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Surf's Up Shoots the CurlLatest Animated Penguin Movie Rises to the Top
Organized in a mock documentary style, this sweet, funny and family-friendly adventure turns its animated cameras on the previously hidden world of Penguin surfing.
These days, penguin movies, both live action and animated, literally are a dime-a-dozen, but “Surf’s Up” manages to put a fresh spin on a movie genre that has almost worn out its welcome in just under two years. Shot in a behind-the-scenes, "VH1" documentary style, the story focuses on Cody Maverick (voice of Shia LaBeouf), a Rockhopper Penguin and a wanna-be surfer who sticks out like a sore thumb in his penguin community. Years earlier, Cody met Zeke "Big Z" Topanga, the top penguin surfer of all time and, since then, he’s tried to be just like his hero, even making a board out of ice. Cody’s family, friends and co-workers think he’s more than a little bit crazy, though, as he rides his homemade surfboard on the waves. Cody finally gets to show his stuff, however, when Reggie Belafonte (James Woods), who looks suspiciously like promoter Don King, comes around looking for new talent to compete in the upcoming Penguin World Surfing Championship. Though his tryout is less than spectacular, Cody’s refusal to give up does land him a spot in the competition. Unfortunately, the young penguin finds out the hard way just how little he knows about surfing when he goes board-to-board against Tank Evans (Diedrich Bader), the top surfer, in a friendly match. Evans beats the novice handily and looks like a shoo-in to win top honors. A frustrated Cody then meets Geek (Jeff Bridges), a mellow penguin who doesn’t take anything too seriously. Geek volunteers to help Cody make a new board and show him how to ride the waves properly, but Cody’s natural impatience keeps getting in the way of the things that Geek tries to teach him. Funny and sweet, “Surf’s Up” rises gently to the top of the penguin movie genre, especially with top talent like James Woods, Jeff Bridges and Jon Heder in the voice cast. Heder, who has come a long way since his curly-headed “Napoleon Dynamite” days, does a nice turn as Chicken Joe, a burned-out surfing fowl who doesn’t even realize that hungry penguins constantly are trying to turn him into chicken soup. In a bit of inspired casting, directors Ash Brannon ("Toy Story 2") and Chris Buck ("Tarzan") also hired real-life, professional surfers such as Kelly Slater to provide voices of commentators for the ficticious SPEN (Sports Penguin Entertainment Network). An early surprise in the summer movie season, this film can hang ten with the best of them and never wipes out. “Surf’s Up,” rated PG for mild language and some rude humor, opens nationwide on Friday, June 8.
The copyright of the article Surf's Up Shoots the Curl in Animated Films is owned by Steven C Bryan. Permission to republish Surf's Up Shoots the Curl in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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