'Happy Feet' delivers animation upset

The academy's warmth for chilled-out tap-dancing penguins from the South Pole gave something of a cold shoulder to Disney animation czar John Lasseter. The Oscar win for George Miller's "Happy Feet" was viewed as an upset, especially after Pixar's "Cars" won the Golden Globe last month.

This is not where the story ends. Plans are underway for "Happy Feet 2," but not before director Miller tackles an unnamed CG toon, an indie doc and another installation of "Mad Max," the franchise that made him famous in 1979.

"Everywhere I go on the road with 'Happy Feet' there are little girls with pictures of penguins wanting to take a photo with me," Miller said. "I'm more used to testosterone-driven guys wanting me to sign pictures."

The win marks a notable return to Hollywood for Miller. The former practicing physician from Australia had been absent for more than a decade from the Oscar scene since his best-picture nomination for the CG-laden "Babe" in 1996, and a 1993 nomination for the "Lorenzo's Oil" screenplay.

For "Cars," despite its muscle cars and dazzling American vistas, it's been a bumpy road. It opened last summer to less-than-anticipated business for a Pixar film.

"Cars" eventually kept pace with box-office expectations as it played solidly throughout the summer, but Lasseter and Pixar have come under marketplace scrutiny since Disney bought the company for a hefty $7.4 billion last spring in a bid to revive its feature animation division with new creative leadership based on the computer animation studio's model of success.

For what's normally considered kiddie fare, both toons touched on weighty matters. For "Cars," it was the deleterious effect on small-town America of the postwar superhighway system. "Happy Feet" came with a strong environmentalist-tinged message.

Miller's absence from the Oscar campaign trail because of an extended vacation in India ultimately did not handicap "Happy Feet."

"It's a leap of faith to make a film, and animated feature films take so long in production," he said. "It is a good feeling to be recognized for everyone's hard work it. But to be honest, the biggest relief was to know that the film got out there and that audiences went to see it."

"I asked my kids, 'What should I say?' " if his film should win, Miller said in his acceptance speech. "They said, 'Thank all the men for wearing penguin suits.' "