Hey everyone. Capone in Chicago with you. Thinking this was going to be yet another lame attempt to cash in the current popularity of penguins, I'll admit to walking into the latest CG animated feature SURF'S UP with seriously low expectations. Imagine my glee when I not only saw how appealing the film was for grown folk but also how much the kids in my audience seemed to be digging the whole affair. Shot in a reality-show format, SURF'S UP introduces us the heretofore unknown world of surfing penguins, including a rising young star named Cody Maverick, voiced by a similarly rising dude named Shia LaBeouf (has anyone had a better year?).

The small-for-his-age Cody is selected as part of a contest to surf the big waves at a competition that serves as a memorial for a 10-years-dead surf guru called Z, who just so happens to be Cody's hero and inspiration. The contest is run by shifty surf promoter Reggie (James Woods in full motor-mouth mode) and his flittering assistant Mikey (Mario Cantone). While learning that he doesn't have nearly the skills to take on some of the more experienced surfers, Cody seeks guidance and friends from a host of fellow birds, including Chicken Joe (John Heder) and fellow penguins Lani (Zooey Deschanel; even her voice is adorable) and the hermit-like Geek (Jeff Bridges).

There is something about the vocal acting in this film that separates from a lot of other recent animated fare. The conversations seem more casual and off-the-cuff. Not every line of dialog is a set up for a joke or a punchline. Sometimes the characters even talk under their breath. And the slightly shaky, hand-held-camera style of the movie is actually sort of cool. What's maybe the most awe-inspiring thing about SURF'S UP are the backgrounds and water effects. I don't know how they did it, but the animators have made flawless-looking and sometimes violent animated water. Plant life and sand also look unbelievably realistic. I tend to watch for these sorts of things, because more often than not, animators don't get these things exactly right. Here, they are perfect and gorgeous.

Directors Ash Brannon (co-director of TOY STORY 2) and Chris Buck (director of Disney's TARZAN) combine to give us something really special and positive without being disgustingly sappy. My only regret about this film is the use of penguins. There's absolutely no reason these characters couldn't have been another cute animal, maybe one that isn't so utterly overused lately. I guess there's something inherently funny about a surfing penguin, but I don't remember laughing once at the site of a penguin on a surfboard. There are plenty of other very funny things on hand to keep me amused; that was not one of them.

You know what? The more I think about SURF'S UP, the more I dig it. It's no great achievement in animation (aside from the previously mentioned water, sand and plants), but the story is simple and decidedly free of overblown drama, and the characters are all very easy to care about. With this one, you just need to sit back, turn the brain off, and let this 80-minute nugget of goodness wash over you like the perfect wave.

Capone