Happy Feet

I know a lot of people have been down on this movie, but to be honest, I liked it! Lots of music, lots of dancing. Who could ask for anything more? Oh, and don’t forget Robin Williams, who’s always good for a laugh. “Let me tell to you something.” Laugh-out-loud jokes. A tad bit of sexual innuendo inappropriate for children’s movies, I thought, such as the Lovelace character. A friend of mine expressed a problem with the violence, but I didn’t think the violence any scarier than any Disney movie, really, with their villains. We took my six-year-old niece. She seemed to be fine.
Two annoying factors: Nicole Kidman. Her voice reminds me of the drip that won’t stop dropping or the fly that won’t shew. And I can’t stand her (for those of you in the audience not familiar with classics, Singing in the Rain).
Second, the seal. They led me to believe that the seal factor would be this danger in the future. Every time a penguin dove into the water, I expected the teeth of the seal. But then the seal never came back. A McGuffin, perhaps. (How do you like them apples? Hey, mom! Look! No hands!) The chasing seal forced Mumble out of his ordinary world then was useful no longer.
Now, to the Christianity factor, the writer obviously had a bad experience. (Man, I’m just full of those movie references today.) The leadership of the tall penguins resemble some stoic puritan leadership with their disdain of the “pagan dancing” that leads others down some sort of slippery slope (they didn’t actually use that term, but used another favored by Christian leaders afraid of the world influences – I just can’t remember the exact term) away from the unity that will save them. The first time we see the destructive wasteland of the humans that steals away the fish of the penguins, the camera focuses on a church, steeple and all, then pans down to the crusty rusty boats reminiscent of Monet’s industrial trains. Apparently, the guy just doesn’t have a high opinion of Christianity. Here’s the ironic thing: in all honesty, Christians are the ones who have to keep dancing when the rest of the world demands something else. If you live in the Bible belt, it means living a risky Christianity when your neighbors want the Sunday-morning-I’m-seen-at-church-experience-and-let-nothing-else-touch-me-just-keep-me-safe-for-the-whole-family. If you live pretty much anywhere in the Western world, it is being dangerously Christian instead of materialistic (and by that, I don’t mean enjoying God’s creation but an instant gratification lifestyle with the gimme-gimme line). If you live in the Muslim world, it means reaping the shame of your family and banishment if not physical suffering. As Christians, we know the source of evil, and as the Body of Christ, incarnating Him everyday, we can bring healing in this world.
So there you have it folks. Dance with happy feet. Share the healing and hope of Christ.