Surf's Up (film)

Surf's Up
Theatrical poster for the film
Directed by	Ash Brannon Chris Buck
Written by	Chris Jenkins Don Rhymer Ash Brannon Chris Buck
Produced by	Chris Jenkins Lydia Bottegoni (co-producer)
Starring	Shia LaBeouf Jeff Bridges Zooey Deschanel Jon Heder James Woods
Edited by	Ivan Bilancio
Music by	Mychael Danna (music score) Liza Richardson (music supervisor)
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures (UK,USA,Brazil,France,Australia,Japan,Belgium theatrical & worldwide DVD) Universal Pictures(Canada,Spain,China,etc.) 20th Century Fox (Cyprus)
Release dates	June 7, 2007 June 8, 2007 August 2, 2007 August 3, 2007 August 10, 2007 August 10, 2007 August 15, 2007 September 13, 2007 September 6th 2007 September 27, 2007 October 26, 2007 December 15, 2007 October 9, 2007(DVD)
Running time	85 mins.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$85 million

Surf's Up is a American Academy Award-nominated computer-animated mockumentary film produced by Sony Pictures Animation and distributed by Columbia Pictures. It stars the voices of Shia LaBeouf, Jeff Bridges, Zooey Deschanel, Jon Heder among others.

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. Real-life surfers Kelly Slater and Rob Machado have vignettes as their penguin surfer counterparts.

Plot Summary

A documentary crew follows the events of Cody Maverick (voiced by Shia LaBeouf) a small rockhopper penguin residing in Shiverpool, Antarctica (a pun on Liverpool, England). After a childhood visit from surf legend Zeke "Big Z" Topanga, Cody aspires to emulate the renowned legend by becoming a famous and respected surfer.

Eventually, talent scout Mikey Abromowitz (voiced by Mario Cantone) arrives in Shiverpool scouting for surfers to compete in the Big Z Memorial Surf Contest. Cody joins the group, once he's proven himself to Mikey, and quickly befriends Chicken Joe (voiced by Jon Heder), an easy-going surfer from Wisconsin. Soon after arriving at Pen Gu Island, Cody crosses paths with the local lifeguard named Lani Aliikai (voiced by Zooey Deschanel) as she rescues the penguin child, Arnold, from "drowning." Shortly thereafter, Cody has an altercation with the egotistical Tank "The Shredder" Evans (voiced by Diedrich Bader), a large muscular penguin and nine time winner of the Big Z Competition, when he witnesses Tank hurling stones at Big Z's memorial shrine. The disturbance catches the attention of promoter Reggie Belefonte, all too eager to allow Cody to challenge Tank to a surf-off on the spot. Unfortunately Cody's inexperience with the challenges the competition has to offer leads to a terrible wipeout; unable to come up for a proper breath of air, he is pulled under and injured when he steps on a fire urchin. Lani takes the injured and unconscious Cody to the jungle home of a hermit called the Geek (voiced by Jeff Bridges) in order to get help for his injuries and to recuperate. The Geek studies the injury, removes the urchin spire, and uses an old trick taught to him to heal the poisonous sting, urinating on it.

By morning Cody is woken by the Geek, who is eager to remove the young surfer from his premises. On the escort back, Cody realizes that he has lost his Big Z necklace. Geek is less than impressed, though shows curious reactions to Cody's tale of Big Z and how Cody received said necklace. He shows Cody the route back to the beach, and leaves the young penguin be. A short time having passed, Geek has found Cody's necklace in his hut and quickly returns to the path fork, finding Cody still sitting on the log, and returns the Big Z necklace. As if in an effort to make up with the surfer-to-be, Geek notices the log's type, Koa (of which all the best surfboards are made), and decides for Cody that they're making him a surfboard. Cody, bemused and surprised, reluctantly agrees and the two attempt to haul the log back to Geek's hut.

