The film stars the voices of Shia LaBeouf, Jeff Bridges, Zooey Deschanel, Jon Heder, and James Woods.

To obtain the desired hand-held documentary feel, the film's animation team motion-captured a physical camera operator's moves.

[7] A documentary crew arrives in Shiverpool, Antarctica to document the life of teenage northern rockhopper penguin Cody Maverick, living with his mother Edna and his older brother Glen.

En route to Pen-Gu Island, Cody befriends another entrant, Chicken Joe, a cheerful but slow-witted rooster surfer from Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

The entrants arrive at Pen-Gu Island, where Cody meets and immediately falls in love with Lani Aliikai, a female gentoo penguin who is a lifeguard.

He also meets the mean-spirited king penguin Tank "The Shredder" Evans, who has won the competition nine times since its creation after Big Z's death a decade ago.

Tank wins, while Cody nearly drowns and is stung by a sea urchin named Ivan, getting a poisonous spine stuck in his foot.

The attempt goes disastrously, however, as an eager Cody refuses to listen to Big Z's advice and crafts a rough and unstable board that shatters upon hitting the water.

Afterward, Cody asks Big Z if he will come to watch the competition, but he refuses, revealing that he faked his death because he realized he couldn't compete with his then-new rival Tank, and that he had become too focused on winning.

Cody intervenes at the last minute, sending himself and Tank into an area of the beach known as the Boneyards, which consists of dangerously sharp rock outcroppings and has killed many surfers who have ventured there.

Surf's Up: Original Ocean Picture Score was composed for the film by Mychael Danna and it was released on a limited edition (of a thousand units) 23-track CD.

[13] In the Australian market, a few small plush characters of Cody, Lani, Chicken Joe, and Geek replace some of the toys in the US lineup.

There was also a tie-in with the candy Airheads which introduces a "New Wave" flavor (pineapple) and four collectible lenticular motion surfboard-shaped pieces.

Five-inch waterproof plush tub toys were released by Jakks Pacific in minimal quantities to most major retailers.

The site's consensus reads: "Surf's Up is a laid-back, visually stunning animated movie that brings a fresh twist to some familiar conventions.

Teresa Budasi of the Chicago Sun-Times reviewed: "The originality of the documentary format coupled with the splendid CGI effects qualifies Surf's Up as not just another penguin movie.

"[better source needed][19] While James Berardinelli of ReelViews said: "If you have to see one penguin movie, this is it",[20] Roger Moore of Orlando Sentinel gave the film a positive score, noting that it was "beautifully animated, terrifically acted and edited in a way that hilariously mimics those Endless Summer surf documentaries.

"[21] Conversely, Bill Muller, The Arizona Republic's critic, disliked almost everything: "From the nondescript voices to routine animation to an over-written story, this movie spends much of its time gasping for air.