Movie Review: Surf's Up
Latest Movie from Sony Picture Animation, Starring Shia LaBeouf
Sony Pictures Animation's latest movie Surf's Up is a surprisingly sweet ride, but it will wipe out with kids. 5/10.
It's a bad sign for a family-oriented, animated comedy when, not 10 minutes into the picture, one young moviegoer says, "Mom, I'm bored. Can we go now?"
Plainly, the makers of Surf's Up haven't figured out their target market. That's a shame because the flick's a surprisingly affecting trip through some hoary movie clichés.
Heres' the synopsis: young penguin surfer Cody Maverick (Shia LaBeouf, riding his own wave with the surprise hit Disturbia, and the soon-to-be-opening Transformers) desperately wants to get away from his home in Shiverpool, Antarctica. When luck lands him in the Big Z Memorial Surf-Off, he thinks he's ready for the big time. You see, Big Z was his childhood hero, before he died during a surfing championship, and Cody wants to honour his idol by taking the trophy.
However, the up-and-comer gets more than he bargains for when he discovers arrogant champ Tank (Dietrich Bader), the stoner Chicken Joe (Jon Heder), lovely lifeguard Lani (Zooey Deschanel) and mysterious beach bum Geek (Jeff Bridges channeling The Dude from The Big Lebowski).
You see where this is all going? Yep, Cody meets Tank, Tank cleans his clock, Liana saves his life and dumps him off at Geek's hut. It turns out Geek is actually Big Z, who faked his death and went into hiding, but eventually decides to turn Cody into a real surfer. Oh yes, and Cody also learns valuable life lessons (like "winning isn't everything") and hooks up with the hot penguin. A bit like last year's Cars, hmm?
The terrific voice cast saves this movie. Along with LaBeouf, Heder, Bridges and Deschanel, the flick also features James Woods as a Don King-esque surfing promoter, and Mario Cantone as his overworked assistant. Also, real-life surfers Kelly Slater and Rob Machado play themselves as penguins, reporting for SPEN, the waterfowl equivalent of ESPN.
Unusually for an animated film, the cast recorded their parts together which adds a level of interaction most other toon flicks don't possess. LaBeouf's Cody Maverick is a lot more sympathetic protagonist than Owen Wilson's Lightning McQueen, and the young actor works well with Deschanel, Bridges and Heder. As long as he doesn't start partying like Lindsay Lohan, LaBeouf has a solid shot at becoming a marquée name.
Jon Heder does what he can with comic relief Chicken Joe, which frankly isn't much. Any laughs his character generated were more a tribute to Heder's voice work than whatever jokes the writers wrote for him.
Also, the makers of Surf's Up spent so much time having fun with surfing penguins that they forgot to make a kids' movie. The mockumentary style (in the vein of This Is Spinal Tap and Best in Show) makes a nice framing device, but they shift in and out whenever they feel like it, which hurts the story. The jokes come thick and fast, but they're really more aimed at adults than kids (other than the incessant poop jokes). That ensured the theatre was ominously silent during what's supposed to be a comedy.
I have to give props to the animation, though. It's expected that a major studio movie will have nice visuals (Barnyard being the vivid exception), but the animators of Surf's Up have really pushed the limits with this one. The vintage footage is bang-on, and the shaky-cam visuals are note-perfect. There are times that I forgot I was watching an animated movie.
Overall, Surf's Up is a fun flick with a nice spin on the age-old CliDVic (Climb from Despair to Victory) plot. However, don't take the kids to see it: they'll wanting out the door well before it hits the halfway point.
Trailers with Surf's Up include Daddy Day Camp, Underdog and Evan Almighty.
