surf up 13

Computer-animated films have reached a boom in the past few years. At the turn of the millennium, there were about three CG-animated films in theaters a year, at most. In 2006, the number rose to a whopping 12. The craze has simmered down slightly, with the 2007 tally expected to reach just eight by year's end, but it still seems like the public has grown weary of so many releases.
At the same time, penguins seemed to be taking over the screen too, via the well-attended and Oscar-winning March of the Penguins and Happy Feet. When promotion began for Surf's Up, the general consensus was one of groans. Not only was there yet another CGI comedy hitting theaters, but its primary cast was made up of penguins. At first glance, the project reeked of something trying to earn easy cash based off tried-and-true subjects and mediums.

Surf's Up is presented as a documentary following Cody Maverick (Shia LaBeouf) and his aspirations to compete in the Penguin World Surfing Championship. Despite being frowned upon by his family and other members of his community, Cody manages to become a contestant. He meets a wide variety of personalities at the competition, including the airy and laid-back surfer Chicken Joe (Jon Heder), the outgoing and adventurous lifeguard Lani Aliikai (Zooey Deschanel), and the quirky, off-beat recluse known as the Geek (Jeff Bridges). Upon being humiliated by nine-time champion Tank Evans (Diedrich Bader), Cody becomes more determined than ever to win the Championship. After his mysterious past is revealed, the Geek offers to train Cody, but the two consistently butt heads as the event draws near.

The plot will be familiar to many. The story of a former champ trying to pass the baton to a snarky and conceited young prodigy has been done many times. Surprisingly, Surf's Up manages to avoid most of the clichés and pitfalls that come with such well-tread territory. Part of this is helped by the mockumentary style implemented. Whenever there's a risk of getting too comfortable, the film cuts away to a one-on-one interview with a supporting character, similar to a device used on television's "The Office" and, long before those series, This is Spinal Tap. In Surf's Up, these often clever and entertaining scenes prove to be the highlight.

In the middle, Cody (voiced by Shia LaBeouf) and his older brother Glen (left, Brian Posehn) share nothing but the utmost affection for one another as their mother (Dana Belben) looks on. Cody and Lani (Zooey Deschanel) share a moment while her buggy board stares blankly at you.

Sony Pictures Animation's previous effort, Open Season (2006), was essentially a lesson in how to be derivative. Nearly every aspect of that film felt borrowed from much better recent films. Surf's Up, on the other hand, manages to feel fresh despite the routine story. This comes as no surprise when one sees who directed this: Ash Brannon, the co-director of Pixar's Toy Story 2, and Chris Buck, co-director of Disney's Tarzan. While Surf's Up never approaches the quality of those two films, it's head and shoulders above what most other CGI studios have been offering the past few years.

After the winning CGI pioneer Toy Story, a plethora of computer-animated buddy comedies flooded the market, most famously, Shrek. Something that stemmed from that DreamWorks film was abundance in both low-brow humor and pop culture references that don't predate the film in question by more than 18 months. Surf's Up mostly avoids both areas. Its worst offense in crassness is a scene where one character pees on another to rid an infection, but this is done quickly and with more taste than expected. As for pop references, a few emerge that deal with surfing (pro-surfers Kelly Slater and Rob Machado appear as penguin versions of themselves), but otherwise, the film remains fairly timeless. Most of the humor stems from quippy dialogue that's likely to go over most children's heads, but there's enough physical humor to entertain them too. It's done with such a knack for timing that it even manages to be amusing for adults, as well, a rare thing in many recent animated films.

Both the voice casting and the animation are of high quality. Every actor on board manages to make his or her character memorable and unique, even if given limited screentime. Shia LaBeouf, Jeff Bridges, and Jon Heder all particularly stand out amongst the cast. LaBeouf and Bridges deftly balance outrageous humor and low-key drama, giving their characters needed gravitas. Heder distinguishes Chicken Joe from his famous Napoleon Dynamite personality, keeping the character entertaining without being obnoxious or scenery-chewing. The animation presented here may not reach the heights of Pixar, but one doesn't expect it to, and it's able to hold its own regardless. The filmmakers are able to blend stylization with a certain level of photorealism so that the film never leans too far in either direction. Character animation in particular comes across memorably, especially concerning subtle facial expressions and acting.

