Movie Review: Surf's Up

A CGI feature, it's a behind-the-scenes look at the annual Penguin World Surfing Championship, and its newest participant, up-and-comer Cody Maverick (voiced by Shia LaBeouf).

OK, I was thinking there are just way too many animated movies lately and also too many penguin movies, so I wasn't too keen on seeing this film. But I actually found it really cute and sort of fun. Yeah, the story has been told forever... or at least since Rocky took on Apollo Creed... and it will be told as long as people compete and people want to cheer for the underdog. But, this one has some fun characters that are good for laughs and visually it's pretty stunning during the surfing scenes. I wish now I'd have seen it on the big screen at the theater. The waves and water look great and when they shoot the tube and get out on the big waves, it's really sweet.

What does set it apart a bit is that it's told in sort of mocumentary or reality TV format, with a camera crew following the characters around and doing interviews. It adds a bit of entertainment to it I think. It also allowed them to use real pro surfers like Kelly Slater and Rob Machado, who basically provide sound bites in interview format and the animated characters they portray take care of the rest. Lastly, Napoleon Dynamite aka Jon Heder has some of the best lines as Chicken Joe.

Something else that jumped out at me is the good soundtrack, with a lot of modern rock like Green Day, Incubus and Pearl Jam present.

This is a good family movie with a feel-good message (perseverance, friendship and finding your own wave). It's not the most original film nor the deepest, but it's a lot of fun.

7/10