A little slip up on Cody's part and soon the log is rolling in the opposite direction, with Geek soon with it. The log ends up flying off a cliff, Geek, however, stays hanging on for dear life on the cliff itself. After a quick rescue from Cody, the young surfer notices what the cliff looks over: a beautiful and pristine beach. Unable to contain his curiosity, Cody treks down the steep cliff, inadvertently taking Geek with him. On the beach now, Cody explores a toppled tree and soon realizes it houses several old surfboards, those of Big Z's. Geek is seen investigating a dilapidated shack littered with messages of grief from Big Z's fans, and from his reaction, Cody realizes that the Geek is Big Z.

Almost instantly, Cody's excitement that his lifetime hero still lives is unleashed in a torrent of questions and theories as to what happened, much to the chagrin of Z, who quickly takes to hiding within his old home. Cody is now convinced that this is his chance, with his hero by his side to train him, he can win the Memorial Surf Off no question. Eventually Cody lures Z from the hut, having pulled Z's old boards from their resting spot and attempting to surf with them out in the crystal blue ocean. Cody takes a few more wipeouts as he attempts to get Z in the water, but slowly manages to work tips from Big Z; Z, however, is still not impressed, and with one last (and Z predicted) wave, Cody is pulled ashore ("Don't touch my stuff, man.") and told that he won't be doing any surfing until he has made a board of his own.

Eager Cody and mellow Z finally get to work on the Koa board, halving the log from earlier, and getting a pattern drawn. The two are quickly at odds with one another, Cody becoming frustrated with his mentor's overbearing attitude towards the board ("No, no I don't want your help!"). Z backs off, and allows Cody to pry his way through the wood, creating a "work in progress" gouged plank that quickly snaps once actually in the water. Cody becomes irritated and leaves the beach, leaving Z and the documentary crew behind (Z offering them barbecue cooked over the broken wood). He's soon reunited with Lani, on her way to Geek's hut with a satchel full of clams. It is revealed that Lani knew of Geek's true persona, she was his niece, and in her very own excitement, she takes Cody to a special spot on the island, the Lava Tubes. After a thrilling race through the tubes and a "winning" landing in glow worm droppings, a shower, and a talk, Lani convinces Cody to return to Z. Cody complies, realizing his folly, and returns to Z's beach, beginning work on a new surfboard under the bright moonlight.

By morning, he has finished the board, Z is surprised and pleased, Cody has successfully created a proper board this time. Z, being the playful sort, puts Cody through a few more land-based tests first, before he allows Cody in the water, all intended to make Cody realize that surfing should be about having fun, and not contests and winning. Once the young surfer has proven that to Big Z, they're off to the water! A true feat, Z's first attempt at surfing in over 10 years proves that he's still the soul surfer he always was. Lani soon arrives on the beach and joins the duo as they surf the rest of the day away.

Now evening, Cody, Lani, and Zeke are resting beside a fire, cooking a few shrimp, Z is entertaining them with his personal ukelele song, while Cody waxes his new board. Cody soon asks Big Z to come and watch him surf in the Big Z Memorial Surf competition. Z is highly reluctant, becoming irritated with the questioning, but ashamedly reveals the truth behind his disappearance. Ten years ago, winning had become everything to Z, he was facing Tank Evans in a Reggie Belafonte backed contest, and realizes soon enough that he couldn't beat the then up-and-coming Tank. Not wanting to end up a loser and wash-up to his fans and friends, Z decided the only right choice was to disappear.

On that last big wave, Z lets go of his board, allowing it to careen into the Boneyards, himself slipping off into the wave and out of sight, permanently. Cody is in disbelief, his hero had given up. Tossing his necklace into the dark waves, Cody storms off, intending to win the contest alone. Cody continues through the forest and is caught in a trap set by the natives of Pen Gu island. Chicken Joe appears, having been looking for Cody ever since his disappearance, and since had befriended and apparently traveling with the Pen Gu-ins, retrieves Cody just as the horn blows for the start of the Surf Off.

