Surf's Up (film)
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| Surf's Up | |
 | |
| Directed by | Ash Brannon Chris Buck |
| Written by | Lisa Addario Christian Darren Don Rhymer Joe Syracuse |
| Starring | Shia LaBeouf Zooey Deschanel Jeff Bridges James Woods Jon Heder |
| Produced by | Lydia Bottegoni (co-producer) Chris Jenkins |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date | Russia}} June 7, 2007 June 8, 2007 [[Image:Template:Country flag alias Hong Kong|20px|]] August 2, 2007  August 10, 2007 September 13, 2007 September 27, 2007 December 15, 2007 August 15, 2007
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| Runtime | {{{runtime}}} |
| Language | English |
| Budget | {{{budget}}} |
| IMDb page (http://www.imdb.com/title/0423294/) | |
For the Beach Boys album, see Surf's Up. For the video game based on the film, see Surf's Up (video game).
Surf's Up is a computer-animated mockumentary film produced by Columbia Pictures Animation, released on June 7, 2007[1] (http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/surfsup/international/) by Columbia Pictures. The American premiere occured on June 8. It is directed by Ash Brannon (the co-director of Toy Story 2) and Chris Buck (the director of Tarzan).
It is a parody of surfing documentaries, such as The Endless Summer and Riding Giants.
Surf's Up features the voices of Shia LaBeouf, Jeff Bridges, Zooey Deschanel, Jon Heder, Mario Cantone, James Woods, Rebecca Honig, Diedrich Bader, Rob Machado, Kelly Slater and Sal Masekela.
| Contents |
Plot
Template:Plot A documentary crew follows the events of Cody Maverick (voice of Shia LaBeouf) a small rockhopper penguin residing in Shiverpool, Antarctica (a pun on Liverpool, England). After a visit from surf legend Zeke "Big Z" (voice of Jeff Bridges), young Cody aspires to emulate the renowned legend by becoming a famous and respected surfer.
Eventually, talent scout Mikey Abromowitz (voice of Mario Cantone), arrives in Shiverpool to look for surfers to compete in the Big Z Memorial Surf Contest. Cody joins the group and befriends Chicken Joe (voice of Jon Heder), an easy-going surfer from Wisconsin. Upon arrival, Cody has an altercation with the egotistical Tank "The Shredder" Evans (Diedrich Bader), a large muscular penguin and nine time winner of the Big Z Competition when he witnesses him hurling stones at Big Z's memorial shrine. Tank challenges Cody to a surf-off on the spot and Cody's arrogance leads to a terrible wipeout. A kind lifeguard named Lani Aliikai (voice of Zooey Deschanel) takes an injured Cody to the hidden home of Geek, a hermit, in order to help Cody recuperate from his fall.
Sometime later, Cody discovers that Geek is actually Big Z who has been hiding on a remote area of the island for the last several years, but he refuses to explain why. Cody is eager for Big Z to help him win the competition, but Big Z is unwilling to do so. He finally tries to teach Cody how to carve his own board but the young penguin's impatience yields a poorly made board that breaks as soon as it hits the water.
Later on, Lani explains to Cody that Big Z is her uncle and he's the only family she has left. She also confesses that Big Z must really think a lot of Cody because she's been trying to coax him out of the jungle for years and Cody managed to do it in a few days.
Cody works on a new board all night and Big Z begins to train Cody by emphasizing the importance of having fun while working. That night, Cody decides to ask Big Z about his final competition and why he decided to hide away. Big Z tells Cody that he got tired of always focusing on competition instead of having fun, so he faked his own death. This aggravates Cody who has been living off the surf legend's advice to be a winner by finding a way. At the same time, Big Z is upset because of the younger penguin's obsession with winning the competition.
The next day, all the other contestants are lined up and ready to compete. After the primary elimination round, Cody, Chicken Joe and Tank are the only surfers left. Tank tries to defeat Cody, but also goes after Chicken Joe. Cody manages to get Tank away from his friend, but the penguins wind up in a rocky area. Tank falls and is washed ashore while Cody is rescued by Big Z who was watching him the whole time. Just as the crowd on the beach is mourning for Cody, he and Big Z emerges from the water and everyone celebrates. At the same time, Big Z reveals his true identity and invites all the contest attendees to his side of the beach for a more enjoyable surf.
