Surf's Up

Surf's Up is an animated comedy set in a world where penguins invented surfing. Cody Maverick, a young penguin from Antarctica, leaves his home and family to take part in his first professional competition, the Big Z Memorial Surf-Off, held on Pen Gu Island. A documentary crew follows him as he tries to make a name for himself and earn the respect he craves. His ambition to win runs up against the relaxed attitude of the island's locals, and the rivalry with the reigning champion Tank gives his visit a sharper edge.

The film is directed by Ash Brannon and Chris Buck, who also wrote the screenplay with Don Rhymer. For Brannon it was his first feature as director, followed later by Rock Dog; for Buck it came between Tarzan and Frozen. Shia LaBeouf voices Cody, with Jeff Bridges as Big Z, Zooey Deschanel as the lifeguard Lani Aliikai, and Jon Heder as Chicken Joe. Christopher Jenkins and Lydia Bottegoni produced for Sony Pictures Animation, Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Imageworks, on a budget of 85 million dollars that the worldwide gross of 149 million did not double.

On IMDb the film holds 6.7/10 from about 101,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.5/10 from roughly 2,800 votes. A critics' rating of 6.6/10 from 144 reviews places it close to both audience scores. The running time is 85 minutes.