Fly me to the Moon, is a feature-length animated movie set in 3D.  It is amongst one of the first to be set in 3D, which means it can only be shown in certain cinemas that have the facilities.  The story tells of three young flies who begin to wonder if there is anything else than their day-by-day mundane activites.  We meet Nat (voice of Trevor Gagnon), who is obviously the leader who encourages his two friends to go on the adventure of a lifetime; I.Q. (voice of Philip Daniel Bolden) who is the brains of the trio and Scooter (voice of David Gore) is the obese fly who just goes along ebcause his friends coersed him into going.  The film is set around the time of the first Moon Landing in 1969 and our heros stop at nothing to ensure they are on the flight.  The journey for them is a treacherous one, but having survived being carried in a lunch box; hiding in the suits of the astronauts; having their faces jiggled about by the forces that exist during rocket launch; being sprayed by decomtamination spray; trapped in a testtube and many other happenings, we eventually watch as Niel Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin step foot on the Moon for the very first time.

If this was not enough excitement for you, there is a subplot that reminds us of the deviousness of cold war 'Mother Russia' and their attempt to stop the Americans from successfully returning, in this case Russian flies.  Their task, lead by Yegor (voice of Tim Curry) is to sabotage the Floridian Space Centre, and change the re-entry coordinates of the returning space vessel - smart flies!

Their evil plan is halted by the heroic actions of Grandpa (voice of Christopher Lloyd) and his aged friends.  Given that Yegor is a lot more stronger and younger than Grandpa and his friends, it would stand to reason that Yegor would be successful.  However, a defecter, by the name of Nadia (Nicollette Sheridan) comes and saves the day by taking yegor out of the picture and saving Grandpa her long lost love.

The three adventurers return unharmed to a glorious welcome.

Why should you watch it?

Reason 1:

This movie tells of a struggle of three young, inexperienced and innocent children who, through sheer determination succeed in achieving their dream.  They work together and use each other's skills to overcome all obstacles in their way.  This, in itself, is a lesson to us all.  Never, never, never give up.  One of my favourite authors said, "The road to success often travels through adversity" and sure enough, these three little flies came across a lot of adversity and yet still survive to a victor's welcome home.  No matter how big your goals are, no matter how far-fetched others think them to be, if you stay focused you will achieve them.

Reason 2:

The makers of the movie (nWave Pictures) have put a lot of research into the story.  Evidence of this research can be found throughout the movie, starting with the rocket take-off.  Just small additions to the animation made the whole experience a little more believable (as far as an animation can be believable!).  For example, the rocket swaying just before the engines are ignited, the separation of each of the segments of the rocket, the landing of the 'Eagle', the first footprint on the moon and many of what was said by the human astronauts.  This, as already stated, just adds to the story making it a far more enjoyable experience.

Reason 3:

The real Buzz Aldrin appears just before the credits run at the end to explain, as if we needed it, that there were no flies or other contaminants on the first flight to the moon.  But what made a nice touch and brought a tear to my eye was the dedication that he gave to all the men and women who have and will reach for the stars in mankind's endeavour to explore the galaxy.

Reason 4:

It was funny in throughout.  Christopher Lloyd and Tim Curry battle it out towards the end in a fantastic battle of the flies.  Ed Begley, Jr) is excitingly funny in his portrayal of the Russian Cold-War leader, Poopchev.  The magots are a great addition to the storyline.  Being trapped in their wriggly bodies throughout the film, laughing and playing with each other, sleeping all over Grandpa and pretty much anywhere they can, only to then break free of their wriggly bodies and develop legs and wings to take on the two Russian Operatives trying to change the re-entry sequence of the space vessel.  Scooter is by far the funniest as he eats his way through the film.

I watched it yesterday with my boys and they loved it, I loved it and I know that you will love it.

Voices of a distant star

This short 30 minutes movie (also known as Hoshi no Koe in Japanese) is the first movie-type animation which I have watched. I watched it in the year 2003, a year after it was released in Japan. I'm not a big fan of romance-type story but after hearing good reviews from other anime fans, I decided to give it a try.

