List of characters in Happy Feet
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The following is a compilation of supporting characters from the 2006 animated film, Happy Feet.
Contents |
[edit] Major Characters
[edit] Memphis
Memphis, voiced by Hugh Jackman, is Mumble's father. He is a caricature of Elvis Presley in his speech, mannerisms, and personal Heartsong, which is "Heartbreak Hotel." The name Memphis is probably an allusion to Elvis, in that Elvis was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He is the mate of Norma Jean, and stays behind with the other fathers to incubate their egg through the long Antarctic winter, while the mothers leave to fish. During this period, Memphis daydreams of Norma Jean and accidentally drops the egg, exposing it to frigid sub-zero temperatures. Although Memphis quickly retrieves the egg and attempts to convince himself that no harm was done, the film implies that this slip is responsible for the unusual behavior of his son. Memphis tries to keep his mistake a secret, and throughout Mumble's youth, Memphis denies that there is anything strange about him. When Mumble is accused of causing the famine by the colony's elders and about to be exiled from the colony, Memphis begs Mumble to change his unusual ways, rather than defending his son's differences. After Mumble's banishment and presumed death, Memphis is overwhelmed by guilt. He remains in a state of depression until Mumble returns home. Along with his mother, Norma Jean, they convince Memphis to give dancing with Mumble a try and it abruptly brings him out of his depression, which is further proven when Memphis sings a brief reprise of his Heartsong with Norma Jean.
[edit] Norma Jean
Norma Jean, voiced by Nicole Kidman, is Mumble's mother. A caricature of Marilyn Monroe, Norma Jean not only carries Monroe's original birth name, but also speaks in a wispy voice and bears a dark patch of feathers on her chest similar to Monroe's facial beauty mark. Her Heartsong is Prince's "Kiss," and she is won over by her mate Memphis with his bluesy rendition of "Heartbreak Hotel." Norma Jean is highly protective of her son and, despite his differences, she thinks of Mumble's dancing as "cute," and emotionally supports him while the majority of the Emperor Nation ostracizes him. She is powerless to reverse the decision of Noah and the colony's elders when they banish Mumble, but remains faithful that her son will succeed in his quest to find the cause of the recent shortage of fish and subsequent starvation amongst the penguin colonies. It is Norma Jean that convinces a morose Memphis to try dancing with Mumble when he returns, and Memphis is woken from his stupor by the rhythmic energy of singing a brief reprise of his Heartsong and dancing with his family.
[edit] Lovelace
Lovelace, voiced by Robin Williams, is a Rockhopper Penguin, self-proclaimed oracle of Adélie Land, and a caricature of Barry White. He charges the adélies one pebble in exchange for prophecies. He speaks in a deep baritone, with the inflection of a stereotypical evangelical preacher. Lovelace maintains a harem (which also serves as his gospel choir), and boasts of his power and sex appeal. He aids Mumble in his quest to find the "aliens," and serves as the narrator of the film. For much of his screen time Lovelace is shown with a "sacred talisman" around his neck; this is a plastic six-pack ring used to hold beverage cans together. This becomes Lovelace's undoing, as the ring becomes so tight that he can barely breathe. Lest he choke to death, he reveals to Mumble and the amigos that he is a fraud, and his "talisman" caught around his neck on a swim around the Forbidden Shore, where an abandoned whaling process plant lay and detritus was scattered everywhere.
[edit] Noah the Elder
Noah the Elder, voiced by Hugo Weaving, is the oldest, and allegedly wisest, penguin within the Emperor Nation. He is an acute stickler for tradition, and speaks with a distinctive Scottish accent. Accompanied by several contemporaries which form a "council" of sorts, Noah is the wizened leader of the colony, and he does not tolerate deviance in any form. He evicted Mumble from the colony for his tap dancing; Noah believed that the dancing had angered the emperors' deity, the Great 'Guin, and had resulted with a famine. Noah's strong sway over the colony is not enough to overpower the reality of the "aliens," however - even when he denies their existence as Mumble attempts to warn the colony of the aliens' imminent arrival. Ultimately faced with the reality of the aliens, Noah relents and dances along (badly) with the rest of the colony to send a message of distress to the curious humans.
