Another obvious cash grab made by Gaiam Americas. This time, it's a mockbuster of Happy Feet 2, which was released the same month as this. Plus, Happy Feet wasn't the only thing ripped off in this. The chalk drawing introduction was obviously copied from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. And that's just the beginning.
The drawings are crisp, and the scenery and colors are decent. But, like Chop Kick Panda, everything looks stiff. The character models are plain and have very limited animation. For the most part, only their mouths moved. This animation, or lack thereof, largely sucked the soul out of the characters.
I couldn't feel any connection to any of the characters at all, not even Pingo's devastated parents or his budding relationship with the Skua brothers. The villains, except maybe Gabby, were largely unimpressive and as boring as the protagonists. Plus, the narrator giving unnecessary lessons on evolution and zoology felt awkward.
Surprisingly, the voice acting, and dialogue isn't that bad. Pingo sounded good, being voiced by longtime voice actress Katie Leigh. Listening to the Skua bird brothers' bicker may be worth a chuckle here and there, and Gabby sounded surprisingly intimidating when inside his shell. But that's about it.
Admittingly, this wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. It was better than Chop Kick Panda. But nevertheless, it was still bad, and while Happy Feet 2 wasn't the best animated film either, it was still head and shoulders above anything Gaiam ever made. At best, this is worth only a single watch for kids who really like penguins.