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And I was stunned. This movie is not your normal superhero flick. It is a very touching and heart warming story about 2 high school students who fell in love with each other. This movie is produced by one of Japan's most promising directors Makoto Shinkai. This is only his second attempt in movie making and he already managed to win numerous awards such as the 2002 Animation Kobe (Best Packaging), 2002 Japan Otaku Award (Gunbuster Award), 2002 AMD Award (Best Director) and 2003 Seiun Award (Best Media of the Year).

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Besides that, Makoto Shinkai is also the only person behind the entire making of the movie. The other person who helped him with this is his wife, who is the voice behind the main female character Mikako.

The story is about Noboru and Mikako falling in love with each other only to be separated by fate when Mikako is forced to join the UN Military as a soldier to fight against the raging alien race. The squadron she is in has been sent to the outer reaches of the galaxy and each passing day brings her further away from Earth, where Noboru is. The only way they keep in touch is via text messages or SMSes. However, as time goes by, the distance between both of them becomes further and the duration for the SMSes to arrive becomes longer - days, weeks, months and years.

This story is actually based on Makoto's own experience with his wife. Both of them were having a long distance relationship before they finally got married.

The animation in the movie is beautifully done and the story is very touching. I nearly cried when I first watched this movie.

Byousoku 5cm

This animation is the latest work of Makoto Shinkai. The 1 hour long movie, also known as "5 Centimeters Per Second" was released in 2007 and consists of 3 interrelated segments. Rather than focusing on his favorites ( science fiction and fantasy), he decided to make this movie based on the current world and the problems faced by most of us be it time, love or relationship with other people.

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The title "5 centimers per second" actually signifies the speed at which a cherry blossom petal falls to the ground, slowly drifting apart from the tree - a sign of how someone passes through time with people entering and leaving their life. The entire story revolves around 2 childhood friends who love each other and how fate separates them apart from each other as they grow older.

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The story, written by Makoto Shinkai himself, is top-notch. It is a heart-rending movie, like most of his previous works though I must admit it is a little bit depressing towards the end. The animation is also top quality with scenes from few selected places in the real-world Japan. The animation is so beautifully done that every scene can be made into a wallpaper. The music scores used suit the mood of the movie very well.

Overall, this is a must watch for all animation lovers. It's just too beautiful for anyone to miss out.

As someone who has just established his own animation studio not long ago, Makoto Shinkai's achievements have become an inspiration to many future animation directors. His works are not just beautiful but they are unique as well. One wonders what would be his next move after he came out with such a good quality animation in "Byousoku 5cm". However, one thing that all of us animation fans can be sure of is that Makoto Shinkai has never failed to impress us with his works.

I just cannot wait for his next movie. Hope you all will enjoy this short review.

So Bollywood directors and companies have found out a way for countering it. As some animation movies like Hanuman, Hanuman Returns have been hits in the past, they have decided to invest in Animation Movies as some Animation Characters like Goofy, Donald etc are famous with children. Animation Movies as a whole are quite popular among children. An Upcoming Animation movie 'Roadside Romeo' is likely to perform well in my opinion.

Good Versus Evil and Science Against Magic

It is a great animated movie. Ask those in my generation and others who have watched it, and you will see their eyes gleaming, and they will suddenly talk about the artwork, parts of the story and the dialogue even. The Flight of Dragons is about a quest to save man from evil's conquest of the realm of magic and the realm of science. Seeing the need to separate the two worlds, Carolinus, the green wizard of nature, recommends his plan to his brothers Solarius, blue wizard of space and sea, Lo Tae Shao, gold wizard of the air and solemnity and Ommadon, red wizard of evil and dark magic. Being the embodiment of evil and greed, Ommadon does not agree to the plan and intends to use magic to inspire man to use science to make creations that will inevitably lead to his destruction. To stop Ommadon, one has to capture his red crown, the source of all his power.

