As others have said before, this a movie you watch when your seven, and then you don't remember a thing about it until 10 years later. That's true for me. This was possibly my favorite movie at the age of 6. Then I didn't even think about it for 10 years until March of the Penguins came out. I was watching a commercial for it and thought 'Wasn't there a cartoon about penguins?' and then I remembered. I sent my brother to Hollywood Video to get it immediately.
When I first put the DVD in I was scared that what used to be my favorite movie would suck. But I enjoyed it, possibly, more than I did when I was little. I was able to appreciate some things I used to be too young to see. When I was young I found the romance scenes quite "icky". But they were actually pretty gosh darn sweet. And the humor still amused me greatly.
The plot is simple enough for any child to an adu.lt to get into: The story's about Hubie (brilliantly voiced by Martin Short), the lovable, stuttering hero. He's shy when it comes to the ladies and has little confidence in himself. He's in love with the beautiful Marina (vocalized by Annie Golding) who he's never even spoken to before. But that all changes one day when he stumbles down a hill into her. Their relationship blossoms and he takes her to a place where he opens his heart in a very sweet song but doesn't get far enough to tell her he loves her. Hubie then decides to find the perfect pebble for Marina and ask her to be his. The penguins have a special ritual in which the male presents the female with a pebble expressing his love for her. If she accepts, they mate. Hubie is heartbroken when no good pebbles are left, when suddenly a green pebble falls from the sky (corny yes, just play along). He immediately starts looking for Marina. But there's another penguin in love with her. Drake (another awesome performance by Tim Curry), wishes to make Marina his. He's everything Hubie's not: big, strong, and handsome. He sees Hubie as an obstacle, so he disposes of him by throwing Hubie off the ice structure. At sea, Hubie gets lost and is picked up by humans who are taking him to a zoo. While trying to figure out how to escape, the humans bring down another penguin, Rocko (done by Jim Belushi), who is feisty and determined to escape. Hubie realizes he only has 10 days left to get home and convinces Rocko to help him. Together, they escape and end up on a beach. Rocko then decides it's best if they go their separate ways. Quickly thinking up a lie, Hubie tells Rocko about a penguin named Waldo who can fly. (Rocko earlier expressed his dream of wanting to fly) Rocko wants to meet the nonexistent Waldo, so he agrees to help Hubie find his way home. Hubie and Rocko face many adventures on their way back, from sea lions to killer whales. Rocko and Hubie build a great friendship, and Rocko even helps Hubie learn to fight and build self esteem. When close to home Hubie believes that Rocko has been eaten by a whale. Revengeful, Hubie sets out after Drake. After a fight scene with Drake, Hubie recovers Marina and is relieved to see Rocko alive. Drake's lair begins to crumble, leading to Hubie and Marina falling to their doom. Rocko leaps to save them and begins to fly! His dream has been fulfilled. Rocko takes them back home and Marina and Hubie get together.
The vocals are great in this movie. They choose such a great cast of actors! Martin Short, Jim Belushi, Annie Golding, and Tim Curry. You can't beat that, can you? They're all so great at what they do, and they're all great singers too.
The score is absolutely breath taking. Short and Belushi make a very comical duo in Looks Like I Got Me a Friend. You grow to love Hubie's lame jokes. Now and Forever is fantastic; I found myself swaying along with the penguins. But the songs that really blow me away are the two Sometimes I Wonder songs. The Sometimes I Wonder Reprise actually managed to make me cry. Marina's heartfelt cry for her lost love is so moving. Hubie's Sometimes I Wonder is so cute I couldn't stop squealing. Martin Short makes the cartoon come to life in this one scene. I love how Hubie's so shy and unsure of himself at the beginning, but in the middle he just opens up and doesn't even realize what he's saying. My only wish is that he actually told her that he wanted to be with someone like her instead of stuttering off. Otherwise, the rest of the score makes up for Good Ship Misery and will make you want to get the soundtrack.
Now, my review has been good the whole time. Sadly, here must come the bad. The animation, unfortunately, was a bit choppy. I've heard rumors of why, and don't really know what to believe. The song Good Ship Misery isn't good. I wanted to fast forward through it, but I refused to. The other thing that made me angry was Drake. Not Drake in general, he was the perfect example of a true villain. But his dea.th, I mean he can fall down nearly a 100 foot drop and still live, yet he dies immediately when the hideout caves in? I just found that sort of wimpy...
