Surf's Up

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Rush Hour 3

Last week, Walt Disney Co. paid a cool $350 million for online site Club Penguin, a place where kids can assume a penguin identity, play and chat with other penguin avatars. The site already has more than 700,000 paid up users, and Disney could wind up paying twice as much if it hits its growth targets. Penguins are very hot right now.

And hot is how Shiverpool's Cody Maverick likes it. Voiced by Transformers' star Shia Labeouf (presumably Tom Cruise was too busy), Cody has a dream. Working in an Antarctic fish factory is not for him. He once met local surfing legend Big Z and he fully intends to emulate his hero at the annual Penguin World Surfing Championship.

Opportunity knocks in the form of a talent scout on the back of a whale. Cody flubs his audition, but his persistence pays off, and the Pacific island of Ping Gu soon beckons.

Clearly inspired by Stacy Peralta's documentary Riding Giants, and presented as a reality TV style mock-doc, the movie finds a theme of sorts in the contrast between the old school laidback surfer vibe and today's commercial, competitive ESPN-sponsored scene. The two poles are represented by a fat recluse known as Geek (Jeff Bridges), who takes Cody under his wing to show him some moves, and cynical entrepreneur Reggie Belafonte (James Woods), who only cares about the ratings.

This is relatively sophisticated stuff for a kids' cartoon, I suppose (at least compared with the wretched Happily N'Ever After, which instantly went on my list of the worst films of the year).

Even so, it's hard to work up much enthusiasm for a film that plays so fast and loose. I mean, I can accept singing penguins, and gangster penguins, and even emperor penguins, but I'm thrown for a hoop when a character called Chicken Joe (Jon Heder) is allowed to compete in the Penguin World Surfing Championship. I mean, he's a chicken, right?!

The storyline doesn't so much plod as it waddles, and the mock doc technique is abandoned whenever it's convenient. Is a little consistency too much to ask for? Or maybe it just didn't make me laugh very often. (I think I may be developing an aversion to Heder to go with my irrational Chris Tucker complex.)

Still, it's certainly no wipe out. The water looks fantastic. And even in cartoon penguin form, Zooey Deschanel still manages to surprise and delight. If it sends the kids out desperate to hop on the nearest board, well, perhaps you can get them to help with the ironing.

Tom Charity
tom.charity@lovefilm.com

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Critics' Reviews

Rating of 4
stars out of 5 Derek Adams, Time Out

No, this surfing penguin flick isnt a hastily-scrambled sequel to Happy Feet. Far from it. In fact, Ash... read more on www.timeout.com

Members' Reviews

Reviews Voted Most Helpful

Do you have any other talents ?

JediSi JediSi [Highly rated reviewer] , 27/08/2007

The star of the movie-within-a-movie is Cody Maverick, a pint-sized penguin with a king-sized dream of becoming an international surfing champion. To that end, he leaves his home in Antarctica and ventures to Hawaii to take part in the Big Z Memorial Surf-off, a competition held in honor of the surfing legend who was washed away by a giant wave during a previous contest, never to be heard from again.

This flick was filmed in a similar fashion to Incredibles (camera diary scene type thing) and also has some 'old sepia' footage thrown in as well.

It was an OK film but didn't really shine. It moved pretty slowly and the kids kept asking when the film would finish fairly near the end, I think they'd had enough. It was nicely animated and pretty and all the usual, but the plot wasn't all that great. Don't get me wrong, it is worth seeing but don't expect too much. The main underlying message is 'Winning isn't everything', and it's just as well as this isn't likely to win anything.

43 out of 57 people found this review helpful

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Animated surf fun, and cute with it...

PaulaWestwood from Ashton-Under-Lyne [Highly rated reviewer] , 19/08/2007

Made in a mocumentary style, this is the story of Cody, the wannabee coolest Penguin on THE coolest Continent. With an aptitude for surfing he wants a shot at the big time but as in life, somethimes your'e riing the crest of a wave and sometimes you just need something else to get you there.

With a neat story, lots of fun and a feel good factor the width of an ocean this is a real animated whizz of a film that should entertain the whole brood, from young to old. Theres no surf-'boredom' here, it gets a definate recommendation.

15 out of 21 people found this review helpful

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Most Recent Reviews

OK family film, but nothing special

Annie from Midlands , 08/09/2007

This was a nice enough story, slightly different by being about surfing penguins (with the odd chicken thrown in), but I found it a bit slow and I think my daughter (age 6) got a little bored. The film is being sold as a 'documentary' style, but to me, it seemed this was only acknowledged when it suited the story.

Laughs were few and far between - I think I was expecting a few more. The central characters were likeable enough (apart from the guy who wasn't supposed to be likeable), but the chicken stole the show. He was the stereotype 'surfer dude', totally oblivious to anything and everything that went on around him and was definitely the guy I enjoyed the most.

All that said, the attention to detail in the film is excellent. Surfer penguins with fur in the typical flowery surf patterning or tribal tattoo style was a nice touch. Their fur in general was exceptionally well textured up on the big screen and the water scenes were very nicely detailed (I wonder if it will look so good on a 28' TV?).

In conclusion, I think I'd have preferred to spend the money at the cinema on a different film (considering how little we actually go there!) but I wouldn't have objected to hiring this film on DVD. And, although it's based around a surfing competition, it does end up delivering the message that winning isn't everything.

1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

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