MovieChat Forums > Surf's Up (2007) Discussion > Originality is a weclome change

Originality is a weclome change

posted 16 years ago by hoser75
7 replies | jump to latest

I have got to say this is THE most original movie I have seen in a long, long time. It gets 10 stars from me. I mean come on..... AN ANIMATED MOCUMENTARY!!! Who ever came up with that concept deserves an award! Happy Feet was good, I even enjoyed March of the Penguins, but Surf's Up kicked ass. In today's world of remaking the same boaring garbage with a slightly different title, I pesonally welcome this type of creativity. Job well done!

Opinions are like a*@holes..... We all have one!

[–] Bruarvatn 16 years ago

Yes, I agree. Very good and smart this one. I expected it to be good but was surprised to find that I totally loved it. Great movie.

Box office is not always fair. Sony's first animated movie Open Season made more money than Surf's Up even though Surf' Up was much better.

[–] DC-Tiki 16 years ago

I'm with you there. The mockumentary idea was briliant and they pulled it off perfectly. Still managed to tell a complete story whilst also never letting the audience forget that the camera crew is there with the characters the whole time.
I suspect a lot of people who feel like they wouldn't enjoy this film would actually quite like it and would be willing to give it a go if they knew about the documnetary angle. I didn't know that it would be like this from the trailers or adverts I saw beforehand and was pleasantly surprised and entertained.

[–] Cel_Stacker 16 years ago

Besides what's already been discussed (since, being a Christopher Guest devotee, I'm into mockumentaries), I loved how they went out of their way to schedule things so that the actors could do the scenes ensemble. It gives things more of that impromptu, unscripted feel that documentaries (and mockumentaries) have. That's a trend that I hope catches on for animation producers and directors.

[–] loneandersen 16 years ago

Exactly! The last few (well, many) animated films I've watched have been big disappointments, mainly because they have been too formulaic and klichèe-ridden.

I loved Surf's Up, it constantly surprised me. Especially the fact that, although the main character had lost his dad, the movie didn't "milk" this story line. Usually, absent fathers and parental respect are big issues with writers of animated movies.

Surf's Up treated it's viewers as intelligent people - and I like that.

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] ankurtg 13 years ago

Strange to raise such an old thread. I share your love for the movie, but just now I watched Cars, and guess what, their stories are almost identical! I'm shocked! I would like to think it was Cars that copied the story, but it came more than a year earlier.
Anyone else noticed?

[–] uruseiranma 11 years ago

Well, it's nothing really that original.

Even Robots used the same premise:

Old person who was once the 'best of the best,' and inspired a young person.

Young person finds their hero has fallen from grace, and looks to restore their luster, and also be as great as the hero.

"Thanks, guys." "So long, partner."

- Toy Story 3 (9/10)