The first waves remove most of the surfers from the contest, leaving Tank, Cody and Chicken Joe to continue on. Things become heated and Tank makes it clear his intentions to take out Chicken Joe, leaving Cody with an opportunity to win, an opportunity he does not take. Instead he clashes with Tank, sending them both to "The Boneyard", a section normally roped off and considered the most dangerous section due to the rough nature of the waves and the lacerating and towering rock formations. Tank is knocked out cold after colliding with some of the rocks, Lani rescues Tank and brings him to shore while Cody hangs on to dear life on any surface he can grab. Big Z appears and with the help of a particularly large and crashing wave, rescues Cody from the dangers of the Boneyard. Once together on Z's old board they exhaustedly paddle safely to shore. Finally ashore, Z is quickly revealed to the curious and questioning onlookers. After standing up to Reggie in his attempt to auction off the "deceased" Cody's board, Z invites everyone to his old beach spot to surf. Cody finishes talking with the documentary crew at this point and joins his friends in the water. Having learned that friendship and fun is the heart behind surfing, Cody finally catches a tube with Big Z. The film ends with Z, Cody, Lani, and many others surfing the waves as the sun sets.

Post credits scene

Cody's brother Glen is seen mumbling and throwing the documentary crew's equipment out of the window, ending the scene with "Go back to Hollywood!"

Voice cast

Main article: List of Characters in Surf's Up

• Shia LaBeouf as Cody Maverick
• Jeff Bridges as Ezekiel 'Big Z' Topanga/Geek
• 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 Belben as Edna Maverick
• Brian Posehn as Glen Maverick
• Kelly Slater as Himself
• Rob Machado as Himself
• Sal Masekela as SPEN Announcer
• Reed Buck as Arnold

• Chinstrap Penguin - Kelly Slater
• Gentoo Penguin - Lani Aliikai
• Adelie Penguin - Rob Machado
• Emperor Penguin - Mila Savannah, Ezekiel "Big Z" Topanga/Geek, Arnold, Kate & Smudge
• King Penguin - Tank "The Shredder" Evans
• Rockhopper Penguin - Cody Maverick, Edna Maverick, Glen Maverick
• Sea Otter - Reggie Belafonte
• Shore bird - Mikey Abromowitz
• California Sea Lion - Sal, The SPEN Announcer
• Chicken - Chicken Joe
• Fire Urchin - Ivan

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 rude 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, likely due to the profanity in the songs. In the primary teaser trailer, the song "Get on Top" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers can be heard in the background, but that too wasn't included in the soundtrack. Again, possibly due to profanity and the song's subject matter of prostitution. "Welcome to Paradise" was also used in the second trailer promoting Surf's Up, as well as "Three Little Birds" by Sean Paul featuring Ziggy Marley.

The DVD and Blu-Ray behind-the-scenes featurette entitled "Making Waves" features the song "The Water", performed by Venice (band). This also does not appear on the "Surf's Up" soundtrack, but can be found on Venice's "Garage Demos Part 2: Fast Stuff" CD.

Original Ocean Picture Score

The original score composed for the film by Mychael Danna was released on a limited edition (of a thousand units) 23 track CD.

Tracks are as follows:

• 1. Legends
• 2. Sports Network Presents
• 3. You're In
• 4. Big Z's Shrine
• 5. Taking on Tank
• 6. The Geek
• 7. Stuck With This Guy
• 8. I Don't Have A Way
• 9. Log Roll
• 10. The Board Shack
• 11. Cody Struggles
• 12. Lani And Cody
• 13. Waterfall
• 14. In The Tube
• 15. Training
• 16. The Has Been
• 17. The Big Z Memorial
• 18. First Round
• 19. Shredding
• 20. Winning Is...
• 21. Boneyards
• 22. Losers
• 23. Pointed The Way Back

Box office performance

The film took in a respectable $5.8 M on its opening day, though it did open at number 4 at the box office. After one weekend, the film grossed $17,640,249. As of March 23 2008, the film has grossed $58,867,694 domestically and $90,134,487 in the remaining markets, bringing the worldwide gross to $149,002,181.

Taglines

• A True Story
• 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
• Hang Six, Summer 2007

Critical reaction

Surf's Up has received positive reviews from critics. 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. This was an improvement from Open Season, Sony Pictures Animation's previous film, which received mixed reviews.