With the quest and eventual battle being staged on land, the territory of Carolinus, the green wizard chooses his dragon Gorbash and friend Sir Orin Neville Smythe, a knight. For the leader and third member of the quest, Carolinus asks Antiquity for assistance to make the selection. Antiquity chooses Peter Dickinson, a 20th century man of science upon the puzzlement of Carolinus. From there, Peter is brought to the realm of magic from 20th century Boston and in an accident is merged with Gorbash before the quests even begins. Sir Orin, Gorbash/Peter and Smrgol, the dragon uncle of Gorbash proceeds to Ommadon's territory and gathers allies along the way such as Arak, canine friend of Gorbash, Danielle, a female archer and Giles of the Treetops, the elvin outlaw. Together they face dangers such as the Ogre of Gormly Keep, the giant worm that secretes highly corrosive acid and Ommadon's horde of dragons under his dark spell. Peter and Ommadon eventually battle in the end as science against magic, respectively.

Seven Reasons Why The Flight of Dragons is a Great Animated Film

In the story, Peter Dickinson is the ancestor of Great Peter, the dragon master, the one who tamed dragons and taught them how to speak. The two are separated by 777 generations. With this, I present the seven reasons why The Flight of Dragons is one of the best animated films ever.

1. It is About a Quest

Ah, yes. A quest is a buddy, road trip and David versus Goliath movie rolled into one. It brings a small band of main characters with various backgrounds together in an adventure. Along the way, they get close and face insurmountable odds. This formula has been appealing in movies whether they are animated or live-action.

2. It Has Creatures and Characters of Magic and Fantasy

Dragons, wizards, knights, archers, ogres and fairies feed the imagination of the audience. Movies take the audience away from reality to the world of fiction and even fantasy. Aside from the said traditional magical creatures and characters, The Flight of Dragons also has its unique creatures such as the giant worm and the horde of sandmerks. Forgive me for the spelling if it is wrong, but there are no subtitles because the movie is not on DVD yet. Individually, they are just like rats that stand on hind legs and around two feet tall, but collectively, they can drive one mad with their mind-maddening chattering.

3. It Has Great Dialogue

“You… complete me.” “Hasta la vista baby.” “You can't handle the truth!” Great movies have great and memorable dialogue, and The Flight of Dragons has a lot of it from the humorous to the wise to the gallant such as the following.

Dialogue One: Gorbash with Carolinus at night looking over a pond of water

Gorbash (doubtful and sarcastic): “Are you certain this is a limpid pool of time?”

Carolinus: “My dear young fellow, I am one of the four magic brothers. I should know a limpid pool of time when I see one.”

Dialogue Two: Melisande with Carolinus discussing the meeting of the four magical brothers

Melisande: “But why does Antiquity force you to include something so abominable?”

Carolinus: “As evil is a part of all things, evil is a part of our world of magic. And the irony of all existence is that good would be totally impotent without the contrast of evil.”

Dialogue Three: Sir Orin standing by the bodies of his comrades with sword held by praying hands and facing Breog, the devil dragon.

Sir Orin: “Giles, my darling Danielle and Arak too!”

(calm and filled with courage): “Blade with whom I have lived,

Blade with whom I now die,

Serve right and justice one last time.” (flash of Giles' body)

“Seek one last heart of evil.” (flash of Arak's body)

“Still one last life of pain.”

“Cut well old friend… (flash of Danielle's body)

And, farewell!”

That third dialogue is actually etched inside me and has resonated in my mind since 1982. It is a knight's code of servitude and sacrifice and his last living act to rid one last creature of evil. Those who have seen The Flight of Dragons quip dialogues like these three I mentioned to one another.

