[Movies] Surf's Up

Since we've been focused on watching somewhat lighter, enjoyable films as of late, we took a gamble Surf's Up given (1) it's an animated feature which has received mixed reviews and (2) it's about surfing, which is not exactly something that neither Brian nor myself are into.

It turned out surprisingly okay despite our initial reservations with the piece and I have to admit that I wouldn't mind seeing it again.

First off, I really liked how they positioned the movie as more being like a sort of surfing documentary in the same style of classic films like The Endless Summer, but this time centered around the supposed penguin surfing phenomenon and up-and-coming surfing star Cody Maverick (voiced by Shia LeBeouf). The alternative format certainly gave the animated feature a unique feel that definitely helped distance itself from other CGI penguin films like Happy Feet.

Another thing that really struck me was how crisp and clean the animation was. Many parts of the film don't feel animated at all and seemed more like actual footage, which was pretty impressive, in my opinion. The characters were all pretty unique and distinct and certainly entertaining.

While the plot won't win awards in the depth department given it is still a children's cartoon, still it has its fair share of laughs and enjoyable moments for older audiences. My only bone of contention would have to revolve around the ending since it seemed to finish a lot quicker than it should have, a phenomenon somewhat consistent with many animated features throughout time.

Still, it's a nice movie to catch on a light afternoon if you have nothing else to do and yet don't feel like committing yourself to a heavy drama or something along those lines.