The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)  - Pick

Happy Feet (2006) - PASS

It’s “Happy” week for new DVD releases — but not all happiness is created equal. The Pursuit of Happyness celebrates the commitment and sacrifice of Hollywood’s most responsible struggling father since Cinderella Man. Will Smith stars with real-life son Jaden Smith in the fact-based story of unsuccessful salesman Chris Gardner, whose marriage breaks apart and who goes broke pursuing a longshot chance at a better life.

Chris’ efforts to protect and care for his son under increasingly dire circumstances are both heart breaking and deeply moving, and young Jaden’s matter-of-fact performance as young Christopher suggests both the resilience and vulnerability of childhood. Hard work and hope collide with hard reality and hard luck as The Pursuit of Happyness earns its title, and its happy ending.

Compared to the real Gardner’s story, the film is a somewhat processed Hollywood version, omitting some (though not all) of Gardner’s rough edges and minimizing (though not eliminating) the role of faith in Gardner’s story. Gardner’s own faith doesn’t figure in the story, but Glide Memorial Church (featured in America’s Heart and Soul, a documentary celebrating the pursuit of happiness) plays a role at one of Chris’ lowest points.

Happy Feet was one of last year’s most successful family films, and it’s easy to see why. Stunning animation, adorable penguins, lots of action, a jukebox soundtrack shrewdly aimed at parents (an eclectic mix including R&B, Motown, hip hop and above all tap) — what’s not to like?

Unfortunately, there are things not to like. Take the strange blend of anti-religion/authority/tradition themes. Emperor penguin society in Happy Feet is a strange blend of saucy music and hidebound cultural and cultic conservatism. Scottish-accented (i.e., Presbyterian!) penguin elders praise “the great one who put souls in our hearts and fish in our bellies” — and blame scarcity on “backsliding” and “sin,” which “offend” their deity, the Great ’Guin.Such “offenses” include the “pagan display” of young Mumbles, a male chick who is strangely unable to find his unique “voice” in song like any self-respecting Emperor, but finds that he has a gift for tap-dancing.

This Footloose-esque parable of toe-tapping youthful resistance to authoritarianism is accented by subtle but troubling hints of homosexual-friendly subtext. Mumbles’ virile father Memphis, alarmed at his son’s curious display, cautions, “I wouldn’t do that around folks, son,” and insists: “He’s not different! He’s a regular little penguin!”

“Don’t ask me to change, Pa,” Mumbles pleads. “I can’t.” Memphis, though, blames an early parenting mistake for his “messed-up” son.

Some viewers may be troubled by the blinkered depiction of humans as despoilers of nature, though a happy ending does suggest that humans can make responsible (i.e., environmentalist) choices. Happy Feet isn’t without charm, and is even touching at times. Too bad the drawbacks are annoying enough to make it less than recommendable.

Content advisory

 The Pursuit of Happyness: Some crude language, mild profanity and an obscenity; marital discord and desertion; some disturbing situations. Teens and up. Happy Feet: Mild innuendo and sexual references; mild menace; anti-religious themes. Questionable for kids.