[edit] Minor Characters
[edit] Seymour
Seymour is an emperor penguin born of the same generation as Mumble and Gloria. He is voiced by César Flores as a chick, and Fat Joe as an adult. His Heartsong is "The Message," a hip-hop single by Grandmaster Flash. As such, he sports a very "cool," laid-back mentality, and is as skeptical of Mumble's unusual ways as the rest of the colony. Seymour is significantly fatter than the other emperors, even as a chick. As an adult, he has a distinguishing flame-shaped mark in the yellow feathers on the nape of his neck. He is Mumble's main rival for Gloria's affections, though it is clear from the film's onset that Gloria shows no interest in him. Near the end of the film, Mumble returns to the Emperor Nation to find Gloria and Seymour approaching him with a crèche of chicks in tow. Mumble initially thinks the two are now a couple, but Gloria rectifies his assumptions by introducing him to their singing class, in which Seymour teaches rhythm, and she teaches the blues. Despite Seymour's best efforts, Gloria remained single for the duration of Mumble's absence, as only she and Mumble were meant to be together. A few times in the movie he is sometimes seen running into Mumble and Gloria.
[edit] Miss Viola
Miss Viola, voiced by Magda Szubanski, is a "Penguin Elementary" teacher in the emperor colony, responsible for a crèche which includes Mumble, Gloria, Seymour, and others. She was the first to notice Mumble's inability to sing. Informing Mumble's parents of this distressing news, Miss Viola refers the couple to Mrs. Astrakhan, a passionate remedial singing instructor. As an aside, Miss Viola claims to very much enjoy Seymour's Heartsong, and the two can be seen dancing together during Gloria's "Boogie Wonderland" dance sequence. Whether the two became a couple is never divulged, but only implied.
[edit] Mrs. Astrakhan
Mrs. Astrakhan, voiced by Miriam Margolyes, is a flamboyant Siberian singing instructor within the Emperor Nation; young emperors who have difficulty finding their Heartsong are referred to her for remedial courses. She speaks with a strong Russian accent, and her Heartsong may possibly be "Otchi Tchorniya," the traditional Romani folk song. Memphis and Norma Jean are referred to her when seeking to remedy Mumble's lack of vocal talent. Despite Astrakhan's best attempts, she could not get Mumble to utter one clean note. She succeeded in another regard, however; Mumble's enormous talent for dancing is fully realized, and as the penguin "sings through his feet," Mrs. Astrakhan can be accredited for this achievement.
[edit] Maurice & Michelle
Maurice and Michelle, voiced by Dee Bradley Baker and Chrissie Hynde respectively, are Gloria's parents. They are friends and contemporaries of Memphis and Norma Jean, but possess very little screen time within the final film. They were the subject of a scraped sequence in which Maurice's Heartsong, "The Joker" mashed up with Michelle's Heartsong, "Everything I Own," and the two became mates. Maurice's name is lifted directly from a lyric within "The Joker," which goes "...and some people call me Maurice!" Chrissie Hynde is Michelle's voice actress, as well as the performer of the "Everything I Own" cover recorded for the film. Their mash-up can be heard over the end credits of the film, as well as the Happy Feet original soundtrack. Maurice is first identified repremanding a young Gloria. When Mumble left the colony they stop Gloria from trying to go after him. When he left they started to argue with her, but she ended up going after him anyway.
[edit] The Elders
The Elders, voiced by Peter Carroll, Larry Moss, Lee Perry and Alan Shearman, are a group of seven to eight patriarchal emperors who serve as Noah's council, as well as filling the role of his zealous watchdogs. They are distinguished by their hunched, vulture-like appearances and hooked bills. Their eye color boasts surprising variety - from amber to green to icy blue; they speak with various European dialects. The head elder, Eggbert, is often the first to spy deviant behavior, and is Noah's closest confidant. He has the most lines of dialogue of any of the elders, and speaks with a New York flavored Jewish accent. With the advantage of numbers, the elders can surround and overwhelm any individual who questions their ways; when this tactic does not work on a determined Mumble, Noah decides instead to banish the "hippity hopper" from the Emperor Nation for good.