Geek (Jeff Bridges) enjoys making Cody look like a metrosexual for the documentary crew. Chicken Joe (Jon Heder) enjoys a nice hot tub bath while some tribal penguins throw in vegetables to open up his pores.

One problem Surf's Up suffers from, though, is an inconsistency in its mockumentary format. When the filmmakers remember to use it, it's done with flair and an understanding of how real documentaries are created. Often though, the movie seems to forget that approach and treats many scenes as a straight narrative. Sometimes, it juggles between the two in a single scene. Whenever Cody surfs, close-ups of him are approached as if there were a camera attached to the board (we even see water drops on the "lens").
But then the film cuts away to grand, fluid, distant shots that not only appear to come from a standard film, but don't reveal any sort of camera shooting what we saw in the previous shot. Perhaps it was a budgetary issue or a concern for what viewers could handle, but if the filmmakers wanted a mockumentary approach, they should've either stuck to it or more clearly delineated the documentary material from the omnipresent viewer camerawork.

Another issue is in regards to screentime. Surf's Up has such a myriad of characters that many of them feel underused. It's understandable why someone like Chicken Joe was used sparingly (and in this, the filmmakers should be commended for not relying too much on such a distinctive sidekick), but others' limited appearances make less sense. Lani is given very little to do in the overall story and seems almost tacked on just so Cody can have a love interest. Tank has a shockingly small amount of exposure despite being the villain, and because of this, the audience forgets about him for long stretches of time. It also seems a shame to have such talent as James Woods (who plays Tank's agent Reggie) gone mostly to waste as he gets lost in the shuffle of so many characters. On one hand, by having so many other characters scaled back, the audience can connect with Cody and Geek more, which is really what matters. The supporting cast is so colorful, though, that viewers are left wanting more.

Even with such problems, Surf's Up does more right than wrong. It presents a spirited and upbeat tone, colorful animation and amusingly distinctive characters and voices. It may not go down as an animation classic, but not every animated film needs to have such lofty ambitions. It's fun and entertaining, and that's all that matters in the end.
Buy Surf's Up: Widescreen Special Edition DVD from Amazon.com DVD Details

1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Dolby Digital 5.1 (English, French, Spanish)
Subtitles: English, French Spanish;
Closed Captioned
Release Date: October 9, 2007
Suggested Retail Price: $28.95
Single-sided, dual-layered disc (DVD-9)
White Keepcase with Holographic Slipcover
Also available in Reformatted Fullscreen DVD
and on Blu-ray Disc

VIDEO and AUDIO

Surf's Up arrives in separate widescreen and fullscreen DVD releases. The former offers a 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer. Because of the film's mockumentary style, defects were added so that the image wouldn't be as pristine as other CG films. There's a bit of softness to the picture and a level of fine film grain most evident in darker shots. Speaking of darker shots, night scenes tend to lose some detail. While this may be disconcerting at first, the filmmakers confirm in the audio commentary that these effects are entirely deliberate. With that in mind, the DVD replicates the film's look well. Colors in particular come across strongly, and there's enough detail to override the added soft-focus. The only flaw that likely wasn't intentional is a bit of edge enhancement to the image, seen most notably around text that appears throughout the film. Still, it isn't distracting, and the transfer overall is very pleasing.

Unlike the image, the Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound track had none of the flaws inherent in real documentaries, allowing the track to really shine. Surrounds are put to excellent use, especially with the sound of ocean waves crashing and enveloping the listener. Dialogue is crisp and well-defined, and the score and songs are balanced nicely against the effects and voices. French and Spanish 5.1 tracks are also included.