Surf's Up

Surf’s Up
Directors: Ash Brannon and Chris Buck
85 minutes
1.85:1

A paradigm describes this colorful CGI movie: understated.

For a while now, these two things are synonymous: penguins and tent-pole summer movies. Because of this, there is a sense of apathy towards Surf’s Up. It is another CGI animation feature that has penguins as the main cast. In spite of this handicap, Surf’s Up serves up.


For Cody Maverick (Shia LaBeouf) is an aspiring surfer in a dead-end job. The one thing that drives him everyday is his love for surfing. His hero is Big Z, the first surfer that made a career out of the sport. However, everybody in the chilly town of Shiverpool is unsupportive of him, including his own mother Edna (Dana BelBen) and his brother, Glen (Brian Posehn). It wasn’t until Mikey Abromowitz (Mario Cantone), a surfing scout, comes down into town on a slow whale to Antartica that Cody realizes he could live out his dreams.

Together with best pal Chicken Joe (John Heder), they got picked for a surfing competition organized by Reggie Belafonte (James Woods) and they all head up to Pen Gu Island. There he meets his biggest surfing foe Tank Evans (Diedrich Bader), the girl he fancies in Lani Aliikai (Zooey Deschanel), and her bum of an uncle, Geek (Jeff Bridges).


What makes Surf’s Up stand out from the rest of the CGI features so far is the fact that it is a mockumentary on the rise and slide of Cody’s career. Yes you read it right: mockumentary.

Most other CGI features have done a few scenes that had the shaky look documentary films have. In Surf’s Up, most of the scenes had that unsteady camera shot. It is not just the shots either that created the feel of a documentary. It is also the cross-cutting of different scenes back and forth as well as the ubiquitous filmmaker’s voice prodding his subjects on that made it feel real. Directors Ash Brannon and Chris Buck must be credited for breathing fresh air into an over-hyped animation style.


However, even this technique wouldn’t have worked if not for the genuinely affecting story and the very funny dialogues. To this, writers Chris Jenkins and Christian Darren, who came up with the story, and Don Rhymer & Ash Brannon, and Chris Buck & Chris Jenkins must be thanked. Their contributions are immense.

The thankless job the animators did is terrific. To animate a scripted performance is hard enough but to portray a supposedly spontaneous action is another. The nuances coming out of the characters were a joy to watch. On top of that, the cinematography is spectacular. The ocean is filled with waves, wakes and mists. The lighting effects courtesy of the sun and fire is gorgeous. The realistic looking coconut trees and forest fauna are incredible. To top it all off, the pseudo black-and-white shots, the 8mm and 16mm shots make Surf’s Up a joy to watch. Hats off to Sony Pictures Animation and Sony Imageworks!


The voice cast is amazing. The repartee between the characters is absolutely funny. LaBeouf, who is simply in every hit movie this year, delivers another winning performance here. Deschanel just oozes love and care. For some reason, Woods plays slimy characters really well but at least here he’s funny. Posehn, Bader and Heder simply have to make a movie together. Reed Buck, Reese Elowe and Jack P. Ranjo, the kid actors who play Arnold, Katey and Smudge, should also do the same. And if you loved the Dude in The Big Lebowski, well you’re in for a treat!

It is clear that the studio had trouble marketing this movie. The initial tagline from the teaser trailer was “A True Story” had changed to “A Major Ocean Picture,” courtesy of the marketing department. Then there’s the penguin effect. Regardless of how the trailers looked or how over-exposed penguins have become, you can’t avoid this one. It is sea-breeze fresh, wickedly funny and the surfing sequences are beautiful to watch. So far the best animated movie this year belongs to Surf’s Up.