4. It Has Effective Celebrity Voice-over

This is one of the movies that effectively used celebrity voice-overs in animated films before it somewhat became an industry standard after Pixar's Toy Story featuring the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen. Remember that The Flight of Dragons came from 1982, and it was voiced over by actors of that time. Harry Morgan, the white-haired actor and one of the leads in the movie and TV show MASH, is the voice of Carolinus. He has a firm grandfatherly voice that is perfect for the green wizard. John Ritter, who was the lead in the hit TV sitcom Three's Company, is the voice of Peter Dickinson. John Ritter fills this character's wonder of dragons and modesty very well. Finally, when one remembers The Flight of Dragons, one remembers James Earl Jones as the voice of red wizard Ommadon. This is probably the best voice-over of his career topping Mufasa of The Lion King and tying, if not edging Darth Vader. That speech wherein he orders Breog to lead the dragon army against Peter and his comrades is brought to life with his booming and reverberating voice. It tops off with a crazed shout of, “a flight… of dragons!”, and ending with the words “doom, doom, doom”. It just grabs you and tightens your chest. Aside from being a great actor, James Earl Jones is the ultimate talent for voice-overs.

5. It is a Product of 80s Anime, Anime Taken to a Higher Level

The Flight of Dragons comes from the era after mecha ruled TV anime in the 70s. The movie is a Rankin-Bass production, but the Illustrators are Japanese. Toru Hama is the animation coordinator, and the storyboard and animation direction are by Katsuhisa Yamada and Flimihiko Takayama. Anime transcended to something intricate, elaborate and beautiful in The Flight of Dragons after the box-type cartoonish characters in the mecha anime of the 70s, which I actually like also. There is detail, for example, in Smrgol's curled horns and lips, and the film has interesting designs such as Sir Orin's long trident instead of a mere lance and Lo Tae Shao's unique serpentine dragon unlike the other blimp-like bodied dragons. The artwork here is very impressive.

6. It Has Beautiful Music

Don McLean highlights the music of The Flight of Dragons with his singing of the theme song written by Jules Bass and Maury Laws. Below are its lyrics which I got from www.lyrics007.com.

The Flight of Dragons Theme Song Lyrics

Flight of dragons soar in the purple light

In the sky or in my mind

Flight of dragons sail past reality

Leave illusion behind

Is it the past I see

When I look up to the heavens

Believing in the magic

That I know could never be

I want to go where they are going

Into the world they've been

Can I open up my mind enough to see

Flight of dragons, heavenly argosies

Catch the wind, rise out of sight

Flight of dragons, pilots of fantasy

In the sky or in my mind

Flight of dragons

Flight of dragons

Don McLean is the singer of the classic songs Vincent and American Pie, and the Flight of Dragons song and music in the movie has a dreamy quality to it.

7. It has a Unique Element: Giving Scientific Explanations to Magic and Creatures of Fantasy

Finally, what makes The Flight of Dragons unique is the presence of scientific explanations in a fantasy movie. This is embodied in the scene where Gorbash/Peter explains how dragons fly with the assistance of Smrgol. It turns out that dragons are like blimps or hot-air balloons lifted by hydrogen derived from the mix of stomach acids and calcium. Dragons get the calcium from the limestone that they regularly eat. An electrical spark in the roof of the dragon's mouth ignites the hydrogen, and being lighter than air, lifts the dragon to flight. The dragon propels himself with his wings and blows out hydrogen in the form of flame or “dragon fire” in order to descend. It's a pretty crafty explanation and catchy story element mixing science into magic.

The Flight of Dragons Live-Action Movie

From an animated film, The Flight of Dragons can be elevated into a great live-action film. We're now in the age of CGI in cinema where in this age, The Lord of the Rings trilogy was made into Oscar-winning movies, Harry Potter was successfully brought out from book to film and various superheroes fly about, stretch and swing from building to building. After the Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia came out and there are even plans to make The Hobbit into a live action movie. The fantasy genre is still alive and kicking the box office, and The Flight of Dragons can be a blockbuster.

