The Happy Feet penguins and child star Abigail Breslin got the Oscars ceremony off to an animated start as part of a pre-show skit.

In the taped segment, Happy Feet hero Mumble left his penguin pals and headed for Hollywood, where he bumped into some of his fellow Academy Awards nominees and found himself joining Breslin, a Marie Antoinette and The Queen's lookalike in the Little Miss Sunshine camper van.

The show itself began with a tribute to all 177 actors, art and make-up experts, writers and directors nominated, explaining how they felt about the 2007 Oscars.

Jack Black, John C. Reilly and Will Ferrell picked up the pace when they performed a hilarious Broadway-style musical number bemoaning the movie comedy, which they claimed is always overlooked at Oscar time.

The trio poked fun at dramatic actors Leonardo Dicaprio and Peter O'toole, among others, while flirting with Best Actress nominee Dame Helen Mirren.