Surf's Up [Blu-ray]

Surf's Up [Blu-ray]
by Ash Brannon, Chris Buck

Surf's Up [Blu-ray]

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Blu-ray details

Actor: James Woods, Jeff Bridges, Jon Heder, Shia LaBeouf, Zooey Deschanel
Director: Ash Brannon, Chris Buck
Brand: Columbia Pictures
Writer: Ash Brannon
Writer: Chris Buck
Writer: Christian Darren
Writer: Christopher Jenkins
Writer: Don Rhymer
Writer: Joe Syracuse
Blu-ray: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Original Language); Spanish (Original Language); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: Anamorphic, Animated, Color, Dolby, Subtitled
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 1.85:1
Running Time: 85 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: 2007-10-09
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Product features:

Condition: New
Format: Blu-ray
Anamorphic; Animated; Color; Dolby; Subtitled

Blu-ray Reviews of Surf's Up [Blu-ray]

Blu-ray Review: Penguins Love Surfing... Who Knew?
Summary: 4 Stars

Ever since the documentary "March of the Penguins" captivated audiences in 2005, it seemed that Hollywood just couldn't get enough of the loveable creatures, at least in animated form. One year after the aforementioned documentary was released, some audiences delighted to the musical/dance themed animated movie "Happy Feet". This brings us to the 2007 release of "Surf's Up", which served as a different kind of animated fare for the tuxedoed creatures. The reason being is that it was more of a sports themed mockumentary of sorts that focuses on penguins (go figure) who love to spend their days surfing. It's a surprisingly original idea, and one that grabbed my attention more effectively than any of the other penguin-centric movies being released, not to mention the terrific voice cast (which I will grant "Happy Feet" boasted great vocal performers as well), and what appeared to be a more fast-paced, fun, and less politically motivated movie than some of the other entries of its kind.

"Surf's Up" is the tale of a young penguin named Cody Maverick (Shia LaBeouf) who dreams of one day competing in a surfing contest named for his idol, surfing legend Big Z (Jeff Bridges). After gaining acceptance into the competition, Cody quickly discovers that his quest for winning may just be more difficult than he thought, and that the only way for him to truly become a winner is to learn that sometimes winning isn't everything.

After watching the tiresome "Happy Feet" I wasn't looking forward to yet another movie focusing on the flight-less birds that Hollywood had suddenly become enamored with. However, upon viewing "Surf's Up" I was pleasantly surprised to find that I actually enjoyed the movie from start to finish. I think the reason I enjoyed this movie more than expected is partly (perhaps obviously) due to the writing team of Don Rhymer ("Big Momma's House 2"), Ash Brannon and Chris Buck (who also served as directors on this movie) being smart enough to keep the movie just a fun ride for both children and adults. For every slapstick moment or age-appropriate joke for children, there would most likely be a sight gag or double entendre slipped in for adults to get a kick out of as well. As a parent I am always very appreciative of a so-called "kid's movie" that actually takes into account the fact that the target audience will most likely be accompanied by their parents or some other adult guardian; thus, these prescient writers take the effort to actually include some jokes aimed solely at those members of the audience above the age of 10.

Giving life to the animated characters on the screen was a rather talented ensemble of actors and actresses. Shia LaBeouf seems to break out an early version of his quick-witted, fast-talking character of Sam Witwicky from "Transformers" to create his character of Cody. For the most part Shia seemed the ideal choice for the young, somewhat arrogant surfer wannabe; however, there were a few instances where his voice just didn't seem to fit together with the character's mannerisms, causing the vocal performance to feel slightly disconnected from the action onscreen. This problem could have been a hiccup in the voice-over process, because if memory serves correctly during those moments it almost sounded as if his voice was echoing for no obvious reason. Whatever the case may be, the problem wasn't massive, and it didn't detract too much from the movie, it was just something I thought should have been caught in the editing process of the final film.

Along with Shia we have Jeff Bridges ("Iron Man"), Jon Heder ("Napoleon Dynamite"), and Zooey Deschanel ("Yes Man") voicing the various friends that Cody meets along the way to the competition. Jeff Bridges' character of Big Z sounds like a distilled version of his character "The Dude" from "The Big Lebowski", but since the target audience of this movie would be too young to have seen that film, there's no harm in reproducing the character once more for another role; not to mention that character's speech pattern, attitude, and general approach to his daily life makes for an ideal fit for Big Z. Jon Heder offers the majority of the big laughs, mostly for the kids though, as Chicken Joe. Joe is... well, he's a chicken, as the name suggests, who hails from Michigan and hopes to be recognized as one of the surfing greats among his fellow penguin competitors. Thankfully, Jon didn't seem to bring any of his annoying Napoleon Dynamite attributes to this film, which was a good thing for me since I despised his work in the aforementioned comedy bore. Rounding out the primary supporting cast members we have Zooey Deschanel as a penguin lifeguard overseeing the competition. Zooey isn't given a whole lot to do in the movie, but she is granted a few moments of the spotlight to spout off some rather cute and funny one-liners. One other cast member of note would be James Woods ("Hercules") who plays a Don King-esque promoter (complete with wild, stand-up straight hair) for the competition. His role isn't very large, and truthfully comes off as a glorified cameo in the end, but Woods' trademark fast-talking, schmoozing nature is a perfect fit for the character, and is a dead-on ringer for the animal kingdom's answer to Don King.

Even with the necessary inclusion of a talented voice cast, every animated movie must also employ top-notch animation to fully flesh out the characters movements, mannerisms, and quirks on the big screen. The talented crew of Sony Pictures Animation really did an excellent job with their second feature film (the first being the lackluster "Open Season") of bringing such a strange idea of penguins going surfing to life. From the characters to the environments to the surfing action, everything about the production looked terrific to the point that it's quite hard to find something to really single out as being outstanding or innovative. Although I must say that there is one nice touch that sets this computer animated movie apart from most others; the use of an older film stock appearance employed for some of the semi-flashback sequences gave the mockumentary style a more realistic feel, given that old film footage is used so frequently in almost every single documentary, especially sports-themed ones.

While "Surf's Up" was nothing more than just another case of a Hollywood studio jumping onto whatever bandwagon is popular at the time, it is arguably the best entry from that fad for audiences to enjoy. A good story that was wise enough to include both kids and adults in on the jokes, a talented cast, great animation, and a novel concept to make a mockumentary style children's movie elevates "Surf's Up" well above its competition in every way.

"Surf's Up" is rated PG for mildly crude humor.

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Description of Surf's Up [Blu-ray]

Surf?s Up is an animated feature that goes behind the scenes of the high-octane world of competitive penguin surfing. The film profiles Cody Maverick, an up-and-coming surfer as he enters his first pro competition. Inspired by his hero, a legendary wave rider named Big Z, Cody leaves his family and his town of Shiverpool, Antarctica to travel to Pen Gu Island for the Big Z Memorial Surf Off. Cody believes that winning will bring him the admiration and respect he desires. But when he unexpectedly comes face to face with a washed up old surfer named The Geek, Cody begins to understand that the greatest champion isn?t always the one who comes in first.

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