Surf's Up

While the plotline is severely lacking, the mockumentary style of the production works really well and provides allmost all of the film's entertainment and humour. Through these reasonably numerous comedy moments the continuation of the plotline is entirely predictable, after the first half an hour you can literally plan the outline of the major events of the movie to the end. There are also some good characters thrown in the mix, but without the mockumentary approach there'd be nothing here.

If you appreciate the mockumentary style then this film is fantastic. I always found the "bloopers" of the 3D films to be absolutely hilarious and this film is essentially made up of them. The story itself is cliche but it's also quite cute and well done so at no point you simply say "seen it!" A few parts did drag slightly but for the vast majority of the film I was laughing quite hard. ESPECIALLY the instant replay of Cody's immense bail. That was literally comedy gold.

Way, way better than I thought it would be. Actually a very engaging and somewhat unique take on the whole animation thing with it's documentary style.

If I was at the age of 9 - 10 and I saw this movie I would learn to surf

The story is far from original, but the concept is. An animated mockumentary, so funny. They have all the elements of a documentary including the handheld and zooms, the fast motion setups, and the interviews with the boom mic coming into the shot. Brilliant. Plus it is truly funny and the voice acting is just superb. Having the actors together to improv truly is better.

The animation in this film is amazing, and it's a really cool concept overall. It has a lot of funny and cute moments, but as a whole it's very loosely put together. The story could be stronger/more developed.

The mockumentary style of this movie is its strongest feature; without that extra quirk, it would've been simply tame and predictable. With it, though, it really entertains.

Enjoyable, if predictable, animated comedy.

The movie has a undeniable charm that the plot doesn't serve. The voice-work by LeBouf and Jeff Bridges works in its favor, the animation top-notch, but the supporting characters aren't as interesting, the humor is lacking, and the "Office"-esque take can be interesting, but the plot is way too thin.

I wanna know who pitched this idea... It's a movie about penguins surfing, I had no desire to see it but once it came on TV it wasn't too bad. The documentary take on it was nice and original.

I don't get what the obsession with penguins is (or was), can't make an animated movie without them all of a sudden... Anyway, I expected to hate this but it's really good. Lots of little easter eggy bits of humour, the chicks are cute and funny, and the style is kind of like Creature Comforts at times. In addition to being pretty bored with all the penguins I'm not a fan of surfing at all. Surfing docs put me to sleep. Not in this case though. Some damn fine voice acting too, though the ca

Great family film and the fake documentary style really adds to the film

Cute, but nothing special. Probably still the best of the "penguin" films, however.

Much better than its trailer let me expect. Documentary style is nicely done.

chicken joe rocked, pretty good movie style, just way way way too short

The graphics are amazing on this one....some of the best 3d animation i've seen yet. Oh...and the story is pretty ok (a chicken that surfs....good one!)

After seeing Ratatouille, you'll wonder why bother when Surf's Up is mentioned--this is understandable but certainly not agreeable. Surf's Up is yet another step in the right direction, as it doesn't talk down to kids or force feed the same stuff to adults that we've seen in animated films since Disney croaked. Between the quirky characters and beautiful imagery, this is just one of the best feel good films of the year. Oh well, back to depressing black and white films about Ian Curtis.

I wasn't expecting much, but it's actually neat for a kid's movie. The CGI is fluid and dynamic, and has good realism, holds up pretty well for its age. The character design and animation is an interesting balance between references to real birds in the features and creativeness. The plot at the core is nothing new, but the documentary style adds freshness and comedy to it. Even non-surfers will be kept hooked. Also, check out the proto-Minions in that (slightly racist) forest tribe

A decent kids movie, a little simplistic and cliche, but it does well with what it has.

Generic mediocrity.

what can I say, I liked it. must have, as ive seen it about 4 or more times.

Fun, very well cast, designed and animated. Way too short. Felt a little unsatisfied. Jeff Bridges was exceptionally well-cast.

I liked the style, but not too many laughs here to go around. Too kiddy. Love the Voice Acting!

Humorous

A solid animated movie in pretty much every way. The people making this certainly had a lot of fun with the animated mockumentary format and were able to milk it for quite a few laughs. The protagonists are all pretty lovable (Chicken Joe is a standout), and I found myself unexpectedly pleased with where the story ended up going. My only major complaint is that the villains are a bit uninspired, which serves to highlight how low the stakes really are in this story.

Likedocumentary+shiagreat+herobigZinspired+Zdidntdie-hishermitmasternow+trophieshis"ladies"lool+Zheruncle+fakeddeathtoavoidbeinghasbeen+Zlikesaveshimatthecomp

With a heavy dose of Shia LaBeouf and taste of Jon Heder, this was damned to mediocrity from the start.

One of the best CGI comedies. Lots for adults to enjoy.

Happy feet, this is not!!

Much funnier then Happy Feet

Love this good clean and entertaining movie. It's one of a small handful of movies that I would comfortably let a three-year-old watch (with parental guidance, and maybe skipping the first part about his dad being eaten by a shark) but that's equally fun for the whole family.

Not terrible.

Overall Enjoyment: 30/40, Plot/Themes: 10/20, Cinematography/Direction: 10/20, Acting/Writing: 10/20

Best animated mockumentary about surfing that teaches that winning is for losers, ever.

"Kids won't get Surf's Up, and adults--at least fans of Riding Giants--may smell a con." - Ed Gonzalez

Waste of time... What's the point of making a film animated if you never get to see any of it. Bad writing, boring characters, flat comedy, and you get told about the "epic" climax because they couldn't be bothered to animate it. I detest this thing.

Lebouf best work. Has a major charisma and inspiration throughout. If i was younger id definitely learn to surf. Story is simply nice and overall good film

truly underrated as an animated sports mockumentary

Didn't watch it all as it made me want to kick penguins, and that's just mean.

73.750

Lots of fun. I would love to have seen it as a live-action movie with the voice cast as the real cast... If it wasn't a year where Ratatouille came out, it may have been my favorite animated movie of 2007.

worth a watch

"Stepped on me? STEPPED ON ME? Are you kiddin'?This guy was dancing on me! I mean just look at this. Broken, Broken, Gone, Gone, Broken, Broken, Broken!"?

Definitely not a successor to the Happy Feet stream of animated penguin films. For its own social reality doc style it needed more of a plot which it did not have. A real disappointment.

Not my kind of animation at all.

Terrible movie unless you are addicted to MTV, reality shows, and moronic, overused storylines. Utterly boring.

This movie has a lot to like. It works with the over-ripe feel of reality TV (which at the time was just starting to get old), but the comedy and story are fresh and entertaining enough to keep interest. Unfortunately this movie wouldn't appeal much to younger children, but nine-year-olds and up would all enjoy it.

It's pretty predictable, but it's fun, cute, and the documentary angle is a decent concept.

Some nice voice work, and more than a few cute jokes, but nowhere near the high quality of Pixar, Shrek or even ..Meatballs.

fun, but not good enough

Good animation about Penguins surfers, very funny.