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At least it's better than John From Cincinnati

Kim Hollis: The second largest opener this weekend was Surf's Up, the latest CGI animated family film from Sony. It managed $18 million with a mediocre per venue average of $5,102. What do you think of this result?

David Mumpower: I swear that it's better than I was braced for, but it's still pretty lousy. The marketing on Surf's Up was a disaster, and the movie itself felt tardy and redundant after Madagascar and Happy Feet utilized the same premise.

Tim Briody: It's a bridge from Shrek to Ratatouille and nothing more.

Joel Corcoran: And it's the first sign that the penguin domination may not be as strong as we feared.

Kim Hollis: It's no Happy Feet. But then again, the animation never looked even half as good as that of Happy Feet.

David Mumpower: Honestly, the biggest surprise for me with regards to Surf's Up are that the reviews are generally positive. When I see a commercial for it, I cannot visualize a good movie in there anywhere.





Tim Briody: Have we learned nothing from March of the Penguins and Happy Feet?

Kim Hollis: It really doesn't look good at all. I mean, really, all you have to do if you have a penguin thing going is make them look cute. They couldn't even do that (the yucky-looking chicken who hangs in the background doesn't help much).

Reagen Sulewski: The whole thing just smacks of effort, man. You've got to wonder how traditional animators feel now after their style has been heaved to the dustbin of cinema while the bright and shiny (and expensive!) CGI animation has now lost its wow factor.

David Mumpower: I can't help but feel the recent glut of penguin movies has cost us the possibility of an Opus movie. Berkeley Breathed is now saying it's defunct, and I blame Surf's Up for being the last straw.

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