Sitting in with the lady, we decide at half 10 to start watching Happy Feet.  It’s a film that… well, one I knew pretty much nothing about.  It’s about a dancing penguin – that’s about as much as I’d gathered.  Lady’s dad said she’d love it, which, since we tend to share pretty much the same taste in films, seemed a little odd.  So, anyway, we sit down and watch it, and… well, yeah.

Afterwards, I head on over to Metacritic to get an idea of whether I was a bit crazy for thinking it’s one of the most fabulous, important children’s films I’ve seen in years.  It’s on a 77 average, as little as that means – but, y’know, generally a really good reception.  But I notice the user reviews rate it a lot lower.  So I start to thumb through, and honestly?  Some of the stuff there is just disgraceful.

Okay, plenty of people like it.  Plenty of people appreciate its elegance; the stunningly organic CGI and the fantastic messages encoded subtly within the film.  Others… well, I basically worry for some children being brought up these days.

Some of the complaints are awkward, but understandable.  There’s a scene that heavily implies sexual themes.  Heck, there’s a character that’s built around them.  And, sure, I commented during the film that I was surprised to see the U certificate on the box.  Parts of it are distinctly grown-up.  Its biggest triumphs are often things that would float over the little uns’ heads, and other bits are maybe slightly inappropriate for the nippers.  So, sure, I get that anxiety.  It’s not one to show your kids if you don’t want to be asked what those two penguins are doing, mummy.

Others complained about the preachiness of its environmentalism.  For the record, I didn’t find it preachy, but can see why people would.  As in, it’s totally overt about it.  The big bad humans are ruining the environment – that’s pretty much the order of the day.  And, y’know, I can see why people would find it preachy… but on the other hand, am totally aghast about it.  You don’t want your kids understanding it’s bad to drop plastic in the sea?  Really?

There’s another theme that’s plenty obvious, and that’s the one that seems to have really riled people.  That’s certain religious denominations’ rejection of homosexuality.  This one’s more subtly encoded, but it’s still there, in the congregations of the empire penguins and their rejection of the dancing protagonist Mumbles.  Later, Mumbles rejects a female’s advances, instead heading off with a group of male penguins (although the pair do eventually hook up).

Again, I can appreciate the views of those who feel it’s anti-religious.  I disagree, but I can see it.  But it says nothing about anything other than the nastiness of homophobia.  And that, incredibly, is something plenty of Metacritic users are complaining about.

There are genuinely horrified parents complaining that the film promotes homosexuality.  I find that completely unsupportable by the movie itself – it cements it as acceptable, and that’s kind of the point: it’s okay to not be “normal” is what the whole thing’s about.  Which, of course, is an absolutely brlliant thing to convey in a children’s film.  Yet people are angry, genuinely outraged, that this film might be some terrible gay propaganda turning all their little ones into… what, exactly?  Dancing, environmentalist penguins who may or may not be gay?  It’s absurd.  It’s frankly really worrying.

People have other problems.  A few complain it’s racist, which again, is something I find totally unsupportable by the film.  It plays on racial prejudices, but by the end, all the different penguin factions – as well as the humans – are working together for the same cause.  It’s about bringing people together!  What are these people talking about?

As a film, it’s a beautifully crafted and tremendously organic visual masterpiece.  Thematically, I’m sure I appreciate it more as an adult, but there’s a lot of valuable advice in there for kids.  It’s utterly brilliant.  And I can’t help but feel utterly saddened by this absurd reaction by so many disgruntled parents, who are terrified that it’s a picture of hideous propaganda.  It’s a film I hope to show my kids one day, assuming I have them.  It contains all the stuff I hope I would raise them understanding.