Brittany Murphy at the European premiere of Happy Feet in London

The sexy and sassy Brittany Murphy is the voice of Gloria, the songstress penguin with whom Mumble (Elijah Wood) falls in love in Happy Feet. This is what the actress has to say about her role.

lIn Happy Feet, you play Mumble’s soul mate. How do you see Gloria?

She is very strong, loyal and sassy, but in a great way. I adore her, she is someone I would want to know and have on my side. Gloria fights for what she believes in and I love that she embraces Mumble’s differences. They grew up together and are best friends. She knows that he is the love of her life, and wants to help him and go with him on his journey, but he won’t let her. So, she waits for him. It is true love.

lDo you enjoy singing?

I have been singing my whole life, since I was a kid; but never formally, as a career. I did it in plays when I was younger, and I sang all styles of music: everything from Italian opera to blues.

lAre you also a natural born dancer?

I was only trained in dancing and I used to be quite good, though I am a bit rusty right now, but I could probably brush up in a couple of months. The funny thing is that I actually took classes from Savion Glover, who worked in Happy Feet, when I was a kid. Isn’t that wild? He wouldn’t remember me, but it was quite amazing.

lWhat was your favourite song to sing?

My favourite song is Someone to Love. That is more like me than the other stuff, as it was the only one that I was actually able to create from the bottom up. I call it a homage, not a remake. It is a homage to Freddie Mercury, because I don’t think people can really remake Freddie Mercury. That is why we did a gospel version.

lDo you have a ‘heartsong’?

Yes, in fact I have a couple: Little Girl Blue, by Nina Simone, and the Chet Baker version of My Funny Valentine.

lWhich are your favourite scenes in Happy Feet?

I love the opening. It is beyond beautiful. And also when he is trying to learn from the opera teacher, which is one of the funniest things I have ever seen. And I love the moment when Gloria is performing and he is alone on an iceberg: it’s heartbreaking.

lWhat are your next projects?

The Dead Girl is my next film. It is a character-driven drama.

lWhen will we next see you in another animated film?

I will soon appear in Disney’s Tinker Bell, as the main character.