When Hollywood producers find something that works, they really milk it for all it’s worth. In the past few years, the “it” thing seems to be penguins. However, as humorous and adorable as penguins can be, there is only so much you can do with them. The challenge faced by the creators of the latest penguin film, Surf’s Up, is to try and come up with something original and unique. They succeed by shifting the action from the ice to the sand and making a mockumentary about the annual Penguin World Surfing Championship. However, they ultimately fail by offering a plot that is nothing more than a long sports movie cliché.

The mockumentary film crew focuses on an aspiring young surfer from—are you ready for this?—Shiverpool: Cody Maverick. Cody grew up idolizing a famous penguin named Big Z, who revolutionized the art of surfing. When Cody gets the opportunity to compete in the surfing contest created in memory of the late Big Z, it’s like a dream come true. Unfortunately, he’s a little too eager. Cody challenges reigning champion Tank Evans and is embarrassed by a spectacular wipe-out.

Unconscious, Cody is taken by a lifeguard penguin to a small shack in the forest owned by a reclusive penguin named Geek. Geek takes care of Cody in his own way and then sends him away. However, when Cody learns that Geek used to be a great surfer in his own right, he begs him to train him for the contest. But Geek learned long ago that winning isn’t everything and instead tries to teach Cody the joy of the sport. As you might expect, Cody is resistant at first, but eventually comes over to Geek’s way of thinking, enters the contest and puts all of his lessons learned—both in athletics and life—to work.

As clichéd as the plot becomes, Surf’s Up is not without its charms. The mockumentary style pays off with some excellent gags. The way in which the opening narrative contrasts Cody’s version of his “Big Z” encounter with visuals of the truth, for instance, is reminiscent of Don Lockwood’s opening speech in Singin’ in the Rain.

Unfortunately, the film seems to shift away from its mockumentary format towards the middle of the film and we are left simply with the story of a veteran athlete teaching a young athlete everything he needs to know to succeed both in the specific sport and in life. Of course, this wouldn’t be complete without a training montage.

The film’s animation itself is very good. It’s nothing impressive, but on par with other modern animated films. Unfortunately, the art of animation—like special effects—seems to have reached a point of such sophistication that nothing really impresses audiences anymore. The voice talent—Shia LaBeouf, Jeff Bridges, Zooey Deschanel, James Woods and Jon Heder—is also successful without being impressive

So Surf’s Up is nothing terrific, and a similar plotline was done much better in last year’s Cars. But it’s good enough to entertain the kids, and has enough adult humor to keep their parents interested as well.

Surf’s Up is rated PG for “mild language and some rude humor.” Like most animated movies nowadays, Surf’s Up also features a number of adult-only jokes that are thankfully over the kids’ heads.

Courtesy of a local publicist, Jeff attended a promotional screening of Surf’s Up.