Indeed, the film pulled a bit of a surprise by being nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in January 2008. While Ratatouille (the eventual winner) and Persepolis were widely regarded as being certain nominees, some thought that the third nominee in this category would be The Simpsons Movie.

Awards

Surf's Up was nominated for 10 Annie Awards including:

• Best Animated Feature: Sony Pictures Animation
• Animated Effects: Deborah Carlson(won)
• Animation Production Artist: John Clark (won)
• Character Animation in a Feature Production: Dave Hardin
• Character Animation in a Feature Production: Alan Hawkins
• Character Design in an Animated Feature Production: Sylvain Deboissy
• Directing in an Animated Feature Production: Ash Brannon & Chris Buck
• Production Design in an Animated Feature Production: Marcelo Vignali
• Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production: Denise Koyama
• Writing in an Animated Feature Production: Don Rhymer and Ash Brannon & Chris Buck

It was also nominated for the 80th Academy Awards for Academy Award for Best Animated Feature but lost to Ratatouille.

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

Food and Related Products

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").

In the Australian market, a few small plush characters of Cody, Lani, Chicken Joe, and Geek replace some of the toys in the US lineup.

Carl's Jr.

Promoting the release of the film on DVD, the "Cool Kids Combos" at Carl's Jr. locations included Halloween themed Trick-Or-Treat bags with Halloween inspired Surf's Up characters on either side (Lani in witch garb, Cody as a vampire). A two-sided puzzle was available, as well as a figurine of the Geek, including stickers.

There appear to be one other set of toys available in the Cool Kids meals as well. Those included are a Cody figurine with spring-launch surfboard, a Lani figurine that balances on a surfboard, Chicken Joe, a bobble type figure, much like the McDonald's release. The last toy is a set of stickers with two backgrounds.

Air Heads Candy

There was 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: "An up and coming 18 year old surfer hailing from Shiverpool, Antarctica, who aspires to live up to the legend of his idol, the late Big Z"
• 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"

It should be noted that the bios on the boards are mistaken in places. Cody is "seventeen years of age" in the film, and Geek is listed as an emperor penguin in source material.

Baskin-Robbins 31

Several special edition Surf's Up ice cream flavors were offered, including "Splish Splash" and "Penguin Swirl"

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.

Toys

Build-A-Bear

Build A Bear stores sold plush toys of the film's protagonist, Cody Maverick. Patrons could "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. They could also purchase Cody and accessories at the official site.

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, Arnold and Geek were created and so far no plans for the dolls to be sold commercially have appeared.

Puzzles

A series of children's 100 piece puzzles are available as well depicting various characters and setups.

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 attached washcloth/surfboard, but sport questionable likenesses (and in the case of Chicken Joe, entirely off model, bearing more of a resemblance to Mikey).

Six Surf's Up eggs that allow you to "hatch" a character and let it grow in water are also available.

Miscellaneous

There are Cody and Lani themed comforters (full, twin, single), bed sheet sets, and throw pillows available. As well as children's underwear with Geek and Cody's visage on the garments. Several trinkets such as Surf's Up charm bracelets, necklaces, and character key chains exist.

In Other Media

Books

The movie saw the release of an extensive batch of printed media, mostly aimed towards young children.

• Surf's Up: The Movie Storybook
• Surf's Up: The Art and Making of a True Story (By Cody Maverick)
• Surf's Up Look & Find (Not unlike "Where's Waldo?" simplified)
• Surf's Up: The Life & Times of Cody Maverick
• Surf's Up: The Unauthorized Biography
• Surf's Up: The Legend of Big Z
• Surf's Up Interactive Sound Book
• Surf's Up: The Winning Wave
• Surf's Up Paint Book
• Surf's Up Coloring and Activity Book 3-in-1
• Surf's Up Coloring and Activity Book and Tattoos
• Surf's Up: Meet the Characters, and Island Adventures ("I Can Read" books)
• Surf's Up Reusable Sticker Book
• Surf's Up Activity Book w/Crayons
• Surf's Up Coloring and Activity Book and Stickers (Big Z centered)

Video Games

Along with the release of the film, a companion Surf's Up video game was released for all the current video gaming systems on the market. All versions of the game are the same with mild graphical differences, with only the Nintendo DS version changing the overall format.

