• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
  
• Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
  
• Resolution: 1080p/24 (23.976Hz)
  
• Audio Codec: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz/24-bit), French, Portuguese, & Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
  
• Subtitles: English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
  
• Region: ABC (Region-Free)
• Rating: PG
  
• Discs: 2 (1 x Blu-ray + 1 x DVD + UltraViolet)
• Run time: 99 Mins.
• Studio: Warner Home Video
  
• Blu-ray Release Date: March 13, 2012
• List Price: $35.99

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Purchase Happy Feet Two on Blu-ray Combo Pack at CD Universe

Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com

Overall
[Rating:4/5]
The Film
[Rating:2/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:3/5]

Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures

(All TheaterByte screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG at 100% quality setting and are meant as a general representation of the content. They do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)

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The Film

[Rating:2/5]

This sequel to the 2006 animated blockbuster was a big mistake. The magic, from the very opening, is gone, and the film struggles to find itself despite big out of place musical numbers and a star-studded cast.

Mumble (Elijah Wood) the emperor penguin is back for another outing in Happy Feet Two, only now he’s grown up and has much more responsibilities, mainly his young son Erik (Ava Acres) and now wife Gloria (P!nk taking over for the now late Brittany Murphy). The young Erik, shy about dancing, runs away when he embarrasses himself and meets a flying penguin named Sven (Hank Azaria) in Adeleland who fills his head with dreams of being able to fly. When Emperorland is threatened by powerful forces of nature and the entire colony is trapped, Mumble must connect with his son and recruit other members of the wild kingdom to help rescue everyone.

In a parallel, and somewhat confusing, storyline, two krill, Will and Bill (Brad Pitt and Matt Damon) break free from their swarm and experience the dangerous world outside what they have known all their lives.

This story, in spite of its magical animation and the at times over-the-top performance by Robin Williams as the adele penguin Raul, Happy Feet Two is an unsatisfying story that happens to be a visual treat.

Video Quality

[Rating:5/5]

As one would expect from a CG animated, HD-sourced film, Happy Feet Two looks flawless on Blu-ray in this AVC/MPEG-4 encodement from Warner. The bright and often even the plain white color palette is richly saturated with no evidence of banding or any other anomalies. The animation is sharp showing minute details in the characters and there is no aliasing or macroblocking.

Audio Quality

[Rating:5/5]

Audio is big and dynamic with deep low frequencies and natural sounding high frequencies in the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz/24-bit) soundtrack. The surround channels are active pretty much from the opening scenes and dialogue is crystal clear.

Supplemental Materials

[Rating:3/5]

The Second Screen iPad App enabled Blu-ray Disc comes with a slew of kid-aimed HD extras, including one Looney Tunes CG animated short featuring Sylvester and Tweetie that brought back memories from my own youth.

The supplements:

• Second Screen
• Behind the Story:
  • Helping Penguins and Pals (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 00:11:52) – Lil’ P-Nut (“Atticus”) hosts as we explore the amazing world of Antarctica – home to penguins, whales, seals, krill, and all kinds of fascinating species.
  • How to Draw a Penguin (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 00:04:59) – Storyboard and concept artist, Tim McEwen, shows us step-by-step how to draw “Erik,” while highlighting his uniqueness and differences.
  • Running with Boadicea (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 00:03:10) – Running, jumping, acrobatics, and flips – Bo is the parkour champion on ice and snow. See how this little lady stays a step in front of all the boys!
  • The Amazing Voices of Happy Feet Two (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 00:04:51) – Robin Williams, Alecia “P!nk” Moore, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, Elijah Wood, Hank Azaria, and Common show how much fun it was, down under, to voice their characters.
• I Tawt I Tawt a Puddy Tat (2.35:1; 1080p/24; 00:03:49) – Looney Tunes short
• Music:
  • P!nk’s New Song (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 00:01:56) – Spend time with P!nk anf the new song “Bridge of Light,” she recorded just for this film.
  • The Mighty Sven Sing-Along
  • Papa Oom Mow Mow Sing-Along
• BD-Live
• UltraViolet
• DVD

The Definitive Word

Overall:

[Rating:4/5]

Too much fluff and not enough heart, Happy Feet Two ruins what was a good effort the first time around by tainting the memory of the original with this weak effort. Although some less demanding kids may still enjoy it, parents and legal guardians won’t find much to keep them entertained over the hour-and-a-half or so.

Additional Screen Captures

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[amazon-product]B004EPZ0AM[/amazon-product]

Purchase Happy Feet Two on Blu-ray Combo Pack at CD Universe

Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com

Overall
[Rating:4/5]
The Film
[Rating:2/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:3/5]

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