Should Children's Movies Have Political Messages?

After watching the blockbuster Happy Feet, I had to ask, should children's movies have political messages? I actually don't see the harm. Why would it be harmful for a child to become somewhat aware of environmental issues? Granted, the movie is supposed to be light and fun, and for the most part, it is. However, towards the end, the political message is very clear and perhaps we should listen.

The Netflix synopsis of the movie says, "Living with his colony in the Antarctic, young emperor penguin Mumble is aptly named: While his friends use their singing skills to attracts mates, his caterwauling sends potential sweethearts waddling in the opposite direction. But Mumble is blessed with an unusual gift -- he can tap dance in a way that would make Fred Astaire jealous. Elijah Wood, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, and Robin Williams lend their voices to this spirited Oscar-winning tale."

While this movie is about finding your own way and not becoming part of the "crowd", it's also about environmental issues such as regulating the over fishing of the Antarctic oceans.

The movie is set in an Antarctic emperor penguin colony. Emperor penguins find mates by their unique calls. Each penguin has that one certain sound that attracts a mate, called his or her heart song. Our hero of the movie, Mumbles, can't produce anything more than a screech but his feet are happy and he can dance! Mumbles is shunned by his colony since they don't care for any deviation for the norm.

After a succession of mishaps, Mumbles finds himself at a different penguin colony except they seem to accept him and embrace his originality. Mumbles is curious after seeing an excavator, and vows to find out what it's for and why the fish have been so scarce, something that he is blamed for because of his differences and disrespect. Mumbles returns to his friends and by happenstance, sees many fishing boats taking tons of fish and has his answer. However, his joy at finding the truth doesn't last long since he is captured and placed in a zoo as part of the penguin exhibit.

Mumbles tries to communicate with the people that he calls aliens, but to no avail. He starts losing his mind, in his words. Only after a little girl taps on the glass does he decide to "dance" for her. Thus, having his captors decide to release him with a tracking device. After returning to his home, he finally convinces his colony that they must find a way to tell the "aliens" that they are affecting the penguins' livelihood. At first he's not believed but when some of the researchers show up, the penguins start to listen. They all do a dance like Mumbles and the researchers are thrilled.

The political message in this movie wasn't too strong and I believe that it's a very responsible move on the part of the writers, to engage us with a beautiful animated story that also has us environmentally aware. One has to wonder though, is this a line that has now been crossed and we'll start seeing more political messages in stories that are meant for children to enjoy? Would that be a bad thing?