Mad Max director George Miller has directed two of the most polar opposite films ever made on paper while somehow managing to make them strangely similar. Considering how strange and eclectic filmography of Australian cinema legend George Miller is, it can’t be said that he doesn’t have range. That being said, two of his most seemingly diametrically opposite characters, Max Rockatansky and Mumble the Penguin, go through remarkably similar journeys that call into question how similar a child-friendly jukebox musical and a macabre splatterfest action movie can really be.

First and foremost, George Miller is most famous for directing the Mad Max movies, archetypal post-apocalyptic science fiction films that have left an indelible mark on the genre. But George Miller is a master of many worlds, piloting the anthology horror film Twilight Zone: The Movie, supernatural comedy dramas like The Witches of Eastwick and Three Thousand Years of Longing, and even a random sequel to a children’s franchise in Babe 2: Pig in the City.

George Miller Directed Both Mad Max & Happy Feet

Miller’s Work Is Nothing If Not Incredibly Varied

The works of George Miller perhaps stand furthest apart, however, in Happy Feet and the Mad Max franchise, particularly Mad Max: Fury Road. The Mad Max movies are unapologetically violent, set in cruel wastelands where oil and water have become scarce resources that entire societies are willing to maim and kill for. Even beyond the typical gory carnage of a rated-R series, the Mad Max films are especially bizarre at times, tempering Miller’s more weird ideas, like raiders adorned in BDSM gear or unkempt mᴀsses of hideously mutated survivors eking out an existence surviving on maggots.

Meanwhile, George Miller also happens to be the man behind the Happy Feet duology, a squeaky-clean animated musical that relies on a pH๏τorealistic CGI art style and renditions of popular pop anthems to leave an impression. Taking part in the oddly specific animated penguin craze of the early 2000s, Happy Feet centers on sentient penguins living in Antarctica who find soulmates by singing. After being excommunicated from his tribe for preferring to dance, Mumble the Penguin stumbles upon an environmental crisis centering on the rapid decline in the local fish population.

The Movies Have A Surprising Amount In Common

From Characters To Themes And Imagery

At first glance, Happy Feet and Mad Max: Fury Road seem like they couldn’t be more different. The crowd-pleasing needle drops and cutesy dancing penguins looking for love are a far cry from the fury and blood of the apocalypse, looking to be the two polar opposite ends of the spectrum that is George Miller’s filmography. However, upon closer inspection, the movies have a surprising amount in common, specifically in terms of their overarching themes and central characters.

Max Rockatansky is one of the most iconic action movie protagonists of all time, and Tom Hardy’s version of him in Mad Max: Fury Road emphasizes his nature as a sort of mythical wandering folk hero, helping the innocent people of the wasteland while refusing to stick around to see the fruits of his labor, always outcast by his own internal demons no matter how good of company he manages to find himself in. Likewise, Mumble is excommunicated for his preference in rhythmic expression, but manages to find solace in new friends and prove himself to his elders.

Both films also take place in hostile wastelands, from the barren fields of a post-apocalyptic Australian outback to the windswept ice peaks of Antarctica. Both films examine the effects of pollution on both of these environments, with the message of ecological stewardship and the consequences of its failure, albeit in very different ways. Even the visual language with which Miller portrays both of these hostile biomes is similar, with vast, sweeping camera movements contributing to his legacy. It’s shocking to admit just how much in common Mad Max has with a friendly talking penguin.