Happy Feet Two

The tap-dancing penguin of 2006’s Happy Feet (voice by Elijah Wood), now has a son, Erik (Ava Acres), who (like Dad before) just doesn’t fit in. So … well, let’s just say a lot of stuff happens, none of it very interesting, and never coalescing into a story with dramatic momentum. Writers Warren Coleman, Gary Eck, Paul Livingston and George Miller (who directed) apparently think that all a good character needs is an accent, so actors like Robin Williams, Hank Azaria, Hugo Weaving and Anthony LaPaglia lay it on pretty thick; on the other end of the scale are a battery of cute kid voices relentlessly pushing our “Awwww!” buttons. (Apropos of nothing, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon show up as two krill who apparently swam over from another movie.) It’s junk food—accent on “junk”—but well-animated and harmless.