Surf's UpMovie Reviews

Poster art for "Surf's Up."

Gifts + Promos

The Vow Free Gift

Buy tickets & receive a FREE 3-Month Love Forecast from Astrology.com!

Fandango Bucks

Send your sweetheart the gift of movies this Valentine’s Day!

Journey Sweeps

Enter for a chance to win a trip for 2 to Nicaragua!

Interactive Oscar Ballot

Who's taking home the Oscar? Cast your vote & challenge your friends on Facebook!

Need Help?
Go
Avg. Critic Score: 64 out of 100 Generally favorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
5 OK for kids 5+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 83
    Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum

    An animated family movie about penguins -- in the wake of "March of the Happy Feet," they're the Angelina Jolie of animals, both cute and admired everywhere. Plus, it's about surfing. Read full review

  • 75
    Boston Globe |

    The most colorful of the penguin 'toons to date, both figuratively and literally. Read full review

  • 75
    San Francisco Chronicle | Peter Hartlaub

    The entertaining new film from Sony Pictures Animation is a nice surprise, and the rare mainstream American kid film. Read full review

  • 75
    Philadelphia Inquirer | Carrie Rickey

    Not only are LaBeouf and Bridges terrific, but Jon Heder is hilarious as surfing fowl Chicken Joe. And Zooey Deschanel is saucy fun as penguin lifeguard Lani. Read full review

  • 70
    Washington Post | Ann Hornaday

    It's cool but not too cool, and cute but not too cute. A neat trick considering its overexposed avian cast. Read full review

  • 70
    Variety |

    Every bit as entertaining as the early Christopher Guest efforts. Read full review

  • 70
    Los Angeles Times | Kevin Crust

    A clever, delightfully rendered summer diversion. Read full review

  • 70
    The Hollywood Reporter | Kirk Honeycutt

    A cheerful and frequently amusing bit of nonsense, which certainly will provoke children into giggles. The film does not measure up to "March of the Penguins" or "Happy Feet," both Oscar-winning efforts. Nor is it trying to. Read full review

  • 63
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    First they marched, then they tap-danced. Now they ride the waves on souped-up boards. It really doesn't matter what stunts they try to pull off: Who can resist an animated mockumentary in the style of "This Is Spinal Tap" starring the black-and-white big birds of the moment? Read full review

  • 50
    The New York Times | Jeannette Catsoulis

    Has a friendly, blue-collar vibe (Cody is an ex-fish-sorter from the Shiverpool, Antarctica) and some sly, low-key humor. Nevertheless, a moratorium on penguins might be called for, despite the inevitable anthropomorphic void. Read full review

View more reviews for Surf's Up on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 5+ Kids will dive into penguin adventure, dude.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this animated comedy has been heavily marketed to kids, and those who liked Happy Feet will be particularly interested in seeing it. Although there's not much violence, there are a few mildly perilous scenes during the surfing competition and in old photos/footage. And (big surprise for an animated story) the main character has a dead parent -- in this case, a father who was eaten by a shark. There's some unfortunate potty talk (which parents might want to manage at home), a harmless flirtation between two penguins, and a surfing champ's bizarre attachment to his trophies, which he refers to as his "girls."
  • Families can talk about the current penguin craze. Why do you think there are so many movies and cartoons featuring them, from March of the Penguins to Madagascar? Are newer movies just copying the older ones, or do they all have different things to offer? Families can also discuss sportsmanship and determination. Is it more important to enjoy a sport or be competitive at it? Can you be both without placing winning above all else? What does Big Z teach Cody about idolizing role models too much? Why do we place professional athletes on a pedestal?
The good stuff
  • message true3 Positive messages: The underlying message is to follow Big Z's motto: "Never give up ... find a way." Cody's determination gets him the chance of a lifetime.
What to watch for
  • violence false0 Violence and scariness: Slightly disturbing images include a photo of Cody's dad about to be eaten by a shark and footage of the Z's wipeout wave when he supposedly died. Tank punches Cody.
  • sex false0 Sexy stuff: Cody flirts with and hugs Lani. Female penguins follow Tank, who, in turn, has an unusual, almost sexualized relationship with his surfing trophies (he even hugs and kisses them). His mother yells "Are you polishing your trophies again?" and in one scene, a penguin's genitals are "blurred out."
  • language false0 Language: Mild PG words and insults: "crap," "butt," "sucks," "shut up," "go cut yourself," "you're a trash can full of poop," etc. There are also a few fart jokes.
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Surfing commentators Kelly (Slater) and Rob (Machado) are real professional surfers.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false0 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Not an issue
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

Looking for more reviews? Movies.com Critics Say:

Dave White

1.0

Dave White Profile See Dave White's Profile

… a mess … Read full review See Dave White's on MOVIENAME on Movies.com

Read more movie reviews at Movies.com

Surf's Up Featured Trailers + Video Clips

Watch All Videos

Facebook Movie Fans

Fan Fandango on Facebook