Surf's Up

It's easy to roll your eyes when you see yet another animated movie starring talking animals, and what more, talking penguins. Guess you can credit the popularity of our feathered friends from down south to award winning films like the documentary which started it all, March of the Penguins, and the other animated movies Madagascar (where they were scene stealers) and Happy Feet. But before you actually decide to pass on this one, Surf's Up a surprisingly refreshing tale set in the bright sunny beaches with laid back "dude" attitude, which doesn't seem to try too hard to please, and comes up just about right.

One of the good things about the movie is the voice talent featured. Like Happy Feet, it contains some recognizable names, but just as a reminder to our Legend of the Sea friends, big names doesn't necessarily equate to good voice acting. Shia LeBeouf (a name which we will see quite frequently over the next few months with Transformers and Disturbia) gets the lead role of Cody Maverick, a surfer penguin wannabe who dreams of making it big in the surfing community. His idol is Big Z (Jeff Bridges), a world champion who had made an impression on a young Cody. However, Big Z is presumed missing in action during one competition, and the new world champion, Tank Evans (Diedrich Bader) looks set to retain his status for the umpteenth time.

The supporting characters too are a delight, with Zooey Deschanel as a Baywatch lifeguard babe and James Woods as a sports tzar, and Jon Heder continues his stereotype by playing Cody's new best friend Chicken Joe, a chilled out surfing chicken who finds himself at probably the wrong place each time and associating with the wrong species.

What made this movie work is that the filmmakers recognize they have to come up with a narrative style that is different in order to engage, and given that it's a sports type movie, they went for a sports entertainment channel style, complete with replicating camera techniques including details like less than perfect wireless camera transmissions (love those on-board cameras, nevermind if it doesn't make complete sense or is illogical), over the top channel transition sequences, and you just gotta love those faux pas interviews with just about every character. If you can't get enough of baby penguins, the filmmakers too are shrewd enough to include these crowd favourite characters in endearing scenes.

With Father's Day mood all round, this movie is apt too for the season, given its theme of family, and bonding with (surrogate) father types. The humour injected ranges wide, from subtle lines and references, to the more obvious physical slapstick moments. I can't resist but to again advise our Legend of the Sea friends, this is what computer animation is about, with its depiction of photo realistic quality of the sun, sand and the sea, with realistic surfer moves, a simple story yet packed with adequate thematic moments, with song and music that don't irritate, but serve to move the narrative along smartly.

Recommended animated movie, despite the overused penguin characters. Stay until after the end credits for a short scene (there's also one played during the credits, so don't walk out of the hall just yet).

First off, I got the chance to watch the Hollywood premiere here in Hawaii with the cast being there to watch it too. Due to the recent release of penguin movies, a lot of people are turned off by them. Please do not judge it so. I admit, at first I was turned off by it being a penguin movie and I couldn't think of anything new. Although this type of story has been told before (what story hasn't?), it's always interesting to see how it will be presented. And I liked it. The characters and events keep you in the movie. Yes, you're gonna have to deal with penguins and their habitats, but it won't be for long. And besides, this is no happy feet, which I liked also. This movie has an amazing cast with enjoyable characters. So be ready to laugh your butt off because I pretty much was. Great family fun movie, or just a movie for you. Now I regret watching it so early (May 20, 2007) because now I have to wait until June 8 to watch it again. = (

Truth be told.. After watching Happy Feet, I thought Surf's Up is just another run-of-the-mill movie with the same storyline, But I'm mistaken. This movie is a bit like Happy Feet, in that it has the same lovable penguin characters with nice animation, but there's where the similarities ends.

Surf's Up brings a new way of telling an animation story. The characters are being interviewed by the media, making it feels like we are watching a reality show.

The story revolves around Cody Maverick & the Surfing Competition being held at a seaside. Cody maverick is an ardent fan of Z, the legendary surfer who 'disappear' when he was being beaten in the competition against it's arch-enemy. I can tell you more but it'll only spoil the movie. =) The animation is superb, the characters are adorable & easy to be identified with, the voice over is amazing, & the storyline is simply refreshing !

With so many CGI animated feature films starring cute animals pouring in and out of theaters year after year, it can be tough to sort through them all and figure out which ones are actually worth taking a family to. "Surf's Up" belongs in the pile with the good ones. Written and animated similar to a Christopher Guest mocumentary film ("Best in Show," "Waiting for Guffman") there's a unique humor to "Surf's Up" that spins the same old underdog storyline into something unusual and fresh that everyone in the family can enjoy.

The focus of this "documentary" is Cody Maverick (voiced by Shia LaBeouf), a rock-hopper penguin from Shiverpool, Antarctica with a dream of getting away from the south pole and becoming a premiere surfer like his idol Big Z. Cody's prayers are eventually answered despite the fact that he has nothing but an icicle surfboard and some serious ambition. He ends up being spotted by a talent scout and makes his way to Pen-gu island just in time for the penguin world surfing championship

When Cody gets challenged before the tournament and fails against the world's best surfer, Tank Evans (Diedrich Bader), he meets some unlikely friends like Joe the chicken (Jon Heder), a love interest in Lani (Zooey Deschanel), and Geek (Jeff Bridges) who helps Cody learn the waves so he can live his dream and compete in the championship.

There are jokes for the whole family here, which is "Surf's Up"'s most admirable trait. There's enough for the adults without too much material going over kids' heads and there's plenty of physical humor that kids will enjoy. The mocumentary style also provides a fresh set of laughs, even though the movie falls in the milder realm on the humor scale. There's also plenty of good values that one would expect from an animated movie focused on a sport: never give up, winning isn't everything, the value of friendship in picking us up when we fall.

The animation is also strong, though much more cartoonish than the penguin movie "Happy Feet." Most interesting is the way that the animation is meant to reflect what it would look like if the movie were being shot like a live-action documentary. One scene follows Lani carrying Cody through the jungle and it looks like a crew with a camera and one main source of light are following her. So it's very cool in terms of film-making, not just mere concept. "Ratatouille" and Pixar's brilliance aside, this would have won the Oscar in 2008 for its ingenuity.

The best way to describe "Surf's Up" is cute. It's unique, sweet and fun to watch. The films in the bad animation pile try and do too much with the humor and in executing grandiose concepts. This movie keeps the plot simple but shows it in a new and amusing way.

The previews drew me in, and when a rainy weekend coincided with Surf's Up coming to the local theater I went. Here I am old enough to be a grandmother and I love animated films. And the animation makes the film. The water is surreal in how lifelike it is with all the variegation of color. The plot of little guy, big dreams, dream crash, dream re-found, and priorities set straight is definitely cliché. It's how it all gets there, is what we spend our $5.00 matinée for. The voice talent is perfect: Jeff Bridges as the laid back Z, Shia LaBeouf the young hero in the making, Jon Heder as a stoned chicken from Michigan, and Zooey Deschanel as the good-hearted lifeguard who keeps secrets well. They made the movie flow.

As for the penchant of "children" movies using poop and pee for laugh lines--I ask why? It didn't add to the movie, and it certainly lowers it. It's as if they are afraid the movie won't hold up on its own without a bit of naughty and disgusting jokes. Hey, leave it alone and let the movie go. Urinating and flatulent penguins just aren't that funny. Lots of other funny stuff. Like I said to the floor sweeper when he asked me, "Was it any good?" It had it's moments.