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Surf's Up
Columbia Pictures / Sony Pictures Entertainment


8.4

based on 26 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 25 votes
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MPAA RATING: PG for mild language and some rude humor

Starring Shia LaBeouf, Jeff Bridges, Zooey Deschanel, Jon Heder, James Woods, Diedrich Bader, Mario Cantone, and Kelly Slater

Surf's Up is an animated comedy that delves behind the scenes of the high-octane world of competitive surfing. (Sony)

GENRE(S):	Action \| Adventure \| Comedy \| Family/Kids
WRITTEN BY:	Lisa Addario Christian Darren Don Rhymer Joe Syracuse
DIRECTED BY:	Ash Brannon Chris Buck
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: October 9, 2007 Theatrical: June 8, 2007
RUNNING TIME:	85 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

An animated family movie about penguins -- in the wake of "March of the Happy Feet," they're the Angelina Jolie of animals, both cute and admired everywhere. Plus, it's about surfing.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

Best of all is Jeff Bridges as the voice of Geek, a laid-back philosopher-penguin who becomes Cody's low-key guru, mentoring him in the ways of the wave.

Boston Globe Michelle Kung

The most colorful of the penguin 'toons to date, both figuratively and literally.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

Not only are LaBeouf and Bridges terrific, but Jon Heder is hilarious as surfing fowl Chicken Joe. And Zooey Deschanel is saucy fun as penguin lifeguard Lani.

Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell

What makes Surf's Up stand out is its look and texture.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

If you have to see one penguin movie, this is it.

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub

The entertaining new film from Sony Pictures Animation is a nice surprise, and the rare mainstream American kid film.

Premiere Paul Semel

Up will still make you feel like you've caught a big wave.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

Has its own peculiar, loose-knit kind of charm.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

A cut above the noisy, pop-culture joke-larded norm, and it's much more than a "Happy Feet" knockoff.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

Surf's Up is that rarity in a children's movie, a comedy that's actually exciting.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Crust

A clever, delightfully rendered summer diversion.

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

It's cool but not too cool, and cute but not too cute. A neat trick considering its overexposed avian cast.

Village Voice Ella Taylor

If you have to see another penguin blockbuster, you could do worse than this loose-limbed charmer.

New York Magazine David Edelstein

Don't worry, parents, only you--and not your 5-year-old--will get that the chicken's stoned out of his gourd.

The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt

A cheerful and frequently amusing bit of nonsense, which certainly will provoke children into giggles. The film does not measure up to "March of the Penguins" or "Happy Feet," both Oscar-winning efforts. Nor is it trying to.

Variety Peter Debruge

Every bit as entertaining as the early Christopher Guest efforts.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

The film's greatest triumph, at least on a technical level, is the amazing texture of the water, which has never looked so dramatic or convincing in an animated film.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Tasha Robinson

Mostly, it just stands out in a crowded field of tacky also-rans by being a reasonably acceptable, more or less non-obnoxious way to spend an hour and a half.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

Where Surf's Up falls down is in its central relationships. (A few more jokes wouldn't have hurt either).

USA Today Claudia Puig

First they marched, then they tap-danced. Now they ride the waves on souped-up boards. It really doesn't matter what stunts they try to pull off: Who can resist an animated mockumentary in the style of "This Is Spinal Tap" starring the black-and-white big birds of the moment?

New York Post Kyle Smith

Doesn't do enough with a righteous premise.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

The voice performances are great, particularly those from LaBeouf and Bridges, who's in a "Big Lebowski" mood. But a moratorium on penguin movies may be in order.

The New York Times Jeannette Catsoulis

Has a friendly, blue-collar vibe (Cody is an ex-fish-sorter from the Shiverpool, Antarctica) and some sly, low-key humor. Nevertheless, a moratorium on penguins might be called for, despite the inevitable anthropomorphic void.

Austin Chronicle Marrit Ingman

There's nothing terribly wrong with Surf's Up, except maybe the part where one character calls another a "dirty trash can full of poop." But the movie isn't terribly robust, either.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

The novelty wears off almost immediately, leaving this a real chore to watch; there's something bizarre about low-budget spontaneity being replicated in such a labor-intensive medium.

The average user rating for this movie is 8.4 (out of 10) based on 25 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Alex L. gave it a10:
The movie is cool and funny. Besides surfing, a penguin toots and one penguin calls another penguin a dirty trash can full of poop. This was why the movie is cool and funny.

Streetsy gave it a10:
Seriously under rated. I enjoyed this film immensely and have watched it 5 times already. The animation, (for all those animation nerds out there like me) is top notch. The CG is fantastic. And the story is great.

A K gave it a6:
It wasn't bad and the mockumentary style was fresh, but it's nowhere near as good as Ratatoille.

Chad S. gave it a6:
"Surf's Up" presents itself as a faux-doc and actually manages to be more objective than a real nature documentary film like "Winged Migration". The fake crew doesn't come to Cody's aid when he's drowning, or stop a tribe of wild penguins from converting Chicken Joe(Joe Heder) into a soup base. Worst of all, they allow Cody(Shia LeBeouf) to leave home on a whale without notifying his parents. The notion of a documentary film, however, falls apart completely when Cody and Lani(Zooey Deschanel) shoot down a lava tube. There is no way a camera crew could've captured their torrid ride. "Surf's Up" is at its best when Big Z(Jeff Bridges) mentors Cody even though the vocal work by both Bridges and Shia LeBeouf are a little off the mark. The MTV-style surf contest seems too routine, in comparison to the film's ambitious beginning of establishing Cody's roots in Antarctica, complete with interviews and voiceovers.

Jared C gave it a10:
A fun gripping animation film with epic and exciting sports action.

Sam J. gave it a10:
Surfs up is a great movie with funny penguins. Hearing some of the jokes will make you laugh so hard.

Paul K. gave it a9:
Extremely well done. Worth seeing in the theater or a must on video.

Surf's Up Columbia Pictures / Sony Pictures Entertainment

Surf's Up
Columbia Pictures / Sony Pictures Entertainment