[edit] The Great 'Guin
The Great 'Guin is the emperor penguins' deity, a benevolent god who "puts songs in our hearts, and fish in our bellies!" Noah and the Elders serve as a sort of clergy to the Great 'Guin, implicitly knowledgeable of his will and his demands. Wielding this power ruthlessly, the Elders determine that Mumble's "happy feet" and "pagan ways" have angered the Great 'Guin, who is withholding the penguins' food supply as punishment. They subsequently ban the stubborn and doubtful Mumble, who later determines that it is not the Great 'Guin, but the "aliens" (humans) that are overfishing and depleting the penguins' food supply by drastic levels.
[edit] Boss Skua
Boss Skua, also known as Alpha Skua in some international versions of the film, is voiced by Anthony LaPaglia with a heavy Manhattan accent. He is the leader of a flock of Mafia-like skua gulls who hunt down and surround baby Mumble. In an attempt to distract the birds while he makes for an escape, Mumble asks Boss Skua why he is wearing a yellow leg band. Much to the chagrin of the other three, Boss Skua launches into a dramatic story about alien abduction. This gives Mumble enough time to escape the hungry birds.
[edit] Dino, Frankie & Vinnie
Dino, Frankie, and Vinnie, voiced respectively by Danny Mann, Mark Klastorin, and Michael Cornacchia, are the Boss Skua's multi-colored posse. The skuas have been driven to preying upon penguin chicks due to the shortage of fish, and Mumble is the group's first meal in a while. When Mumble's dancing fails to distract them, he asks the Boss Skua about the yellow leg band he's wearing. When the boss pauses to tell his story, the other three begrudgingly wait it out, mocking him behind his back, only to have Mumble run away and escape their reach.
[edit] Trev, Nev, Kev & Barry
Trev, Nev, Kev and Barry, voiced respectively by Steve Irwin, Nicholas McKay, Tiriel Mora and Richard Carter, are four bull elephant seals who give Mumble, Lovelace, and the amigos a dire warning about the "aliens" of the Forbidden Shore when the penguins stumble on to their territory, the Land of the Elephant Seals. They speak with ocker Australian accents. Although physically, the four are fairly indistinguishable from one another, their names are shortened, monosyllabic versions of Trevor, Neville, and Kevin, respectively.The Elephant Bull Seal role was the last role to involve Steve Irwin.
[edit] The Leopard Seal
The Leopard Seal, voiced by Roger Rose is a leopard seal who attempts to ambush Mumble after the penguin is shunned from a graduation party. Isolated on a small ice floe and surrounded by open water, Mumble proves to be a tempting target for the predator. The seal chases Mumble far from familiar grounds and right to the edge of Adélie Land, where he meets the amigos. The seal says little, but speaks in an East European accent, calling the penguins "dumplings," though he called Mumble a "sausage". The Leopard Seal is little more than a MacGuffin in Happy Feet - a method for Mumble to meet the amigos and advance the plot; nothing else besides that, even though he seemed to imply another attack upon his departure. He is responsible for the rip between Mumble's tail.
[edit] The Orcas
A pair of transient male orcas attack Mumble, Lovelace, and the amigos when they arrive at the Forbidden Shore. Isolating the penguins on a frozen buoy, the whales play with the water-bound Mumble and Lovelace, delaying their deaths for entertainment. In the process of being tossed around, Lovelace's six pack ring snaps, and frees him from suffocation. The seven penguins make it safely to solid ice in the nick of time, just barely outpacing the hungry predators. As another subtle reminder of the impact that humans have on other species and habitats, one of the orcas is scarred with deep gashes on his back from a boat propeller.
