(this first appeared on realmoviereview.com )
The animated feature, Surfs Up started with a unique premise. It is partially a narrative story, and partially a mockumentry. I dont see many animated features, since I have no vocally gifted, but self-control challenged ankle biters in my home to gently persuade me to make that kind of movie choice. Its not an unpleasant 85 minutes. It starts slow, but soon offers some absolutely amazing water CGI, a few classic tunes and a decent story, that is interesting enough, but could have used some punching up in the humour department.
Shia LaBeouf (Disturbia) provides the voice of Cody Maverick, a young penguin who dreams of winning the biggest penguin surfing competition of the year. His pursuit of this goal is the chosen subject of documentary makers who interview, him, his friends and surfing fans along the way. This is kinda cool, but also a disturbing celebration of our media/fame-obsessed culture, but what the hell, its just a kids movie. Anyway, in his travels, he hooks up with a surfing chicken (voice by Jon Heder), is smitten by a beautiful, penguin lifeguard (Zooey Deschanel) and finds both an enemy (Bader) and a mentor (Bridges, who is great, sorta reprising his Dude character) and passes on the message that we should do what we love, because we love it, not because we want to win at it. That kinda struck home with me, sitting here writing my 150th review for free. No tears, please. Just send money.
