SURF'S UP (FILM)

:''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 Sony Pictures Animation, released on June 7, 2007[1] by Columbia Pictures.
It is Sony Pictures Animation's second film, the first being ''Open Season'' on September 29, 2006. The American premiere occurred on June 8. It is directed by Ash Brannon (the co-director of ''Toy Story 2'') and Chris Buck (the director of ''Tarzan''). Pre-production for ''Surf's Up'' began in 2002.
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. This is the second film that Jon Heder and Diedrich Bad star in together since ''Napoleon Dynamite''.

Contents

Plot

Post Credits Scene

Voice cast

Technical info

Rating

Soundtrack

Box Office Performance

Taglines

Critical reaction

Promotion and merchandise

DVD and Blu-ray disc release

Trivia

See also

External links

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" Topanga (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. He also meets a kind lifeguard named Lani Aliikai(voice of Zooey Deschanel, with whom he falls in love with at first sight, when she saves a baby penguin from drowning. Tank challenges Cody to a surf-off on the spot and Cody's arrogance leads to a terrible wipeout. Lani Aliikai takes an injured Cody to the hidden home of Geek, a hermit, in order to help Cody recuperate from his fall.

Post Credits Scene

Cody's older brother Glenn throws all the filming crew's expensive equipment out of the home and into the water telling them that he knows what all of it is and that's he's not really causing much damage.

Voice cast

Actor/Actress	Character	Species
Shia LaBeouf	Cody Maverick	rockhopper penguin
Jeff Bridges	Ezekiel "Big Z" Topanga/Geek	emperor penguin
Zooey Deschanel	Lani Aliikai	gentoo penguin
Jon Heder	Chicken Joe	domestic chicken
Mario Cantone	Mikey Abromowitz	shorebird
James Woods	Reggie Belafonte	sea otter
Diedrich Bader	Tank "The Shredder" Evans	king penguin
Rebecca Honig	Mila Savanah
Dana Benben	Mrs. Maverick
Brian Posehn	Glen Maverick
Kelly Slater	"Himself"
Rob Machado	"Himself"
Sal Masekela	SPEN

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 (most likly due to censorship). 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.

Box Office Performance

The film took respectively $5.8 M in its opening day. After one weekend, the film grossed $17,640,249. As of September 6 2007, the film has grossed $58,867,694 domestically and $37,042,643 foreignly, totalling the worldwide gross to $95,910,337.

Taglines

★ In the coldest place on Earth, he's the hottest thing around.

★ The ocean just got cooler.

★ A Major "Ocean" Picture.

★ Birds Fly...Penguins Soar!

★ Makin' Waves Summer 2007

Critical reaction

''Surf's Up'' has received positive reviews from critics, many of whom admitted to having had doubts about the film's premise. Some noted that in spite of it coming so soon after many movies featuring penguins (''March of the Penguins'', ''Madagascar'', and ''Happy Feet''), it was able to stand out on its own. It received 78% freshness on Rotten Tomatoes, and 82% 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

'Convention Exclusives/Promo Merchandise'
To promote the movie's release, surfboard wax bearing the movie's logo and a rendering of Cody was given out at the 2006 San Diego Comic-Con
'McDonald's'
On June 8, McDonald's issued eight ''Surf's Up'' toys in their Happy Meals for one month. Each meal came with one of the following:

★ Cody figurine with a surfboard.

★ Rip Curl Cody (a tiny plastic penguin in a water globe shaped like a curl wave).

★ Lani with a surfboard.

★ Chicken Joe (a swaying bobbler on a board).

★ Geek rides a plastic "wave" on a surfboard.

★ Tank speeds on a board riding a wave.

★ Reggie (spins on a surfboard).

★ Big Z Boneyard Challenge (rectangular water tank with a floating Big Z on blue "water").
'Kold-To-Go Thermal Insulated Surf's Up Bags'
Coldkeepers, LLC made a custom printed thermal insulated Kold-To-Go bag featuring the Surf's Up movie lead characters. The bags were sold from May to July 2007 in major grocery store chains across the nation. official site.
'Build-A-Bear'
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.
'Air Heads Candy'
There is also a tie-in with the candy Air Heads which introduces a "New Wave" flavor (pineapple) and four collectible lenticular motion surf board shaped pieces. The characters included are as follows:

★ Cody Maverick

★ Lani: "The beautiful but tough penguin lifeguard of Pen Gu Island's South Beach"

★ The Geek: "A washed-up, overweight and cantankerous King Penguin who becomes Cody's mentor."

