A Scientist at the Movies Reviews by Greg Paris

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Title: Surf's Up

Date Viewed: 6/9/07

Details:

Voice talent: Shia LaBeouf (Cody Maverick)

Jeff Bridges (Geek)

Zooey Deschanel (Lani)

Jon Heder (Chicken Joe)

James Woods (Reggie Belafonte)

Diedrich Bader (Tank)

Directors: Ash Brannon & Chris Buck

Score: +

The Review: "Oh no, not another penguin movie?!" The trailers were quite clever in opening with this phrase, then jumping to whale-riding penguins journeying to a secret South Pacific island for their annual surfing competition. Penguins surfing? Sure, why not? A stoner chicken from Michigan as best friend and competitor? ("Hey man, you gotta check out this blow-hole thing!") Think of Summer School (surfer dudes & chicks) and Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Sean Penn's "Hey, Mr Hahn, what are you doing here?") crossed with March of the Penguins, flavored with the sensibility of the Beach Boys in their prime. With a touch of New Zealand thrown in.

Done in mock-documentary style, it follows as young Cody Maverick (LaBeouf) -- the sole surfer dude in his colony, misunderstood and berated by his family and peers -- gets bored with life on the fringes of Antarctica, sort-of gets recruited by a big honcho surfing promoter, hitches a ride on a convenient sperm whale, befriends Chicken Joe (Heder), and joins the rest of the avian surfing community for the big competition. Inspired by his childhood hero Big-Z, he takes on the current ranking champion and asshole Tank (Bader).

Deschanel does a cute Lani (the lifeguard); Bridges is well-matched as the laconic island recluse; Woods does an odd turn as hedgehog promoter Belafonte; and Heder is absolutely superb as the persistently-stoned Chicken Joe.

Clever touches throughout -- watch for the rescue board used by Lani: the squid's eyes blink!

Although stylistically appearing to be flat, cel-based animation, there is substantial & persistent computer assist involved. Some of the water ripples and wave effects are quite well done. I do have some quibbles about the geography and apparently permanent status of the crested penguins as Antarctic residents -- "not so, Master Secretary" -- since they are known to summer on the west coast of New Zealand.

(3-Jul-07)

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