Yeah, Brah - Go See Surf's Up
Written: Jun 11 '07 (Updated Jun 12 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great for the family; promotes sportsmanship and fun over competition; shows some smokin' surf footage
Cons: Some over-the-top bathroom humor, but not a reason to miss the movie.
The Bottom Line: Go see Surf's Up, and take the family. It's fun, it's (mostly) wholesome, and the surfing scenes are really well done.
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| hkwrites's Full Review: Surf's Up! |
Surf's Up is a fun, engaging family film which is a clever fake documentary of Cody Maverick's dream to become a big-wave surfer. As far as computer generated animation goes, this one is a keeper with an engaging storyline, unique special effects, and an overall wholesome message, which has become a rare commodity in children's movies.
Speaking of other movies, let's get something cleared up right away: Cody is a penguin. So is nearly everyone else in the film, so it's natural to want to compare Surf's Up to Happy Feet. That would be unfortunate, since this film is great in its own right and doesn't need the comparison.
---- Spoilers ahead, but the tournament winner is not disclosed. ---
Surf's Up opens with scratched black and white archive footage (computer animation) of the undisputed surfing champion Big Z, an emperor penguin with hibiscus flower tattoos. On one stop of a publicity tour, he visits Cody's home iceberg. Big Z bypasses a crowd of fans and finds the littlest rockhopper penguin, Cody, and presents him with encouragement and a shell necklace carved with the letter "Z." It is identical to the one Z himself wears. That's it, Cody is hooked. From that point onward, he proudly wears the "Z" necklace and devotes his life to the sport of surfing. Big Z tragically disappears one day under the waves at a surfing tournament in the Boneyard, a frightening surf break filled with old sharp posts sticking up out of the water. In his absence, Tank "The Shredder" Adams (voice of Diedrich Bader) becomes the sport's new champion.
Cody (voice of Shia LeBeouf) lives in Shiverpool, Antarctica, with his mother and older brother. Shiverpool's main industry is sorting fish, which Cody can't stand. He draws even more criticism since he won't sit on eggs, either, and instead spends all of his time in the ocean waiting for waves on his ice surfboard.
One day, a small nervous sandpiper named Mikey Abromowitz (Mario Cantone) heads out on a slow-moving ship -- I mean whale -- to scout for surfing talent for the Tenth Annual Big Z Memorial. He gives Cody a chance to demonstrate his talent, but the waves aren't breaking. In an homage to Bruce Brown's Endless Summer, Cody waits on his board and tells the exasperated scout, "You should've been here yesterday."
The scouting party leaves on the whale, leaving Cody behind, but Cody is not about to lose out on his big chance and swims full speed ahead in true penguin style to catch the whale. There he meets Chicken Joe (voice of Jon Heder), a "surfer dude" straight out of central casting, except he's not from California, he's from Sheboygan, Wisconsin.* Chicken Joe is hilarious. He has some of the funniest lines in the movie, as well as the most extensive surfing vocabulary. He completely misreads almost every situation he is in, much to his advantage.
The crew finally make it to Pen Gu Island, where Cody gets his first glimpse of double-overhead waves and his competition. Tank, the muscular, colorfully-tattooed reigning champion for the past nine years, has his sights set on his tenth trophy. For the record, Tank is not a nice guy. He's so intensely competitive and self-centered that he intentionally knocks into penguin children, breaking their surfboards and causing them to fall into the water. The kids (Katey, Arnold and Smudge) have their say, though, with frequent interviews by the "documentary" film crew. When asked what a winner is, the children respond by saying things like "someone who doesn't break your surfboard," and a definitive "not Tank."
