Cody lives at home with his mom (Dana Belben, script supervisor for the film) and his overbearing, enormous brother, Glen (Brian Posehn). He was inspired to greatness as a young penguin by worldwide surfing superstar "Big Z" (Jeff Bridges), who came to visit his town and personally gave the youngster an actual Big Z shell necklace, which Cody has worn ever since. So he surfs and dreams of becoming a champion, like his now-deceased mentor. One day, Mikey Abromowitz (Mario Cantone), scout for the Penguin World Surfing Championship, comes to check him out for inclusion in the competition. Although his "audition" doesn't really work out, they take him onboard anyway. It is here that he meets Chicken Joe (Jon Heder), who becomes his closest companion.
Once the make it to Pen Gu Island, things start gearing up for the competition. SPEN is broadcasting, complete with Sal Masekela (X Games) as the announcer. Kelly Slater and Rob Machado, actual pro surfers, act as commentators and together, the three really add that air of authenticity to the competition. Cody soon meets lovely local lifeguard Lani (Zooey Deschanel) and falls for her. Cody becomes enraged when he hears Tank Evans (Diedrich Bader), Big Z's successor to the throne of surfing, bashing him and throwing stones at Z's monument. They argue and the annoying, Don King-haired sports promoter Reggie Belafonte (James Woods) settles the spat with a surf-off. Whoever rides the biggest wave wins. Well, Cody wipes out and Lani takes him to the home of her recluse uncle, Geek, to recover. Cody eventually figures out that Geek is, in fact, Big Z who has been in hiding for 10 years. The two bond and Big Z comes out of his shell to teach Cody the true love of surfing, all the while rediscovering himself.
This movie is hilarious. While it has its fair share of off-color humor, it's certainly not offensive. LaBeouf is effortless in his role as Cody, while Heder perfectly plays the role of surfer dude. Truly, everyone is great in their respective roles and it's really cool to watch how the stars interact with one another as they are recording the voiceovers. You can tell they had fun, ad libbing plenty along the way, and it comes across in the film. I highly recommend Surf's Up, and not just to those who enjoy animated features. The CG is breathtaking, especially the water effects, and the movie is just plain funny. Throw in the numerous special features, including games, a music video, featurettes, photo galleries and the 2002 Academy Award Winner for Best Short Animated Film, The ChubbChubbs and the new feature, The ChubbChubbs Save Xmas and you have a sure-fire winner.
