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Thursday, July 17, 2008

Film review catch up 3: Surf’s Up

A while after this cartoon hit the silver screen, I watched it on DVD this week. A young penguin from Antarctica travels to the World Surfing Championship and there discovers what it really means to be a winner. So far, so-so.

But Surf’s Up is surprisingly good despite the unthrilling premise. Shot as if it was a fly-on-the-wall documentary, there are enough cutaway jokes and throwaway comments to keep you chuckling. The animation is pretty good - especially the ocean (seen from inside the tunnel formed by a wave on occasion) - and the vocal talent is well-matched to the characters. Transformers star Shia Laboef takes the main role, but Napoleon Dynamite himself, Jon Heder, really steals the show as Chicken Joe.

Jongudmund’s rating: 7/10 - Good ‘evening in’ entertainment

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