Personally, I prefer Chris Columbus to direct The Flight of Dragons if it becomes a movie. I like that enchantment and magic of discovery present in the first Harry Potter film that he made. I also prefer Weta, the company behind the special effects of The Lord of the Rings, to participate in making the movie. To take this idea of turning The Flight of Dragons into a live-action movie further into flight, let's play casting director for a while and choose possible actors for the key characters. Below are my choices.

Casting Suggestions for a Flight of Dragons Live Action Movie

Green Wizard Carolinus - Ben Kingsley (Oscar winning actor with voice close to Harry Morgan's; put a skull cap on him, long nose and a beard and he's Carolinus!)

20th Century Man Peter Dickinson - Edward Norton, Ewan McGregor (Yep, those two can be Peter.)

Knight Sir Orin Neville Smythe - Jason Isaacs, Pierce Brosnan (Must be around his 40s or 50s, dashing and with a British accent. Wearing that armour is a plus factor for them to take on the role.)

Princess Melisande - Alexis Bledel, Anne Hathaway (Dreamy, ethereal beauties. I would love to hear more suggestions for this character)

Red Wizard Ommadon - James Earl Jones (The man voiced him; he should play him! They have the same body mass as well!)

Lady Archer Danielle -Saffron Burrows (Her age is like Danielle's, and she's fit too.)

Elvin Outlaw Giles - Billy Boyd (He was Pippen, one of the hobbits in The Lord of the Rings. Might as well be elvin outlaw Giles too!)

Blue Wizard Solarius - Laurence Fishburne, Samuel L. Jackson (great voices and toughness for the part)

Gold Wizard Lo Tae Shao - Henry O (Jet Li's mob boss father in Romeo Must Die; his facial qualities, especially the cheeks, are like Lo Tae Shao's!)

The Pawnbroker - Judd Hirsch (Jeff Goldblum's father in Independence Day can smoothly deliver those pawnbroker's lines. Somehow, he can be Carolinus too!)

Voices of

Dragon Gorbash - Billy Crystal (Must have comedic angle)

Dragon Smrgol -Robert Loggia (Must have that old, experienced, grandfatherly quality)

Devil Dragon Breog - Michael Ironside (Tough, tough, tough and intimidating. “Puny scum of Carolinus!! Prepare to die!” He can say that well.)

Canine Arak - Brian Cox (Slightly scruffy, nice old voice)

Antiquity - Alan Rickman (Yes, yes, he's just a tree, who dropped a silver acorn, but we need that commanding authoritative voice)

If you find my choices amusing and, or absurd, please take note that I am not a professional casting director and that I never had any experience whatsoever of casting actors for a movie or a play. Please forgive me. However, I love movies, and I believe there is some amount of sense in my choices. I hope my amateur attempt in casting will somehow spark the production of a live action Flight of Dragons movie. It will not only be a great delight to fans of the original animated film but also to a worldwide audience composed of various age groups and race. It is because the theme of The Flight of Dragons will bind them all.

The Need to Elevate The Flight of Dragons to DVD and Into a Live-Action Movie

I've been browsing the Internet for old movies being formatted to DVDs, and I saw this particular kaiju (giant monster) movie Daikyoju Gappa of 1967 having a special DVD in 2008. Believe it or not, this is about a giant mutated lizard/chicken monster that wreaks havoc in Japan. If movies like this cross over to DVD, and a special DVD I may add, why can't a great animated film like The Flight of Dragons make it? This is somewhat unsettling and absolutely puzzling. It is like having Lebron James on the bench when the team, city and league can be benefitting from his contributions in the basketball court.

I have a dream. I plan to find out who owns the rights to The Flight of Dragons, and tell them about the ideas I have written here. I also call on others who share the same admiration for the film and the desire for it to be on DVD and become a live-action movie as well. I invite them to request for these also. I invite them to share their most memorable scenes, express their appreciation for the movie and even give their own casting suggestions. I will collate all of these comments and add them to my own and write and email the one who holds the rights of the film. I will write and email them every month or even every week my requests and any flowing comments from everyone who loves the film until they finally decide to release this on DVD and hopefully, a live-action film as well.

