With cute penguins, catchy music and a big-name cast it was no wonder Happy Feet was a hit but could the formula work again? I admit I was concerned about director George Miller's ability to come up with a quality script considering the nature of the original story.

So I was pleasantly surprised with the latest offering which is both charming and ideologically uplifting.

The sequel centres around Eric and his father - our original hero Mumbles - and what starts out as a journey of self-discovery becomes an exploration of banding together and helping our fellow man... er penguin.

After an implied global warming incident, the emperor penguin population - sans our heroes - is trapped without food and it becomes a touching race for time.

Amongst all this we have a sub-story featuring two krill who escape the swarm to embrace individuality and attempt to move up the food chain. Voiced by Brad Pitt and Matt Damon, this side plot is almost worth the price of admission alone.

But it's the main plot that warms the cockles with a variety of beings each pitching in to help those less fortunate.

In a time of natural disasters and financial hardship, this tale of selfless support for each other - regardless of creed, race or species - is a wonderfully uplifting story for all ages. In fact the story is so strong you barely notice the antics of Robin Williams whose character proves to be stronger and more engaging in small doses.

Elijah Wood is solid, Alecia Moore (Pink) is wonderful as the supportive mother and the tunes will have parents and kids tapping their toes along happily.

Enjoyable, fun and ideologically sound, Happy Feet 2 should be on the to-see list this summer.

p.s. with TWO Queen songs I was alway going to give this movie extra credit. Bias identified. ;)