year-old nephew who accompanied me.

The colony of penguins in this movie is ruled by one who doubles as the religious leader. The entire dialogue from the establishment is stolen from Christian language; a lot of “thees” and “thous”, some “backsliders”, and even a “the [name of Penguin god] giveth, and the [name of Penguin god] taketh away!”

When Happy Feet finds the source of their diminishing food supply, it’s in the form of a fishing village, and the very first thing he sees is a church on the hilltop, cross front and centre, with dark and alarming music playing (like this was the villain).

In the end, the religious leadership is debunked and abandons their faith.

Fine, make a children’s movie with content like this, but don’t draw in the masses without letting them know what they might be in for. There is absolutely NO HINT of this side of the content in ANY of the marketing. This is a very effective campaign tool, not to mention very dubious and underhanded.

But the right has their movies too! Absolutely, but you know it’s a right-piece before you walk in! Who ever saw The Prince of Egypt, or The Nativity, or The Chronicles of Narnia, or The Passion of the Christ without knowing what they were about to see?

Bait-and-Switch (which is actually illegal with bigger-ticket items) Happy Feet: a wolf in sheep’s clothing.