He also meets Lani (voice of Zooey Deschanel), one of the few female characters in the film. She is a lifeguard, and Cody immediately tells Joe he loves her. Fast forward to an altercation with Tank, resulting in Cody taking on waves that are too big for him in an effort to prove himself. Cody is knocked unconscious, and Lani drags him through the jungle to get him to the home from a reclusive friend of hers, Geek (voice of Jeff Bridges). Geek diagnoses the problem as a sea urchin spine, then cures Cody. The "cure" occurs offscreen, but it is the single most disgusting thing I have witnessed in a children's movie. Even though bathroom humor is pretty funny to children, I think the directors could have left this part out. Luckily, it doesn't last long.
Shortly after Cody revives and the two get acquainted, the two find an old log and Geek offers to help him make a surfboard. Soon Cody finds an old surf shack on the beach, and recognizes them as Z's boards. He even recognizes which board was used for past tournaments. Finally, he notices Geek's hibiscus-flowered feathers and puts two and two together. The older out-of-shape penguin is none other than his boyhood hero, Z! Problem is, Z wants nothing to do with surfing, and especially not surfing competitions. The rest of the film shows how Cody, Lani, and Geek/Z come to grips with their limitations and how to help each other overcome them done on a level that older children and certainly adults will understand. There is also an exciting roller-coaster ride through lava tubes and some funny exchanges with Chicken Joe. The aloha spirit is alive and well in this sweet story. Z learns that it's ok to let go of the past, and Cody learns to lighten up and have fun because there is more to life than competition.
There's plenty of fun, laughs, and adventure in Surf's Up. The sports news footage from SPEN (Sports Penguin Entertainment Network) adds drama and authenticity in it's coverage of the sport of surfing. It was great to see Kelly Slater and Rob Machado onscreen (as penguins) with their real names. It gave extra credibility to the film, as did the fact that the animators paid such phenomenal attention to the detail of the waves, the ocean, and the surfers' movements. On a personal note, there were several perspective shots where the audience felt like we were right there in that enormous wave, and as my heart started racing I thought to myself, "How in the world am I going to make that drop? I'm going to pearl (the nose of the surfboard goes into the water and the surfer wipes out) for sure!" Let me tell you, it seemed very real to me at that moment. So real, in fact, that I turned to my daughter right then and made her PROMISE that she would stick to small waves. The only thing they left out of the film was a jet ski for Lani the lifeguard. Otherwise this film has everything.
One of the major themes of this film is that winning tournaments and getting sponsored should not come at the expense of enjoying life and being a good friend. Anyone who is out for himself in this movie gets just desserts, which can be very satisfying for a demographic of children who want thing to be fair. This is brought home by the treatment of one of the minor characters, tournament sponsor Reggie Belafonte (voice of James Woods). Reggie is a beaver who sits back and drinks out of coconuts while the sandpiper does all the work, and is a two-faced promoter who spins events for his own benefit.
The tournament itself is dazzling. The action, the play-by-play and the dialog are appropriately suspenseful and exciting, punctuated by some comic relief and one-liners. Who will win the Big Z Memorial Surf Off? Will Z come to watch Cody? What does Lani think? What happened to Chicken Joe? You'll have to watch the movie to find out.
This film has much to recommend it. The script is good, the acting is good and believable, the music score is great, too, and captures the surfing vibe. I must admit, though, that I really don't understand why there don't seem to be any "G" rated movies anymore for children. Some of the language and content was not appropriate, and I wish I had video editing software for some of the innuendo. See it with your family and let me know what you thought in the comments section.
Thanks for reading!
* Step Into Liquid introduced Sheboygan, Wisconsin, on Lake Michigan as a great freshwater surf break. Do you want to learn how to surf? Check my profile for some great how-to books.
Join the What I'm Doing on My Summer Vacation Writeoff by BeastieGirl and let us know your summer plans. As for me, I'll be surfing, making .mobi websites, and having fun with the family.
Recommended:
Yes
Movie Mood: Family Movie
Viewing Method: Other
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
Worst Part of this Film: Nothing
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hkwrites
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Member: Holly K
Location: Southern California
Reviews written: 21
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