Post 9 – Surf’s Up

I heard that Surf’s Up was a mockumentary in the form of an animation, very unusual. A mockumentary is a portmanteau of the word “mock” and “documentary”. The film follows a young penguin who dreams of becoming a successful surfer to be like his idol “Big Z”.  He leaves his home of Antarctica to go to a large competition, and the movie is shot like it is a documentary of his trip. Before actually watching the film, I assumed that the mockumentary-style of this film would not work, but after seeing the film, I completely changed my mind.

At first, I assumed that it would be poorly implemented and cumbersome, but very quickly as I started watching, I found myself changing my tune. The documentary aspect of the film is extremely well-suited. It really works well in Surf’s Up. It works so well for an animation, because it helps drive along the story and the jokes in a convenient setting. For example, the camera cuts away to other characters, who speak of something going on in the story or to make a joke, but it is never awkward or unnecessary. The camera also succeeds in nailing down the ‘shaky-camera’ look. Sometimes, the “crew” is actually involved in the jokes, several times in this movie the crew gets injured somehow and the ubiquitous ”camera falling down” effect occurs.

What’s best about this documentary is that it involves many different characters. In a conventional format, it might not be feasible to see what certain characters are saying, but this film allows for all characters to be implemented seamlessly. I first thought that having a animation mockumentary was unnecessary and awkward, but I found myself loving it.

This week I commented on Elliot and Sarah’s blogs.

Advertisement