Another animated movie about penguins, but actually something different. The story is told as a faux documentary, ostensibly being filmed set to air on the fictive sports SPEN network, about an underdog (underbird?), voiced by Shia LaBeouf, who heads for a big surfing championship, hoping to follow in the shoes of his idol, the late Big Z. Along the way he meets a hot female penguin (Zooey Deschanel) and her laid-back dad (Jeff Bridges, perhaps channeling his Big Lebowski character). The result is more often clever than funny, but it avoids most of the cloying sentimentality of family fare. However, the format, with its quick cuts and style reminiscent of actual surf movies like Riding Giants, means that younger kids won’t really follow it, and even older kids might miss some of the parody aspects of the story, which actually makes few jokes that have anything to do with penguins, and more to do with the clichés spouted by athletes being interviewed.
(Reviewed 6/15/07)
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