Surf's Up (2007)

A behind-the-scenes look at the annual Penguin World Surfing Championship, and its newest participant, up-and-comer Cody Maverick.

Directors:

Ash Brannon, Chris Buck

Writers:

Don Rhymer (screenplay by), Ash Brannon (screenplay by)

Stars:

Shia LaBeouf, Zooey Deschanel, Jon Heder

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 17 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Shia LaBeouf	...	Cody Maverick (voice)
Jeff Bridges	...	Zeke 'Big Z' Topanga / 'Geek' (voice)
Zooey Deschanel	...	Lani Aliikai (voice)
Jon Heder	...	Chicken Joe (voice)
James Woods	...	Reggie Belafonte (voice)
Diedrich Bader	...	Tank 'The Shredder' Evans (voice)
Mario Cantone	...	Mikey Abromowitz (voice)
Kelly Slater	...	Kelly (voice)
Rob Machado	...	Rob (voice)
Sal Masekela	...	SPEN Announcer (voice)
Ash Brannon	...	Filmmaker (voice)
Chris Buck	...	Filmmaker (voice)
Brian Posehn	...	Glen Maverick (voice)
Dana Belben	...	Edna Maverick (voice) (as Dana L. Belben)
Reed Buck	...	Arnold (voice)

Storyline

This story follows a teenage rock hopper penguin named Cody Maverick from his hometown of Shiverpool, Antarctica, where all of the other penguins think he's nothing but a surfing fool, to the "Big Z Memorial Surf Off" on Pen Gu Island. Young Cody is determined to win the most important competition in the world of penguin surfing in honor of "Big Z," a deceased surfing legend whom he has idolized since childhood. But the waves in Pen Gu are different than in Shiverpool, and the competition is steep. The current champ, egotistical Tank Evans, isn't just about to let this little penguin knock him from first place without a fight. When Cody wipes out and encounters Geek, a recluse aging former surfer, living in the jungle, he learns some important lessons about life and surfing, and even teaches Geek a thing or two.

---

Plot Keywords:

anthropomorphic penguin | surfing | penguin | competition | island | 

---

Taglines:

Hang Six Summer 2007.

---

Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Family | Sport

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild language and some rude humor

Details

Official Sites:

Columbia [France] Sony Pictures [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 June 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Los reyes de las olas

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$17,640,249, 10 June 2007, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$58,867,694

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$149,044,513

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Sony Pictures Animation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS (8 channels) Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The layout department set up a special motion-capture camera system on an old Sony video camera to give the illusion that the movie was actually being made with a real hand-held video camera, and thus enhance the documentary atmosphere in the film.

---

Goofs

After the argument with Big Z, Cody rips his big Z necklace off and during his walk to the line up its clearly seen that he's no longer wearing it, However in the long shot of the line up, you can see that Cody has the necklace on..and then in the following closeup its gone again.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Filmmaker: Quiet on the set. And we're rolling. Cody Maverick interview, take one.
Cody Maverick: So why are you guys here to interview me?

---

Crazy Credits

Hang on after the credits for a funny scene with Glen and Edna Maverick (Cody's brother and mother) with the film crew.

---

Connections

References Happy Feet (2006)

---

Soundtracks

Lose Myself
Written, Produced, and Performed by Lauryn Hill (as Ms. Lauryn Hill)
Ms. Lauryn Hill appears courtesy of Columbia Records

User Reviews

Hang 7

It's not the funniest animated movie you've ever seen -- most of the jokes are amusing, rather than laugh-out-loud -- but it does the job.

Sometimes the humor just seems to be "it's penguins doing human things -- get it?"

But it's fast-moving, colorful, and the voice cast is good. (Fortunately, they didn't give Jon Heder too much to do, so he wasn't out of his depth.)

Shia LeBeouf was very good (esp. considering how young he is). Several of us thought it was Bruce Willis doing the character of Cody. Snappy and smart. I liked Mario Cantone as the snarky sandpiper.

The animation is so deft you can actually see subtle emotions play over the faces of these birds. The waves sometimes look real, not animation.

There's a lot of stuff about surfing. Seemed like one of those old surfing documentaries sometimes. I didn't know if the kids could follow all that -- but the 3 little girls sitting in front of me pronounced the movie "fantastic" afterwards, so I guess it did its job.