Surf's Up

What is it about penguins that makes them so irresistible to movie audiences? Beats me. But those who liked Happy Feet are likely to appreciate this less ambitious animated film built around a clever conceit that takes a gentle poke at reality TV as it follows a documentary crew accompanying surfing penguin Cody Maverick (voiced by Shia LaBeouf), who hails from Shiverpool, Antarctica, and is entering his first professional competition. Characters taken aside to comment on the action include Cody's belittling older brother (Brian Posehn), a sports-promoter otter (James Woods), and an excitable shorebird that doubles as a talent scout (Mario Cantone), while the romantic interest is a luscious lifeguard named Lani (Zooey Deschanel). The two best characters, however, are a seemingly stoned fowl named Chicken Joe (Napoleon Dynamite's Jon Heder) and the requisite surfing legend, an aging Big Kahuna known as Geek (Jeff Bridges, back in The Big Lebowski mode). Filmmakers Ash Brannon and Chris Buck's Surf's Up boasts top-drawer computer animation with unusually vivid colors, but it's pretty ordinary fare overall, and sports the generic (and predictable) message that it's more important to have fun than to win. A strong optional purchase. [Note: Available in either widescreen or full screen versions, DVD extras include an audio commentary (by directors Chris Buck and Ash Brannon, and producer Christopher Jenkins), “All Together Now: Surf's Up Voice Sessions” (17 min.), a 13-minute “Making Waves” making-of featurette, a “Surf Cam” segment on the innovative camera system (8 min.), the bonus shorts “The ChubbChubbs” (6 min.) and “The ChubbChubbs Save Xmas” (6 min.), four “Lost Scenes” with optional intros (5 min.), five minutes of “Progression Reels,” “Arnold's Zurfinary” segment on surf lingo (4 min.), a four-minute “Meet the Penguins” segment with Mario Cantone and other cast and crew (4 min.), a two-minute “Storyboard to Surfboard” multi-angle sequence, three DVD games (including “Make Your Own Surfboard,” “Whale Hopping,” and “Lava Surf”), the music video “Lose Myself” performed by Lauryn Hill,” character and location galleries, and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a halfway decent CGI mockumentary.] (E. Hulse)