This weekend, the Pratt presents one of the most joyous surprises of recent feature-length cartoons: George Miller's "Happy Feet," in which two very different superstars play Mumbles the penguin. Frodo himself, Elijah Wood, provides the character's voice. More important, tap genius Savion Glover provides the character's moves as dancer and choreographer. You see, in an emperor penguin society that values vocalizing, little Mumbles can't carry a tune. But the lad can dance, and he eventually finds five new buddies who declare him their "Big Guy." The movie is an improbable triumph of moviemaking energy from Miller, the visionary behind "Mad Max" and the "Babe" films. Glover's footwork becomes all the more miraculous when pulled off on webbed toes. And the film becomes one of the best animated features because Miller directs it like a live-action movie, with exhilarating imagery and camera movement. Even Robin Williams rises to the occasion as a penguin named Ramon (well, penguins do live south of the border), and Hugh Jackman, as Mumble's dad, is just as funny when he complains that the kid's happy feet "just ain't penguin." All that's missing is a nod to Steve Martin, who turned his own happy feet into a classic concert bit.
'Happy Feet' Dances Its Way Into The Pratt
Local Screenings
"Happy Feet" plays Saturday at 2 p.m. at Wheeler Auditorium in the Central Library of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, 400 Cathedral St. Admission is free. Information: 410-396-5430 or prattlibrary.org/calendar.
'The Raven' : The Gilded Age facade of Evergreen House, so august in the sunlight, will provide a foreboding backdrop Friday night for Baltimore's "Nevermore" celebration of all things Edgar Allan Poe. In the open air on the Evergreen grounds, Nevermore will present Roger Corman's goofy 1963 riff on "The Raven." This popular comic horror film stars Peter Lorre and Vincent Price as wizards who team up to top an arrogant, power-mad rival: Boris Karloff. Jack Nicholson, who plays Lorre's son, says the film's Raven littered all the cast (especially Nicholson) with its droppings. Perhaps it was Poe's revenge on Corman. The evening starts with Ted Parmelee's acclaimed 1954 short, "The Tell-Tale Heart." Those who've seen it compared its style to Dali and its tension to Hitchcock; the incomparable James Mason does the voice-over.
The museum, which houses rare illustrated editions of Poe's work, opens at 5:30; showtime is 7:30 p.m. General admission: $6; children and seniors: $3. Tickets include museum admission and can be bought at the event or in advance at missiontix.com. The Evergreen Museum and Library is at 4545 N. Charles St.
