What is the formula for a well-received animation, especially for the kids? Well, take the most favourite TV genre nowadays (reality), and the most favourite animal of all time (Oscar 2006: Best Docu, 2007: Best Animation), you get Surf's Up.
Awww...penguins...in a mockumentary...how cute they are...
Swifty first gave a scoop on what sort of animation Surf's Up is. Yes, it is a mockumentary/realitentary (makes your mind boggle of how they get cameras and interviewers following the surfer in the sea all the time) and isn't quite your average slapstick-joke animation you get nowadays which makes it underappreciated by the mainly-children audience.
As usual, here's the movie poster:
The synopsis:
A stylistically daring CGI feature, "Surf's Up" is based on the groundbreaking revelation that surfing was actually invented by penguins. In the film, a documentary crew will take audiences behind the scenes and onto the waves during the most competitive, heartbreaking and dangerous display of surfing known to man, the Penguin World Surfing Championship.
And the trailer (which gives obvious hints of what sort of animation you would expect):
In 4 words, I would describe the film as:
Penguin + Reality Show = Realitentary
And here are the characters of the film:
Cody Maverick, the Ray (of Everybody Loves Raymond, except that his mom doesn't quite bother him) of Shiverpool.
Chicken Joe, the unnecessary 'idiot-trying-to-be-funny' of the film, who couldn't figure out that it was being cooked. Oh, a reluctant hero also.
Tank, the surf jock and also a momma's boy. Have more satisfaction stroking his won trophies than actually hooking up with a real trophy wife.
Lani, the supposedly 'blonde bombshell' in this testosterone-laden movie.
And of course, Geek a.k.a. Big Z, the self-disgraced-comeback mentor for Cody.
Like what Swifty said, the storyline bears soem resemblance with Cars.
Think you have had enough of penguins? Not yet. Well, at least they are trying to vary it by putting a new species, the Snares penguins, which have distinct bright yellow eyebrow-stripes. They had their try with mating(and also a parody), tap-dancing, and surfing now - so what's next? I, Tux, a film about Linux next?
Overall, I would give it a '5/10' rating, to be fair to the rating I gave to lacklustre Shrek 3.
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