With so many CGI animated feature films starring cute animals pouring in and out of theaters year after year, it can be tough to sort through them all and figure out which ones are actually worth taking a family to. "Surf's Up" belongs in the pile with the good ones. Written and animated similar to a Christopher Guest mocumentary film ("Best in Show," "Waiting for Guffman") there's a unique humor to "Surf's Up" that spins the same old underdog storyline into something unusual and fresh that everyone in the family can enjoy.

The focus of this "documentary" is Cody Maverick (voiced by Shia LaBeouf),a rock-hopper penguin from Shiverpool, Antarctica with a dream of getting away from the south pole and becoming a premiere surfer like his idol Big Z. Cody's prayers are eventually answered despite the fact that he has nothing but an icicle surfboard and some serious ambition. He ends up being spotted by a talent scout and makes his way to Pen-gu island just in time for the penguin world surfing championship

When Cody gets challenged before the tournament and fails against the world's best surfer, Tank Evans (Diedrich Bader),he meets some unlikely friends like Joe the chicken (Jon Heder),a love interest in Lani (Zooey Deschanel),and Geek (Jeff Bridges) who helps Cody learn the waves so he can live his dream and compete in the championship.

There are jokes for the whole family here, which is "Surf's Up"'s most admirable trait. There's enough for the adults without too much material going over kids' heads and there's plenty of physical humor that kids will enjoy. The mocumentary style also provides a fresh set of laughs, even though the movie falls in the milder realm on the humor scale. There's also plenty of good values that one would expect from an animated movie focused on a sport: never give up, winning isn't everything, the value of friendship in picking us up when we fall.

The animation is also strong, though much more cartoonish than the penguin movie "Happy Feet." Most interesting is the way that the animation is meant to reflect what it would look like if the movie were being shot like a live-action documentary. One scene follows Lani carrying Cody through the jungle and it looks like a crew with a camera and one main source of light are following her. So it's very cool in terms of film-making, not just mere concept. "Ratatouille" and Pixar's brilliance aside, this would have won the Oscar in 2008 for its ingenuity.

The best way to describe "Surf's Up" is cute. It's unique, sweet and fun to watch. The films in the bad animation pile try and do too much with the humor and in executing grandiose concepts. This movie keeps the plot simple but shows it in a new and amusing way.

This is not the best animated movie I have ever seen(Beauty and the Beast) or the best penguin movie(March of the Penguins),but I really enjoyed Surf's Up. It could have been longer perhaps, but Surf's Up is beautifully animated with the bright colours particularly impressive. The music is hip and cool. The writing is both funny and smart, and the story is briskly paced and interesting. Surf's Up also has some likable characters that are further advantaged by some top notch voice acting with special mention going to Jeff Bridges who is simply marvellous. All in all it is a fun and beautifully animated film, that manages to be smart and likable as well. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Cody Maverick is a surfing penguin. A documentary camera crew is following him. He tells them about the late legendary surfer Big Z who came to Antarctica when Cody was a child. He becomes the best surfer of Shiverpool. He's bullied by his bigger brother Glen and dreams of leaving the bland small town life. Reggie Belafonte organizes "the Big Z Memorial Surf Off" on Pen Gu Island. The arrogant Tank 'The Shredder' Evans is the best surfer around. Recruiter Mikey Abromowitz reluctantly takes Cody to the Surf Off. Cody befriends fellow competitor Chicken Joe and falls for lifeguard Lani Aliikai. Tank is making fun of Big Z and Cody ends up on an one-on-one challenge with Tank. Cody wipes out horribly. Lani brings him to surfing recluse Geek who teaches him important life lessons.

The documentary crew is a fun conceit like the one on 'The Office'. I like the voice work especially the overlapping quality. It gives it a fun rapid-fire interaction that is missing from most animations. It also gives it a little more adult feel that distinguishes it from the other penguin cartoons. The movie generally suffers from being released 7 months after 'Happy Feet' with people having a bit of penguin fatigue. The humor is sarcastic and also a bit more adult. In general, I really like Cody and the rest of the group.