Films that were almost written

I love the general premise behind Happy Feet, and, if pitched in a single sentence, it plays well: Everyone in the world but the lead character is born with a beautiful singing voice, while the lead is born tone-deaf, but with a gift for dance.

The problem? In the animated world of Happy Feet, the expression "everyone in the world" refers to "every emperor penguin in the world." The picture comes off as a Greenpeace production of Moulin Rouge on Ice!, and its list of awards makes a mockery of the awards industry. Surely its preachy, zero tolerance view of fishing didn't hurt.

Yet I still can't get past the idea of the film being written as a fable. Elijah (a person, for the love of Mike) is born into a world where everyone can sing and no one can dance. No one has even heard of dancing. The entire educational system is shaped around singing and writing songs. Special tutorial sessions are available for late bloomers but no one, and we mean no one is born without the gift.

Any takers?