★ Chicken Joe: "Having mastered the 12-inch swells of Lake Michigan, has set his sights on the monster waves of Pen Gu Island"
'Baskin Robbins 31'
Several special edition Surf's Up ice cream flavors were offered, including "Splish Splash" and "Penguin Swirl"
'Surf's Up Little Tub Surfers'
Five inch waterproof plush tub toys released by Jakks Pacific in minimal quantities to most major retailers. Five characters were produced, including Cody, Tank, Big Z, Arnold, & Chicken Joe. Each character has an attatched washcloth/surfboard, but sport questionable likenesses (and in the case of Chicken Joe, entirely off model).
'Other Plushes'
Several plushes from Nanco intended for claw machines can also be found and purchased in varying sizes (from 6 inches to 11 inches to 17 inches). Characters available: Cody, Lani, Tank, Geek, Big Z, Chicken Joe, and Reggie Belefonte.
A rare set of larger (Geek measures 15 inches) and higher quality plushes had been made available at the premiere's after party. Won either through available games, or given away with gift sets for attendees. Cody, Lani, Chicken Joe, and Geek were created and so far no plans for the dolls to be sold commercially have appeared.

DVD and Blu-ray disc release

''Surf's Up'' will be released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in the United States on October 9, 2007. It contains both Widescreen and Fullscreen versions.

Trivia

★ Cody's name is a reference to Mavericks, a famous surfing spot.

★ This is the second animated film to feature Jeff Bridges in 25 years, the first was ''The Last Unicorn''.

★ The dialogue was recorded with the actors together in the booth, unlike most animated films where they are recorded independently. The voice-actors were also encouraged to ad-lib their scenes where appropriate.

★ At the beginning of the movie, Cody is asked if he has any "other skills besides surfing?" He responds, "Like what? Like singing and dancing?" This is a reference to ''Happy Feet'', another animated feature film with penguins.

★ SPEN is a parody of ESPN.

★ Big Z/Geek is depicted as having black feet in the film, whereas in nearly all printed or promotional material he is depicted with orange feet. It is unknown if the coloration was a last minute change for the film.

★ The character Tank Evans has two different colored iris. One blue, one brown, in a possible reference to actress Kate Bosworth.

★ Other prominate surfers are shown throughout the film as part of the Pen Gu contest. Those surfers are Renato Mendes (Brazil), Rory Nubbins (Australia), and Tatsuhi Kobayashi (Japan). Real-life surfers Kelly Slater and Rob Machado appear as and provide voices for their penguin counterparts.

★ Originally S.P.E.N. was to have on-screen announcers in the shape of a walrus named Chunk, and a seal named Rock. They were replaced in the film when Kelly Slater and Rob Machado signed on. The characters can still be found in the Surf's Up video games.

★ A black and white photograph of Big Z is shown in Cody's telling of the history of surfing. The text in the corner reads: "Surfing for me, it's something that's completely unstructured. It's the rhythm of the world. It's the physical connection to the Universe." -Zeke Topanga

★ Surf's Up is also the title of an episode of Even Stevens, which Shia LaBeouf also stars in.

★ The character of "The Geek" AKA Big Z, is a limited parody of Jeff Bridges character, "The Dude" in ''The Big Lebowski''.

★ This is the second of three films Shia LaBeouf has starred in during 2007. He starred in Disturbia in April, then shortly after Surf's Up, he starred in the Transformers movie.

See also

★ List of animated feature-length films

★ List of computer-animated films

★ 2007 in film

External links

★ Official Site

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★ Surf's Up:''Times Online'' film review (Sunday Times)

★ New York Times

★ MSN Movies

★ Behind-the-Scenes with Sony Pictures Animation - articles about the film production, mostly technical