I hope my plan succeeds with a length of a dream and a flash of an inspiration, the only way one can briefly enter the realm of magic as the green wizard Carolinus said. So help me if you can friends, and let us have this fine masterpiece in DVD and a live-action film. Together, let's make an impact with the same force The Flight of Dragons has made in each and every one of us.

Quirky might possible be the word for this site. A young girl thinks that she is actually a warrior cyborg. Unsurprising this is set in a mental institution. Cool music on the load of this site (takes a wee while) leads in to a fairly peculiar experience it has to be said. The movie as a pop up book - go figure!

Smokin' Aces

A super cool website of a super cool movie. Explore the world of snitch Buddy Israel, his friends, his enemies, the enemies of his friends - and so on! The film wasn't considered an example of exemplary movie making but the website is excellent!

The Fountain

To enter, you can choose from the three different time zones that featured in the movie. This is a slightly eerie almost ethereal website which will either hypnotize you or make you click the back button quickly. A weird experience indeed, but then so was the movie! You will either love or hate this site - go take a peek and make your mind up!

The Incredible Hulk

Based on the Marvel Comics character, this film has been wowing audiences since June 2008. This flash based site is hugely entertaining with lots of features to while away the time. There is a real 3D feel to the navigation of this hulking great website, with all the usual giveaways and downloads you would expect from a Summer blockbuster and one or two more unexpected features.

The Eye

This is a genuinely creepy interactive website. A single eye widens as you enter the site and that is the only point of navigation for what seems like a very long spine tingling time indeed. Eventually you will get to the stuff you would usually expect from a movie website but not before you have had one or two little bumps in the night. A good site, perhaps, to load up while your loved one is away from their PC and then sit back and watch their reaction!

REC

Absolutely not for the faint hearted, this Spanish horror flick site invites you to pick up the camera and explore the darker side of an apartment block. Once you realize you cannot get out you have to go and see what is upstairs (with the ever useful spooky music to accompany you). The interface is is English as this site is for the UK release of the Spanish language film, but even if you don't speak the language you will feel the tension!

Kung Fu Panda

You would expect a Dreamworks website to be good and this doesn't disappoint (unless you hate animation). The highlight of this site is the six part Micro-series, “The Legend of The Legendary Warrior” which is, as you might guess, ever so slightly tongue in cheek. There are also downloadable PDF files of the characters from the film which the kids can cut out and build - it will keep them happy for hours (and it's cheap)!

2929

Although this site is not about a specific movie it has links to many upcoming features that could be of interest. The goal of 2929 is to finance and make thought provoking and interesting movies - and not only for mainstream audiences. There are many features on this site and it is one where the movie buff with good taste could spend a very long time indeed!

Night At The Museum

This is a beautifully constructed website that allows you to do some rather odd things. You can have a chat to Attila The Hun in his own language, or visit the Neanderthal exhibit. You can also collect nine glyphs as you go through the museum to unlock a mystery. A great deal of fun, especially if you have bored children around the house!

The Magic Flute

This is an interactive guide to the Kenneth Branagh movie of The Magic Flute opera and as such it offers you of the entire score - over 3000 bars. The bars allow you to access various features, such as learning how to play your own virtual flute, to various interviews with writers and actors. A lovely website that is thoroughly unashamed to be a little higher brow than usual.

I'm fond of cute, furry, and chubby things. A good example of my fondness is a panda. Imagine my joy when I learned that Dreamworks is doing Kung Fu Panda. The poster alone made me excited to catch it in the theatre.

Jack Black is awesome as Po the panda. Right after the Dreamworks logo was shown and Po was narrating the legend of the dragon warrior, I knew that it was going to be a wonderful movie. It turned out I was right.

As usual, it had almost all the ingredients I'm looking for in a movie; action, comedy, and a moral lesson or two. Dreamworks has a way of reaching out to a wide variety of people's taste. I admire them for pleasing people from all walks of life.

