Surf's Up pics online
Images from upcoming Columbia animated flick Surf's Up now online
Feb 26, 2007
(Source: www.latinoreview.com)
Surf's Up - Columbia's first attempt at a CGI animated movie - is a good example of why I am getting more than a little blasé about the current crop of CGI animated flicks. Originality has never been Hollyweird's strong suit but a lot of these movies look like they're being made from the same cookie-cutter.
Latino Review scored some images from Surf's Up and like Yogi Berra once said, "It's like déja vu all over again!"
Let's ignore the fact that these birds look an awful lot like George Miller's creations in Happy Feet, which just scored Oscar gold. The success of that flick makes Surf's Up look at a lot like bandwagon-jumping, and that is a very dicey proposition for audiences.
Yeah, penguins are hot these days (March of the Penguins, Farce of the Penguins, Madagascar, Happy Feet . . .) so I can imagine some would-be mogul waving his cigar at a story meeting, saying, "Kiddies love penguins! We gotta make a penguin movie!" Surfing penguins is a cute notion (Hollywood loves cute to death) but I'm not sure how they can make that stretch over one-and-a-half hours. My guess is we're looking at another installment of the hoary hot-newcomer-learns-important-life-lessons-from-old-pro plotline.
One potentially redeeming quality is that the voice talent is solid: Jeff Bridges, Zooey Deschanel, Michael McKean and James Woods are all respectable names. Let's hope they were enticed by a good script and not just a quick paycheque.
Can Surf's Up distinguish itself from the CGI pack? For Columbia's sake, I certainly hope so. A lot of animated movies crashed and burned in theatres last year and imitation isn't always the best way to make a lot of dough (check Happily N'Ever After's box office for proof).
Check out the images here. Surf's Up rides into theatres June 8th.
