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Film Review: Surfs Up Sunday, June 10, 2007 - There's just something about seeing animals, whether they're animated or live, doing things people would do. It's amusing no matter how old you are. And the new trend with this seems to be with penguins, as they've apparently run out of ideas for dogs, cats, horses, and animals from the jungle. Surf's Up has penguins surfing, of all things, and gives them "surfer" mentalities, causing some definite giggles and light-hearted fun. The film is set up as a documentary or reality TV show following a young surfing penguin, Cody Maverick (voiced by Shia LaBeouf). From a place in Antarctica called Shiverpool, he's much smaller than most penguins, so isn't given much respect by the other surfers or even his family. His father died when Cody was young (eaten by a shark), and he now lives with his obnoxious older brother Glen and his mother. When he was very young he met the famous surfer Big Z (voiced by Jeff Bridges), who gave him one of his necklace trinkets like he always wore. Big Z was in a big surfing contest in Pen Gu Bay and wiped out against his competition, Tank Evans (Diedrich Bader), and was never seen again, with it being assumed he was lost somewhere in the sea. The surfing promoter, Reggie Belafonte (James Woods), sends his recruiter, a spindly bird named Mikey, out to look for new talent to go against Tank in the current surfing contest. Cody is found sorting fish, and then won't take no for an answer. He leaves for the contest and meets a new buddy, Chicken Joe (Jon Heder), a spaced out chicken that bonds easily with Cody as he, too, lost his dad at a young age (he became a bucket of chicken) when he was growing up in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
Once in Pen Gu Bay, Cody ends up in a surf off with Tank before the big contest and is lost at sea the same way Big Z was, but is saved by the object of his affections, a lifeguard named Lani (played by Zooey Deschanel). She drags him off to the hollow of a tree to be saved by someone very unlikely, and the unlikely hero and Lani spend their time helping Cody prepare for the big surfing contest. Meanwhile Chicken Joe can't find Cody while he's recovering and ends up being captured by cannibalistic penguins that put him in a big boiling pot of water, which he assumes is a hot tub. Again, it's just entertaining to see the penguins doing human things. Sitting with his brother Glen, Cody makes fart noises at him, while Glen inches his finger closer and closer, saying, "I'm not touching you. I'm not touching you ..." All the penguins at the surfing contest in Pen Gu Bay get heart tattoos on their butts, and Tank refers to all his trophies as his "girls," and names and kisses them, which his mom calls "polishing his trophies." A deep film it isn't, but if you're looking for something airy and light with a charming sense of humor, Surf's Up fits the bill. Yuddy Score: A Light-Hearted Yud -Laura Tucker
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