Review of Surf's Up (2007) by Jennifer M — 30 Jun 2012

Cody Maverick: I don't understand why everybody has to be so judgmental. I understand why mom's judgmental. I think it's 'cause she cares, partially. Think it's also partially 'cause, everyone else is lookin' at her like, "Hey, Cody's just a bum." "Cody's this," "Cody's that," "Cody's this." Cody's me, bro. Let me be me. When is that going to start? .

"The ocean just got cooler.".

Surf's Up is one of the more underrated animated films in my opinion. It also happens to be one of my most loved. I love the idea to present it in documentary format. That's just a great idea that adds a new layer to the genre. This is a clever, funny, touching, and beautiful little film with a great voice cast. I'd also label it as cool, which is not an attribution I give to many kid oriented movies. This one is however. It's got a good little soundtrack and really uses the awesomeness of surfing to its advantage. .

Cody Maverick is a penguin living in Antarctica with his mother and brother. Both of them think he needs to get a life. All he wants to do though is surf. A documentary filmmaker decides to make a movie on Cody and his rise. When a talent scout comes and takes him away, we follow him to the biggest surf competition, which is named after Cody's fallen hero, Big Z. Cody is the underdog at the competition, but a stranger helps him hone his skills and become the person(penguin) he needs to be. The story has a nice family oriented message that goes along with it, just like every other kid movie. This one, however, is a lot more fun than the average kid movie.

Cody is a character we can cheer for. The dialogue is cool, especially when you're talking about an animated, made for kids movie. The visuals are awesome. The surfing scenes are amazing. It's just an all around cool, fun, and humorous little movie that will surely keep the children in your family entertained, while doing more than enough for the adults as well. This one will always be one of my favorites. .