Surf's Up

"You know, we've known each other way back since, like... yesterday, I think it was. " from Chicken Joe

A totally surfing movie. These penguins look similar to those from Happy Feet. But the movie atmosphere and plot were completely different from those in Happy Feet. If you are learning surfing or you already a surf fanatic, then you will appreciate this movie as much as I did.

This movie started with an interview. You started knowing the main character - Cody Maverick. You knew he was a penguin living in Antarctica. Unlike other penguins, Cody surfed when others fish. Cody surfed when others tried to hitch eggs. He had his own way. His role model was Big Z who was famous for big wave surfing. Cody admired Big Z so that when neurotic event liaison bird Mikey Abromowitz was in his island for Big Z Memorial competition promotion, Cody jumped to the whale and joined the competition team.

Cody was brave, fearless, and maverick (perfect for his last name). He stood up when Tank insulted Big Z. He was totally wiped out by the big waves. All competitors showed great sympathy on the wipe out. But the event organizer, Reggie, did not. Instead, he took this wipe-out as a promotion event to attract audience's attention. A tease to marketing folks.

Lani, a female lifeguard, saved Cody when he was wiped-out and in coma. Lani took Cody to her uncle's house. Her uncle looked 100% wasted. Accidentally, Cody found out this uncle was Big Z. Oh, this uncle was his role model. This uncle was his all time hero. But... why Big Z did not want to surf any more?

Through interactions and memories, the audience understood why. Then the fun began. We saw how Big Z was called Big Z. We saw many detailed techniques in respect to surfing. Oh, made me want to try surfing.

Chicken Joe was absolutely a fun character. His laid-back style and interesting behavior cracked me up. His talking, like the one I quoted in sub-headline, was nonsensely entertaining. His scenes with the tribe (the yum yum yum tribe) was creative. I somehow sensed that the yum yum yum thing was a tease to French. (since French said yum yum yum) Another fun part was from kids' talking.

The competition and ending part were more educational (friendship was more important than fame). Fun to watch though. Highly recommend this 85 min movie especially in this slow season.