365 Days. 365 Films.

Surf’s Up began well, it seemed funny and interesting with the documentary style, yet it did slow down towards the end. What first of all seemed like a good start for Sony Pictures Animation turned into another Pixar/Dreamworks wannabe. The animation itself is okay for the time although it could have used a bit more effort – they were probably far too egotistical about their achievements within the documentary style to notice that they were being far outdone by both of their major animation rivals.

This ‘documentary’ tells the story of Cody Maverick (Shia LaBeouf), a wannabe surfer whose dreams come true when he is invited to the SPEN surfing tournament. With a bit of tutoring from his all time hero, Big Z (Jeff Bridges) he becomes a better surfer than anyone thought he could be.

The documentary style apparently didn’t always suit the storyline and was therefore inconsistent, and the film seemed to demand a lot more from it’s audience than anyone would be willing to give. Yes, it’s a kids film, but I can’t imagine that even young children would be that enthused about this distinctly average animation.

The characterization was often compromised for surfing montages which slowed the pace down considerably, although having said that there were a few enjoyable characters.

Overall, there isn’t much to the storyline, the animation is average at best and the whole film seemed a bit lazy. Semi-enjoyable on an embarrassing level nonetheless.