The film was also made in to a mobile video game by developer Gameloft, which became available on cell phones.

Blu-ray Disc, PSP & DVD release

Surf's Up was released on high-definition Blu-ray Disc, PSP UMD Video and DVD in the United States on October 9, 2007. It is sold in both Widescreen and Fullscreen versions.

• Wal-Mart had copies of the DVD paired with an exclusive "soundtrack CD sampler" and plastic Big Z necklace.
• Toys R Us received select copies of the DVD with a "create your own surfboard" kit.
• Best Buy sold a box set that included the widescreen DVD and four character figurines. Cody, Lani, Chicken Joe, and Geek stand about three to four inches and have rolling "surfboards."
• Circuit City had a box set including a plush Cody, fullscreen DVD, and wrist band.
• Vons supermarkets, a division of Safeway, had a promotion during October, 2007 (the release of the DVD) in which one purchases $50 of select items and the customer receives a free DVD of Surf's Up
• Blockbuster had copies of the DVD that came with Surf's Up boxer shorts.
• The DVD release includes The ChubbChubbs! and The ChubbChubbs Save Xmas.

Trivia

• Cody's name is a reference to Mavericks, a famous surfing spot. It is also a possibly reference to the NBA basketball team the Dallas Mavericks, of which directors Ash Brannon and Chris Buck are fans.
• This is the second animated film to feature Jeff Bridges in 25 years, the first was The Last Unicorn.
• In the first appearance of SPEN Sports, there is a line "And now to dodgeball", in reference to Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story and its ESPN 8: the Ocho joke.
• 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, another reference to Happy Feet is when you see an egg roll along the ice and a penguin chasing it and saying "Come to daddy", when Memphis is teaching Mumble to walk after his hatching. It's also noted that Happy Feet and Surf's Up were in productions during the same time.
• SPEN is a parody of ESPN. It stands for "Sports Penguin Entertainment Network".
• Big Z/Geek is depicted as having dark brown feet in the film, whereas in nearly all printed or promotional material he is depicted with bright orange feet. It is unknown if the coloration was a last minute change for the film.
• Other prominent 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).
• Originally SPEN was to have on-screen announcers appear as a walrus named Chunk and a seal named Rock. They were replaced in the film when Kelly Slater and Rob Machado signed on. However, the characters can still be found in the various Surf's Up video games, with Sal Masekela making an on-screen appearance in Chunk's guise.
• 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 starred in.
• The character of "The Geek", is likely based on Jeff Bridges' character, "The Dude" in The Big Lebowski.
• Mikey uses the line "I feel a little light headed" in one scene. That line was also used by Elliot in Sony Animation Pictures' first movie Open Season.
• Early in the movie, Cody remarks about the lack of waves in Shiverpool, "You should have been here yesterday...", a common surfing aphorism lamenting poor surfing conditions.
• Chicken Joe's and Cody Maverick's ill-fated fathers share the same name (Bob).
• UFOs are placed all around the movie in various scenes or stills like "Z is for Zurfing" and when viewers are introduced to Chicken Joe's late father. This is revealed in one of the Easter eggs on the DVD.
• The character of "Chicken Joe" is apparently a reference to one or both of the Williams brothers from Sheboygan, WI, featured in the 2003 documentary Step Into Liquid.

See also

• List of animated feature-length films
• List of computer-animated films
• 2007 in film

External links

• Official Site
• ‹The template AllMovie title is being considered for deletion.› Surf's Up at AllMovie
• Surf's Up at IMDb
• Surf's Up at Rotten Tomatoes
• Surf's Up at Metacritic
• Surf's Up at Box Office Mojo
• Surf's Up at The Times online (The Sunday Times)
• Surf's Up at The New York Times
• Surf's Up Pictures
• Behind-the-Scenes with Sony Pictures Animation - articles about the film production, mostly technical
• Surf's Up at the 35th Annie Awards