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Surf's Up

Is there anything penguins can't do?

By Abbi Toushin, Special to Metromix

June 8, 2007

Critic's Rating:

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"Surf's Up" might as well be called "Happy Feet Goes Surfing," except it lacks the humor and cleverness that made the dancing penguin film such a hit.

Styled like a documentary, "Surf's Up" follows the rise of up-and-coming surfer Cody Maverick (voiced by "Disturbia's" breakout star Shia LaBeouf) who, after being scouted in his hometown of Shiverpool, Antarctica, finds himself as the newest enrollee in the Big Z Memorial Surfing Championship on the sun-kissed tropical island of PenGu.

Cody makes friends with Chicken Joe (Jon Heder)—whose "Dazed and Confused"-esque delivery is the movie's most entertaining element—falls for pretty penguin Lani (Zooey Deschanel) and starts training with Geek (Jeff Bridges), who shows him what it takes to be a good wave rider.

Despite its one-note characters and lack of laughs, the movie is still a visual success. The bright and vibrant CGI animation makes many of the scenes, particularly the "flashbacks" to the days when penguins apparently discovered surfing, look almost as real as actual documentary footage. The film's voice cast, which also includes James Woods, Mario Cantone and Diedrich Bader, is another plus.

But with penguins already dancing and marching their way to box office success, "Surf's Up" fails to offer up anything new.

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