Hello dear reader! I hope this summer is treating you well so far and you are able to find the little joys in life while surviving this immense heat. I am back with another installment of the Sunday Scaries Watchlist, and this week’s recommendation is none-other than one of the best animated films of the 2000s: Surf’s Up.

Surf’s Up is a 2007, animated film that is shot like a documentary. The film follows an ambitious penguin named Cody Maverick (voiced by Shia LeBeouf), from Antarctica, who dreams of becoming the next big pro surfer. However, it seems that the one’s closest to Cody, like his mom and his older brother Glen, think this is just a fantasy. But Cody sticks to his ambition because he looks up to a past legend named Big Z (voiced by Jeff Bridges) who never gave up. Cody claims that Big Z “lived so hard because he wasn’t afraid to live.”

With great comedic writing throughout the film, and great voice acting by Zoey DeChanel (Lani), Jon Heder (Chicken Joe), and Diedrich Bader (Tank Evans), as well as a great score and even better soundtrack, this film feels like an easy and fun watch. However, I wouldn’t just recommend a film because it was just fun. This film goes deeper than that.

Although Cody is excited to finally have a shot at competing in a pro surfing championship, he is faced with challenges. For one, his ego gets in his way. He thinks he is better than he actually is, and because of that he has an embarrassing (yet hilariously shot) wipeout. In this tragedy, he is taken to a healer, Geek, as he has stepped on a sea urchin. Cody is healed and then explains to the Geek what Big Z has meant to him. Geek sees something in Cody, be it passion about the sport, about a goal, that he takes in interest in the young surfers ambition.

Another fault of Cody which coincides with his ego is his impatience. When Geek (now revealed to be Big Z) decided to help train Cody, he tells him how to build his own surfboard out of Koa wood: “carve with the grain.” The surfboard is already in there, Cody just has to find it. After getting annoyed by his directions, Cody carves a horrendous surfboard. Embarrased to let Big Z test it out, Cody runs into the water to catch a wave, but is thrown back onto shore, with a broken board. Big Z laughs at this mistake, but is still willing to train the young penguin.

This film is all about mentorship and how two individuals can help one another come out of their own ruts. Big Z helps Cody become a better and more confident surfer. He teaches him lessons of his past that helped him accomplish his own goals. By the end of the film, Cody realizes that winning is not everything, but helping your friends out is what is most important, which is something that moves Big Z. Big Z in turn learns that he does not have to hide. That failure is a normal thing that happens in life. Hiding from what you loved to do will not get you anywhere. It just leaves you lonely and it might even make you cranky. 
Sometimes to get where you want, you need some guidance. After all, not everyone can do what they want alone, and sometimes others have more experience they might be able to share with us. Surf’s Up is a great film to watch when you’re down and/or need some motivation to remind you to keep chasing your dreams. Of course, this is a movie, so after it’s runtime Cody gets where he needs to be. But it might take us time to get where we want and need to be. Just be you and do what you have to do to get where you want.

This film is not currently streaming but is available to rent on Prime Video.