(Source: www.impawards.com)
We all know Hollyweird is not exactly known for its originality (multiple penguin movies, remakes of classic movies, remakes of Japanese horror flicks, remakes of remakes of . . . you get the idea) but you have to wonder when a movie promotion riffs on another movie promotion.
Check out the new one-sheet for Sony Picture Animation's Surf's Up. Now take a gander at one of the posters for the 2001 live-action thriller Ocean's Eleven, the hit remake that's generating at least two more sequels. Looks pretty similar, don't it?
A little digging turned up few clues as to why this would be so. Surf's Up is a Sony movie while Ocean's Eleven is from Warner Bros. Surf's Up is directed by Ash Brannon and Chris Buck while Steven Soderbergh helmed Ocean's Eleven. One's a CGI family film while the other is a heist flick. . . let's quit while we're behind: other than the oceanic reference in both titles, these flicks have nothing to do with one another. So why the similarity?
Chalk it up to a lack of imagination, which doesn't bode well for those who will eventually have to watch the film (fearless movie reviewer, remember?). My guess is: some poor schmuck at SPA's art department, trying to come up with a promo that would make the suits smile, hit upon this design.
"It rips off a hit movie!" he (or she) must have thought, brainstorming desperately at 2:30 AM. "It's guaranteed to work!" The artist mocks it up, shows it in the boardroom, the executives puff their cigars ecstatically, going, "We're stealing from a successful flick! It's funny! Ocean's Eleven? Surf's Up? We're dyin' here!" Yeah, so are we.
Surf's Up is a tough one to call. On the one hand, it's the 4th flick that's cashing in on the notion that penguins are funny (Madagascar, The Farce of the Penguins, Happy Feet). Granted, it seems the little critters are doing well at the box office: Madagascar is spawning a sequel and Happy Feet took home the Oscar. And as for Farce of the Penguins . . . let's not go there.
Surf's Up is from Sony Pictures Animation, the guys who brought us Monster House and Open Season. The first flick was pretty cool (and deserving of the Oscar nomination) but the second wasn't so hot. So SPA is batting .500 these days.
The mockumentary format of Surf's Up has some serious potential, but we've all seen the washed-up-veteran-teaching-the-hot-newcomer angle a few times before. And there are worrying signs of a possible CliDVic (for non-Roger Ebert fans, this stands for the oft-used Climb from Despair to Victory plotline) in this sucker.
There are a couple of solid casting choices in this flick: Jeff Bridges always rocks whatever movie he's in, Michael McKean (Spinal Tap, baby!) and the lovely Zooey Deschanel are nice additions to the voice cast.
So yeah, Surf's Up has potential. But the current ad campaign doesn't increase this picture's buzz. You can decide for yourself when Surf's Up opens June 8th. And I'll be sure to let you know.
