Surf’s Up

Surf’s Up – Desperate to take part in the upcoming surfing competition on the tropical Pen Gu Island in memorial to his idol ‘Big Z’, rockhopper penguin Cody Maverick manages to hitch a ride with the comps talent scout and all the other hopefuls. When he gets there, he realises that his surfing skills aren’t quite as good as he thought they were but when he meets the ‘Geek’, he discovers a penguin who left surfing behind a long time ago. Can Cody persuade this disillusioned penguin to teach him how to win?

Surf’s Up (2007) – Director: Ash Brannon, Chris Buck

By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23381679

Rating: PG

Running Length: 85 mins

Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Jeff Bridges, Zooey Deschanel

Genre: Animated, Comedy, Sport

REVIEW: ‘SURF’S UP’

Mockumentary is an unusual medium for a kids’ film but ‘Surf’s Up’, the tale of an ambitious surfing penguin, doesn’t shy away from the challenge, just like it’s protagonist, Cody Maverick. In the early stages of the movie, Cody is a confident and apparently brilliant surfer but is soon shown to be an unreliable narrator when it comes to the big competition, as he seriously struggles against other competitors. So starts the fish out of water storyline and who can Cody turn to in order to train for the upcoming big tournament? Well, in steps the eccentric ‘Geek’ (whose disguise is as effective as Clark Kent’s) to teach Cody how to surf like a pro.

The plot isn’t much different to other kids’ films, especially of this era, so the mockumentary take gives it an extra edge to stand out. Brief interviews with incidental characters help to flesh out the slimline story and the supporting characters all have their idiosyncrasies to elicit plenty more laughs. It is unfortunate that more of the competition isn’t seen as it is the source of Cody’s motivations but the training scenes manage to make up for this.

‘Surf’s Up’ is an unusual kids’ film which takes a little while to get used to but it’s uniqueness works and, even though this medium isn’t one kids would automatically warm to, the movie’s characters, funny comedy and easy to follow plot are enough to engage making this a thoroughly enjoyable movie for all the family.

CONTENT: IS ‘SURF’S UP’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

One of Cody’s family members say ‘He never really knew his father’, a picture is then shown of his father about to be eaten by a killer whale.

An obnoxious character rudely tells another ‘Can we hear your story about your tedious, worthless, ridiculous life?’

The place where the competition is held has a very dangerous area called ‘The Bone Yard’, a character is told that people have died there.

Chicken Joe is a laid back hippy stereotype and while riding on the back of a whale, he puts his head inside it’s blowhole. When it shoots out the water, Chicken Joe laughs and says ‘It’s giving me brain freeze!’ Although this is very mild, parents may be unhappy with his reaction being similar to that of someone taking drugs.

In reference to an event from several years before, a newspaper headline says ‘Big Z Dead’ and old footage shows him falling from a high wave, he disappears and his surfboard smashes against the waves and rocks below.

When competing against an opponent, Cody falls off his board several times and then he is repeatedly hit by waves. He ends up unconscious underwater until he is saved by another character. This is quite a prolonged and exciting scene and could be a little distressing for younger kids.

In order to treat one of his wounds, a character has to urinate on it. While this all happens off screen, the character is clearly holding himself for several seconds in readiness and Cody screams in horror at what is happening.

Chicken Joe has been buried in the sand by the local kids, there are 2 raised mounds on his chest and one on his crotch. There are also mounds where his feet are, the shot is brief and nothing graphic is seen or mentioned so it is unlikely kids will pick up on this.

Similar to the earlier reference to Cody’s dead father, Chicken Joe says ‘I never knew my father either’, there is a cut to an image of his father looking happy but the camera zooms out to show this picture is on the side of a bucket of southern fried chicken.

Tank is very proud of his trophies and speaks about them almost as if they are women. In a sexy voice, he calls one a ‘dirty girl’. His mother’s voice is heard asking ‘Are you polishing your trophies again?’ He says no but whispers to the camera ‘I’ll polish them later’. This seems like a very mild metaphor for masturbation.

Chicken Joe wanders through the jungle, darts suddenly shoot out and hit him. One hits the cameraman and the camera falls to film the sky. Tribal penguins take Joe back to their camp, he believes they worship him but the ‘hot tub’ they put him in is really a large cauldron for cooking him.

Cody shouts loudly into a character’s ear to wake them up. We mention this in case it is imitable.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?

VERDICT: IS ‘SURF’S UP’ FOR KIDS?

Fun and witty but ultimately a story we’ve seen before, ‘Surf’s Up’ is a lot of fun, even if it uses a style that kids aren’t expecting. We feel this movie is appropriate for kids of all ages.

• Violence: 1/5 (two characters are implied to have had violent deaths. Some characters are forced into the dangerous ‘Bone Yard’ area of the competition)
• Emotional Distress: 1/5
• Fear Factor: 0/5
• Sexual Content: 1/5
• Bad Language: 1/5 (infrequent mild cursing)
• Dialogue: 1/5 (a child says another character is ‘a dirty trash can full of poop’)
• Other Notes: Deals with themes of not giving up, following your dreams, patience, sporting ambition and shunning the limelight.

Words by Laura Record