Kung Fu Panda is up there with Shrek, and other Dreamworks animation because they know how to engage their audience. They know what the audience wants and what the audience needs. I mean, Kung Fu Panda is not just about the good animation and the hilarious scenes, but it also imparts certain values like believing in oneself and not to judge others based on their physical appearance.

If Dreamworks continues doing these kinds of film, I'll keep watching.

“Star Wars, Clone wars” set to open in theaters August 16, will be followed by a TV series that will air on Cartoon Network, and TNT.

Lucas said he had plenty of Star Wars stories to tell, is ready to express them through animation, and at the same time push the animation forward.

Lucas is also planning to create a live action version of the show, which he began working on in last fall. The animated series has been in the works for a while, info about it was just released on Tues, Feb 12.

The movie and series take place time between the movies “Episode II, Attack of the Clones”, and “Episode III, Revenge of the Sith.” The movie and series will animate many familier characters such as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, General Grievous and Padme Amidala. Lucas will also add a new character named Ahsoka, which will be the first female jedI that the series has focused on.

Over 30 episodes are planned, But no real timeline is set because there is only so much time between “Attack of the Clones” and “Revenge of the Sith.”

The series will also tame down the violent aspect of it, due to the show being aimed towards a younger audience, But also contain some sophisticated aspect, for a wide range of Star Wars fans.

I found otherwise soon enough. This was a pleasant surprise, I assure you, because the craftsmanship of the characters and the time spent on the detail and realism was admirable. I was disappointed at first, seeing that it was computer animated, expecting another Shrek style spin-off.

However, I sat there examining each character with such great detail, only to end up arguing with myself about what the movie really was.

My favorite character was the queen to Beowulf. She was modest in her actions and beautiful with age. She was the most honest and understanding of the characters. But she also stood up for her convictions in small but dramatic ways.

About the storyline, I should have known it before I had entered. Beowulf was studied in my English class in High School. But due to an easy teacher, I was able to slide by without reading it.

Because of this, I was able to sit through the plot in suspense of what was coming next. The graphics were a bit more gory than I care for and the whole movie had an eerie darkness. And I did not care for the drastic ending. I heard many in the theatre complain of how it just dropped the audience in suspense. Overall, the movie was more a hit with my husband than it was to me.

At the beginning of the movie we are taken to Cody Maverick our main character, Yes he's a surfer and a penguin, which explains why he lives in Antarctica. Apparently though, Cody doesn't like living in Antarctica his whole life so his dream is to go away. And surfing let's him to do for some time.

We then meet Reggie Belafone. He's the guy who finds all the best surfers in the Arctic and then let's them compete in the Penguin World Surfing Championship. He says his biggest joy is seeing them rise to the top, he doesn't really show it though.

On a Global Recruiting Tour, Cody is at first denied the opportunity to be in the World Surfing Championship. However, after following the sponsor he is finally given his chance at the Championship. While there Cody falls in love with Lani the Pen Gu Lifeguard. While falling in love Cody also manages to start a rivalry with Tank Evans, the nine-time Penguin World Surfing Champion.

In their first surf off though Cody loses to Tank. During their surf out Cody injures his foot and must be taken to Lani's Uncle Geek who is really Big Z. Geek or Big Z takes a liking to Cody and decides to teach im his surfing secrets in time for the Penguin World Surfing Championship.

The animation in this movie was very good although the penguins were not as detailed as those in "Happy Feet" they didn't look like 2-D pictures. The action also moved from stone cold Antarctica to the sunny beaches of Pen Gu Island. The sound in this movie was very well done too, without playing just one piece of a song over and over again.

The voices done in this movie were superb. The voice actors clearly had fun with their characters and could portray them perfectly making the movie that much more better.

The big lesson in Surf's Up is that winning isn't everything. Big Z who was probably the greatest Penguin Surfer of all time went into hiding because the huge competition of the sport took all the fun out of it. Overall this was a very well done movie with great voice actors and animation, Surf's Up gets a 7.5/10 from me.