Otherwise, I love it. As corny as people may say it is, I think it's sweet and a great family film. Children 5-9 are sure to get a kick out of it and adu.lts shouldn't have too much trouble sitting through it. It's great, and I recommend it to everyone.
When I first put the DVD in I was scared that what used to be my favorite movie would suck. But I enjoyed it, possibly, more than I did when I was little. I was able to appreciate some things I used to be too young to see. When I was young I found the romance scenes quite "icky". But they were actually pretty gosh darn sweet. And the humor still amused me greatly.
The plot is simple enough for any child to an adu.lt to get into: The story's about Hubie (brilliantly voiced by Martin Short), the lovable, stuttering hero. He's shy when it comes to the ladies and has little confidence in himself. He's in love with the beautiful Marina (vocalized by Annie Golding) who he's never even spoken to before. But that all changes one day when he stumbles down a hill into her. Their relationship blossoms and he takes her to a place where he opens his heart in a very sweet song but doesn't get far enough to tell her he loves her. Hubie then decides to find the perfect pebble for Marina and ask her to be his. The penguins have a special ritual in which the male presents the female with a pebble expressing his love for her. If she accepts, they mate. Hubie is heartbroken when no good pebbles are left, when suddenly a green pebble falls from the sky (corny yes, just play along). He immediately starts looking for Marina. But there's another penguin in love with her. Drake (another awesome performance by Tim Curry), wishes to make Marina his. He's everything Hubie's not: big, strong, and handsome. He sees Hubie as an obstacle, so he disposes of him by throwing Hubie off the ice structure. At sea, Hubie gets lost and is picked up by humans who are taking him to a zoo. While trying to figure out how to escape, the humans bring down another penguin, Rocko (done by Jim Belushi), who is feisty and determined to escape. Hubie realizes he only has 10 days left to get home and convinces Rocko to help him. Together, they escape and end up on a beach. Rocko then decides it's best if they go their separate ways. Quickly thinking up a lie, Hubie tells Rocko about a penguin named Waldo who can fly. (Rocko earlier expressed his dream of wanting to fly) Rocko wants to meet the nonexistent Waldo, so he agrees to help Hubie find his way home. Hubie and Rocko face many adventures on their way back, from sea lions to killer whales. Rocko and Hubie build a great friendship, and Rocko even helps Hubie learn to fight and build self esteem. When close to home Hubie believes that Rocko has been eaten by a whale. Revengeful, Hubie sets out after Drake. After a fight scene with Drake, Hubie recovers Marina and is relieved to see Rocko alive. Drake's lair begins to crumble, leading to Hubie and Marina falling to their doom. Rocko leaps to save them and begins to fly! His dream has been fulfilled. Rocko takes them back home and Marina and Hubie get together.
The vocals are great in this movie. They choose such a great cast of actors! Martin Short, Jim Belushi, Annie Golding, and Tim Curry. You can't beat that, can you? They're all so great at what they do, and they're all great singers too.
The score is absolutely breath taking. Short and Belushi make a very comical duo in Looks Like I Got Me a Friend. You grow to love Hubie's lame jokes. Now and Forever is fantastic; I found myself swaying along with the penguins. But the songs that really blow me away are the two Sometimes I Wonder songs. The Sometimes I Wonder Reprise actually managed to make me cry. Marina's heartfelt cry for her lost love is so moving. Hubie's Sometimes I Wonder is so cute I couldn't stop squealing. Martin Short makes the cartoon come to life in this one scene. I love how Hubie's so shy and unsure of himself at the beginning, but in the middle he just opens up and doesn't even realize what he's saying. My only wish is that he actually told her that he wanted to be with someone like her instead of stuttering off. Otherwise, the rest of the score makes up for Good Ship Misery and will make you want to get the soundtrack.
Now, my review has been good the whole time. Sadly, here must come the bad. The animation, unfortunately, was a bit choppy. I've heard rumors of why, and don't really know what to believe. The song Good Ship Misery isn't good. I wanted to fast forward through it, but I refused to. The other thing that made me angry was Drake. Not Drake in general, he was the perfect example of a true villain. But his dea.th, I mean he can fall down nearly a 100 foot drop and still live, yet he dies immediately when the hideout caves in? I just found that sort of wimpy...
Otherwise, I love it. As corny as people may say it is, I think it's sweet and a great family film. Children 5-9 are sure to get a kick out of it and adu.lts shouldn't have too much trouble sitting through it. It's great, and I recommend it to everyone.