George Miller's 2006 animated comedy "Happy Feet" was released amid a weird thing for penguins going on at that time in the cultural zeitgeist.

There were penguin-themed documentaries, online games, cartoon characters ("Madagascar"), parodies and nature programs in abundance. "Happy Feet," about a young penguin spurned by the elders of his Antarctic community because of his penchant for tap dancing, stood out from the crowd — though not in a good way.

The family film's thin story was lost in a whirl of random references to old movies, songs and pop icons. A tacked-on environmental theme did nothing to temper such haphazardness. Still, there were some hilarious moments whenever Robin Williams, voicing two characters, began his trademark free-associating.

Five years later, penguin-mania has died down, and so has the anarchy of "Happy Feet" in its sequel, "Happy Feet Two."

Aside from novel and smart uses of 3D effects, the new movie is largely a bore, all but sidelining Williams and straining to offset the monotony of a protracted rescue story with the sour misadventures of a pair of fussy krill (voiced, believe it or not, by Matt Damon and Brad Pitt).

Elijah Wood returns as the voice of Mumble, the dancing hero whose young son is less interested in following in his father's tap-tap footsteps than in flying like Sven (a very funny Hank Azaria), a visitor who claims to be a penguin yet who actually sails the skies.

It's a clever idea to have Mumble be the one this time to struggle with a kid who wants to be different. But that drama unfolds against a one-note story about saving thousands of penguins stuck at the bottom of a canyon when a glacier breaks apart.

Miller ("The Road Warrior") adds a misfiring subplot about the two krill exploring a dubious freedom. Clearly, he is exploring the possibility of a spinoff movie built around them, but it would have to be more entertaining than what he has here.

Tom Keogh: tomwkeogh@gmail.com