'SURF'S UP' IS ONE AWESOME RIDE.Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Critic The Dude abides in "Surf's Up," the fantastic animated film that mixes Stacy Peralta's surfing documentary "Riding Giants" and Christopher Guest-style mockumentary to fabulous effect. The movie's animation is dazzling -- revolutionary, really -- delivering the sand and the sea to the screen with an eye-popping realism that is pure joy to behold. Beyond the beautiful animation, the movie is very funny and, here too, groundbreaking in a way. Since the mockumentary format requires the filmmakers to simulate the look you'd get from handheld cameras, "Surf's Up" possesses a loosey-goosey freedom, creating gags and a depth of characterization that sets it apart from its contemporaries. Even if you feel you've had your fill of penguins, you'll be amazed at the film's fresh approach. The movie's reality-TV- style documentary crew is following a 17-year-old penguin named Cody (voiced by Shia LaBeouf Shia Saide LaBeouf[1] (pronounced SHY-uh luh-BUFF, IPA: /ˈʃaɪə ləˈbʌf/[2]; born June 11, 1986) is a Daytime Emmy Award-winning[2] American actor and comedian. ) who yearns to bust out "Bust Out" is the twenty-third episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the tenth of the show's second season. It was written by Frank Renzulli, Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess, directed by John Patterson and originally aired on Sunday March 19 2000. of Antarctica and go to Pen Gu Island (a stand-in for Hawaii that's somehow habitable habitable adj. referring to a residence that is safe and can be occupied in reasonable comfort. Although standards vary by region, the premises should be closed in against the weather, provide running water, access to decent toilets and bathing facilities, heating, for penguins) to compete in the Big Z Memorial Surf Off. On Pen Gu Island, Cody meets fellow competitor Chicken Joe (Jon Heder), a blissfully zonked-out rooster rooster its crowing at dawn heralds each new day. [Western Folklore: Leach, 329] See : Dawn rooster symbol of maleness. [Folklore: Binder, 85] See : Virility who'd be at home with Seth Rogen Seth Rogen (born April 15, 1982) is a Canadian actor, comedian, and Emmy-nominated writer. Rogen began his career doing standup comedy for four years during his teens, coming in second place in the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest when he was sixteen. and his "Knocked Up" flatmates, and reigning champion Tank Evans (Diedrich Bader Karl Diedrich Bader (born December 24, 1966) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his role as Oswald on The Drew Carey Show. Biography Early life ), a brawny brawn·y adj. 1. Strong and muscular. 2. Hardened; calloused. penguin who puts a premium on winning at the expense of everything else. Cody also comes across a mysterious surfer dude who becomes his mentor. Said penguin is memorably voiced by Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor and musician. Biography Personal life Bridges was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Dorothy Dean (Simpson) and actor Lloyd Bridges. , using vocal inflections that are so close to his work in "The Big Lebowski" that it's almost like seeing The Dude pop up again, albeit as a shaggy-feathered, overweight penguin. Talk about (to borrow a line from Maude Lebowski) a natural, zesty enterprise -- Bridges' bird is it. And so is just about everything in "Surf's Up." Sure, providing Cody with a requisite love interest is a tad pat (though adorable enough with Zooey Deschanel's voice), and, yes, there are holes in the movie's documentary-format logic. (How would we see the Pen Gu-ans abducting ab·duct tr.v. ab·duct·ed, ab·duct·ing, ab·ducts 1. To carry off by force; kidnap. 2. Physiology To draw away from the midline of the body or from an adjacent part or limb. Chicken Joe?) But foolproof movie logic doesn't matter much when you've got a film that's as warm and winning as "Surf's Up." The gentle lesson it imparts -- it's the experience, not the victory, that counts -- is similar to last summer's "Cars," but it's delivered with less fuss and more cool. And those beautiful, blue waves ... you could lose yourself and hang 10 on them in an endless summer. Glenn Whipp, (818) 713-3672 glenn.whipp@dailynews.com SURF'S UP - Four stars (PG: mild language, some rude humor) Starring: Voices of Shia LaBeouf, Jon Heder, Jeff Bridges, Zooey Deschanel. Directors: Ash Brannon, Chris Buck. Running time: 1 hr. 25 min. Playing: In wide release. In a nutshell: The perfect wave. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: A teenage penguin longs to leave Antarctica and go to Pen Gu Island to take part in a surfing competition in "Surf's Up." |
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