The animated mock documentary "Surf's Up" is a delightfully rendered summer diversion in which a tiny Rockhopper penguin named Cody Maverick aspires to be a surfing champion.
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# I# ~1 u0 h* FYoung Cody (voiced by Shia LaBeouf) is discovered in his native Shiverpool by a shrill, showbiz savvy shorebird named Mikey Abromowitz, who whisks him off to the idyllic island of Pen Gu to compete in the Big Z Memorial Surf-Off. Once there, Cody is mentored reluctantly by a surfing legend, the bigger-than-life but extremely laid-back King Geek (Jeff Bridges). , b+ ~2 M( q/ d: l* X, q/ B- r
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Directed by Ash Brannon and Chris Buck, "Surf's Up" parodies sports documentaries and television surf coverage, instilling the movie with an X Games vibe. The surfing action replicates and at times surpasses the real thing, and the fabricated "vintage footage" is a wonder to look at. Interviews with Cody and his family conducted by a comically intrusive documentary crew lead up to the flightless little bird's inevitable showdown with Emperor penguin Tank "the Shredder" Evans, nine-time winner of the Surf-Off.
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Visually, the movie benefits from impressively inventive technical animation-from the crystalline waves to the sandy beaches, every detail suggests a parallel reality where penguins really do surf.
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While many of the riffs in the mock documentary might be lost on the little tykes, everyone should enjoy the film's feel-good message of perseverance, friendship and finding your own wave. |