Rated: PG
Released: 2006
When I have actually watched this movie several times in the past and I have watched this on occasion with my niece and nephew who are 7 and 5. When it first came out I thought it was so cute with a nice story line it had some funny characters.
Happy Feet is a story about a penguin named Mumble who wasn't good at singing but is a great tap dancer. Since tap dancing wasn't the norm in their community of penguins and Mumble's father says "it just ain't penguin" making him feel shame and embarrassed because he didn't have a great singing voice like the rest. Since Mumble was just too different with his strange "hippity-hopppity" ways the leader of their community casts him out. Mumble leaves his home and meets un-emperor-like penguins the Adelie Amigos. The Adelies instantly embrace his cool dance moves and invite him to party. At the end of the movie the moral of the story is to stay true to yourself and you can make a difference in the world. I think that many of these children when they are watching this movie they get the message that its okay being different and unique. Also to stay true to yourself no matter what anyone says.
Now during the film I noticed that the Adelie Amigos had Spanish accents and spoke some words in Spanish. Ramon who was one of the main characters and was part of the Adelie Amigos was played by Robin Williams who is not Latino. After doing some research people believed that they had incorporated racist stereotypes of Latinos into the characters. "The characters that lived in the what I can only describe as the "ghetto" part of the Arctic. There was bad accents throwing around words like 'mami' and 'homies'. " (punkrockparents.net) This comment was in a personal blog post and many of the comments from other people agreed that the Adelie Amigos were portrayed negatively. According to the Telegraph it made a list of 7 surprisingly racist children's films in an article on October 1, 2014. I agree with what many of these parents have commented and I think its a film that many of us take notice because it is a comedy and we don't pay attention to the characters way of talking or how they are being portrayed as. A review by Manohla Dargis in the New York times she makes a very good point on how "it’s discomfiting that so many children’s films depend on voices that are funny only because they exploit ethnic and racial stereotypes." We as parents just laugh it off because it's funny but we don't realize that these are the films that our children are watching and it quickly turns into mockery that children will emulate was has been portrayed.
Refrences
"7 Surprisingly Racist Children's Films." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 1 Oct. 2014. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
Dargis, Manohla. "Bring in Da Hoofers on Ice." The New York Times. The New York Times, 16 Nov. 2006. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
L, Elisa. "Punk Rock Parents: Happy Feet? More like Racist Feet." Punk Rock Parents: Happy Feet? More like Racist Feet. N.p., 7 Mar. 2007. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
Gabriela,
ReplyDeleteThis is a movie I think I have only seen once or twice, so I don't remember much about the plot. I loved one of the comments you found when researching the movie about the penguins living in the "ghetto" area and having Spanish accents. Stereotypes are in things as innocent as children's movies, its upsetting!
Courtney Rowell
Gabreila Badillo Happy Feet
ReplyDeleteI learned, as you quoted form the New York Times, that often characters or their dialogue may seem funny, but that they are actually exploiting stereotypes, by using negative language. When I first thought of Happy Feet I couldn’t recall any “isms”. I will however, view this movie differently now, because I see how much racism is evident in the characters of the 3 “Amigos”. These characters are portrayed very stereo-typically as being poor Latinos. I think you did a very nice summary of the film and its moral
Gabriela, I am really surprised by how evident the racism in this film is now that you have pointed it out. I was in middle school when this movie came out and remember thinking it was such a great movie because of the environmental message in it! I remember thinking it was weird that Robin Williams had an accent in the movie, but didn't put much more thought into it than that. I am shocked that the "Latino" penguin lived in the ghetto of the arctic. That seems like it should be blatant, but it was so subtle to me at the time. Very informative post!
ReplyDeleteHi Gabriela, Good sources to back up the negativity in this movie. I never seen this movie. I love Robin Williams and probably wouldn't even noticed the voices as being raceism or a stereotype. Good thing to watch for. I have notice when I watch shows or movies now I'm more aware of thing that are stereotypes or have an ism . This class as made me more aware witch is so awesome. In the beginning you said that Mumble was basically kicked out for being a dancer and not a singer. "Being different" This made me think of children that might have a different feeling of who they are. Even their sexual identity and you hear of children being cast out for many reasons like sexual identity and I have heard to many times that young teenage girl who have gotten pregnant and then are kicked out of their home. I thank my mom for not doing that to me. I can't even imagine when you need someone the most you have no one to turn to. Sorry for my rambling. I like this post thanks.
ReplyDeleteWow, I never realized in the 100 million times my daughter would watch this over and over that there was racism. I always thought it was such a feel good movie of Mumble overcoming his father's shame. The quotes and references you found really made me think back to the movie.
ReplyDeleteI never knew this movie had racism. I thought it was just about dancing penguins. After reading your blog I can understand how it is racist. The father in the movie wasn't nice and doesn't show how a father should be. Great blog!
ReplyDeleteCindy Balderas
That was a good catch Gabriella. My son loves this movies and we have watched it about a hundred times and I never noticed the racism or stereotyping in it. Once I read your post it was more evident. It is true many kids imitate the voices and the different quotes later on without even realizing that it is part of a stereotype.
ReplyDeleteI never would have thought twice about it watching the movie. I really enjoyed this one and thought that there were several parts that were funny. I will have to watch this one again too. Your blog was very informative.
ReplyDeleteRamon Louns