Surf's Up

I've fallen WAY behind with summer movies, so these will be short and to the point, hopefully. Surf's Up was pretty much awesome. Not only was it vasty superior to Happy Feet, the other recent animated penguin movie, but it was perhaps even better than the godfather of penguin movies. March of the Penguins. Obviously it wasn't as impressive as seeing all the real life penguins waddle around all winter and raise their young and so forth, but watching them surf is cooler than watching real surfers. The story, while a bit cliché, is not heavy handed and the voice talents work wonders both by themselves and especially in scenes of dialogue which were recorded with multiple actors in the sound booths, contrary to traditional animated movies. The sound isn't the only feature of the movie made in a non-traditional process, but for that information you'll have to read up on wikipedia, or more reliably just listen to a directors commentary later down the road. The story focuses on Cody Maverick, an up and coming surfer, who (of course) learns that a real athlete loves the sport not the win. The supporting characters are all hilarious and the dry dead pan humor, similar to that found in the office, is so offhanded that you could easily miss it. Too bad if you do, because most of it is comic gold, but not to worry the DVD will be out soon and you can watch it, as I certainly will, again and again.

B+