Not Ya Mamma’s Surf Party Movie

As I’m implying, Surfs Up isn’t your typical “hang ten bro” surfing movie. Sure it’s got cliches and tropes but to say it’s unoriginal is plainly wrong. Obviously it’s got anthropomorphic penguins, which, I don’t know if you’ve been paying attention, isn’t like Gidget.

Looking past the low hanging fruit, Surfs Up distinguishes itself from further from the stereotypical surf movie in that It’s “shot” like a documentary. I’m not saying that these mockumentaries-or even documentaries for the matter-are entirely special, and certainly don’t warrant any special treatment. Surfing Documentaries like The Endless Summer and Riding Giants serve as direct inspiration, and we all know how popular The Office is.

What makes this aspect-and by extent the movie-so special is that they decided on this format for an animated feature. The camera now not only is a window into the plot and characters but is a character itself. Being right in the action, the flow of information is streamlined.

See a lot of animated movies seem to struggle with narrative flow. A few seem to be able to use the medium to progress the story, but in too many cases bland narration is used to give important information. That’s boring. But in the case of Surf’s Up, narration isn’t needed. Neither is heavy handed exposition dialogue. Now the characters can directly tell the audience whats happening and how they feel.

unbound by today’s over saturation of mockumentaries, Surf’s Up brazenly flaunts it’s individuality with the crack of the clapper board and an interview with Cody. And with that, our journey begins.