The first "Happy Feet" chronicled little Mumble (voiced by Elijah Wood), a tone-deaf penguin born into a colony of penguins who expressed themselves through the magic of song. As if the concept of singing penguins was not enough, these penguins also had quite the panache for creating incredibly timely mash-ups of popular songs. Who knew they had XM Satellite Radio in Antarctica? Or that penguins knew how to use radios? In any case, Mumble eventually discovered that, though he could not sing, he could dance, and his talents changed the way his colony saw him – and the way he saw himself. It was, at the very least, a somewhat touching coming-of-age story. And, hey, animated penguins dancing!

So, with that exact same formula, comes "Happy Feet Two," which sees history repeating itself. Mumble and his feathered friends are still singing and dancing, still creating pop song mash-ups, still being oddly plugged into human culture, but now Mumble has a child of his own – young Erik who, big surprise, is adverse to dancing. Will Erik follow in his father’s footsteps and discover his own talents, or will he get caught up by a widespread penguin disaster and a suspect new mentor?

"Happy Feet Two" features voice talent from Wood, Robin Williams, Pink, Elizabeth Daily, Sofía Vergara, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, and Hank Azaria. George Miller again returns to direct (yes, "Mad Max" Miller, the very same).

"Happy Feet Two" will be in theaters (in 3D, of course) on November 18. Will you be seeing it? Check out the trailer, thanks to Yahoo! Movies, after the break.

I love going to movies that are pure escapist fun, believe me. There are times when I agree with producer Sam Goldwyn’s comment about films that try to educate viewers: “If I want to send a message, I’ll call Western Union!” I hate when it feels like I’m being hit over the head with a filmmaker’s political point of view (cough-Oliver Stone-cough). But then there are those amazing times at the movies when a film captivates while informing and provoking at the same time. I find this experience especially exciting when the film illuminates actual historical events that need to move out of the shadows and be thrust into a spotlight.

The film “Sarah’s Key,” starring Kristin Scott Thomas, exposes the horrific events of the arrest and deportation of Jews in Paris on July 16-17, 1942. This brutal raid, called the “Vel d’Hiv Roundup,” was conducted NOT by the occupying German forces, but by French police officers under the auspices of the Vichy government. Over 13,000 men, women, and children were forcibly dragged from their homes and shoved into an old indoor bicycling racetrack in the middle of Paris called the Vélodrome d’Hiver (the Winter Velodrome). The deplorable conditions inside the stadium make the post-Katrina New Orleans Superdome look like a luxury resort. The French Jews were eventually transported to an internment camp outside of Paris and then sent by train to Auschwitz where most were murdered.

But this film, directed by Gilles Paquet-Brenner and based on the best-selling novel by Tatiana de Rosnay, isn’t a straight narrative account of these historic events. A good portion of the story is set in our time. Kristin Scott Thomas plays an American journalist working for a news magazine in Paris. While writing a piece about the Vel d’Hiv Roundup, she begins to unravel a story that involves her own family and ends up having a direct impact on some big decisions in her personal life. Meanwhile, expertly intercut with the modern footage, we see the story of one young French family arrested during the raid. We eventually learn the fate of the different members of this family, especially the little girl named Sarah.

It’s not necessarily a good thing to let your trilogy follow in the steps of, oh say something like Bryan Singer’s first X-Men series. Singer helmed two perfectly good films featuring the superhero mutants before handing the reins of the third film over to Brett Ratner, and we all know how that turned out (short answer – not good). Now Ron Howard is joining the club of directors dropping out on final chapters of set trilogies, as he will not be helming the third Dan Brown film, "The Lost Symbol."

Brown’s books have been adapted for the screen by Howard to tremendous success. "The Da Vinci Code" made over $750 million in 2006, followed by "Angels & Demons" in 2009 (which, though not as popular, still made over $486 million worldwide). "The Lost Symbol" will surely be a mainstream hit, simply by virtue of the popularity of both its cinematic lineage and its wild success in book sales (the novel sold 1 million hardcovers and e-books in the U.S., the UK, and Canada on its first day, which earned it the banner distinction of being the fastest-selling adult novel in history).

So why is Howard dropping out of such a cash cow? Deadline reports that Howard told Sony Pictures' Amy Pascal and Michael Lynton that “he just didn't want to do that thing over and over, the same character and the same stories." That seems like a pretty definitive rejection. Of course, Howard is also certainly busy – he’s still looking for a home for his "Dark Tower" project and he recently signed on to helm an adaptation of Jon Krakauer's "Under The Banner Of Heaven," along with a live-action "Spy vs. Spy."

Sony is now looking for a new director for "The Lost Symbol." Tom Hanks will return as Robert Langdon, and Howard will at least remain on as a producer for the film.

Who would you like to see direct "The Lost Symbol"?

Ashton Kutcher. Robert De Niro. Zac Efron. Jessica Biel. Alyssa Milano. Lea Michele. Michelle Pfeiffer. Hilary Swank. Halle Berry. Need I say more?

So, tell us what you think in the comments below...