Voice cast
- Shia LaBeouf as Cody Maverick
- Jeff Bridges as Zeke "Big Z" Topanga/Geek
- Brian Posehn as Glen Maverick
- Zooey Deschanel as Lani Aliikai
- Jon Heder as Chicken Joe
- Mario Cantone as Mikey Abromowitz
- James Woods as Reggie Belafonte
- Diedrich Bader as Tank "The Shredder" Evans
- Rebecca Honig as Mila Savanah
- Dana Benben as Mrs. Maverick
- Kelly Slater as "Himself"
- Rob Machado as "Himself"
- Sal Masekela as the voice of SPEN
- Brandon Anderson as the Narrator
Technical info
- Sound: DTS, Dolby Digital, SDDS (8 Channels)
- Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Rating
This film is rated PG by the MPAA for mild language and some crude humor.
Soundtrack
The following music can be found on Sony's official film soundtrack.
| # | Song | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Reggae Got Soul" | 311 |
| 2 | "Drive" | Incubus |
| 3 | "Stand Tall" | Dirty Heads |
| 4 | "Lose Myself" | Lauryn Hill |
| 5 | "Just Say Yes" | Ken Andrews |
| 6 | "Forrowest" | Forro In the Dark |
| 7 | "Pocket Full Of Stars" | Nine Black Alps |
| 8 | "Into Yesterday" | Sugar Ray |
| 9 | "Big Wave" | Pearl Jam |
| 10 | "Wipe Out" | Big Nose |
| 11 | "Run Home (Instrumental)" | Priestess |
| 12 | "What I Like About You" | The Romantics |
| 13 | "You Get What You Give" | The New Radicals |
| 14 | "Hawaiian War Chant (Ta-Hu-Wa-Hu-Wai)" | Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys |
Two songs by Green Day, "Welcome To Paradise" and "Holiday", are used for background music in the film. However, neither song appears on the official soundtrack album. The former song was also used in the second trailer promoting Surf's Up. In the primary teaser trailer, the song "Get on Top" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers can be heard in the background.
Taglines
- In the coldest place on Earth, he's the hottest thing around.
- A Major "Ocean" Picture.
Critical reaction
Surf's Up has received positive reviews from critics, many of whom admitted to having had doubts about the film's premise.Citation needed Some noted that in spite of it coming so soon after many movies featuring penguins (March of the Penguins, Madagascar, Happy Feet and The Wild), it was able to stand out on its own. It received 77% freshness on Rotten Tomatoes, and 81% from the Cream of the Crop on that site. This was an improvement from Open Season, Sony Pictures Animation's previous film, which received mixed reviews.
Promotion and merchandise
On June 8, McDonald's began issuing eight Surf's Up toys in their Happy Meals (http://www.happymeal.com).
Also, Build A Bear stores are selling plush toys of the film's protagonist, Cody Maverick. Patrons can "build" their own Cody as well as dress him up in an array of surf-themed clothing and other accessories in Build A Bear workshops or purchase Cody and accessories at the official site (http://www.buildabear.com).
Trivia
- This is Columbia Pictures Animation's second film, the first one being Open Season and Sony Pictures on September 29, 2006.
- Cody's name is a reference to Mavericks, a famous surfing spot.
- This is the second film that Jon Heder and Diedrich Bader star in together, the first one being Napoleon Dynamite.
- This is the second animated film to feature Jeff Bridges, the first was The Last Unicorn in 1982.
- The dialogue was recorded with the actors together in the booth, unlike most animated films where they are recorded independently.
- Pre-production for Surf's Up began in the year of 2002.
- At the start of the movie, Cody is asked if he has some other talents. He responds, "Like singing and dancing?" This is a reference to Happy Feet, another animated feature film with penguins.
- SPEN is a parody of ESPN.
- Shiverpool, where Cody was raised, is a parody of Liverpool, the hometown of all four Beatles.
See also
- List of animated feature-length films
- List of computer-animated films
- 2007 in film
- Columbia Pictures Big Z Memorial Surf Off
- Columbia Pictures
External links
- Official Site (http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/surfsup/index.html)
- Surf's Up (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0423294/) at the Internet Movie Database
- Surf's Up (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/surfs_up/) at Rotten Tomatoes
- New York Times (http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=316111)
- MSN Movies (http://entertainment.msn.com/movies/movie.aspx?m=576948)
- Surf's Up Review (http://www.hollywoodsnitch.com/GOTO.php?artnum=284) at the Hollywood Snitch
Categories: 2007 films | American films | Computer-animated films | English-language films | Films about penguins | Surfing films | Columbia Pictures Animation films
