(Seen on 5/22/08) Originally I was very against the idea of another Indiana Jones film. (I even thought it was a bad idea 10 years ago when the rumors first started popping up.) It was way too long since the last one; Spielberg is a different filmmaker and Harrison Ford is way too old. I saw no way of them pulling it off with the same style and panache that marked the first three films. Raiders of the Lost Ark is my all time favorite action film, it's so perfect in so many ways, those action scenes will live forever as some of the greatest ever made. Temple of Doom is a very fun follow-up, much darker in many ways, but again it has incredible action scenes and furthers Indy's legend. And I thought that The Last Crusade, while the least effective of the three, was a great send off; where we get to learn about where Indy came from and he has a great adventure with his father. I didn't see where another film could fit in. But as time went on, and the great teaser trailer came out for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, I'll admit that the kid in me was yearning to see another Indiana Jones adventure. So it was with great excitement that I went to opening night. (The first big premiere I'd been to since the last Lord of the Rings.)

One of the things that worried me when I initially heard about the making of this film, was that I thought they'd try to ignore that Harrison Ford is nearly 20 years older. But they make it part of the film, with a couple of good jokes about Indy's age. I especially liked that they moved the action into the 50's, no longer is Indy fighting the Nazis, now he's got the Russian communists, which proves to be almost as great a set of villains. They were able to incorporate nuclear testing, the red scare, hot rods and make Indy's sidekick a motorcycle-riding greaser.

That was another thing I was skeptical about, Shia LaBeouf. I really like him, I think he's one of the most charismatic young actors around, but I thought he'd seem too anachronistic, that he wouldn't be able to play the era. But he did a great job fitting in, I think Lucas and his American Graffiti knowledge of the era, helped him find his character Mutt. It's fairly obvious who he is, and I'm glad they didn't drag out the surprise for too long.

I dug the other characters as well. It was cool to have Karen Allen back as Marion Ravenwood, always Indy's best girl. Ray Winstone was a lot of fun as Mac, the flip-flopping sidekick, who you're never quite sure which side he's on. John Hurt does the nutty- professor thing to perfection as Ox, who's spent too much time around the crystal skull, and has had his brain fried in the process. Best of all the new characters was Cate Blanchet, as Dr. Irina Spalko, equally evil and sexy, a completely memorable villain. She was so good, I'd consider the best of the series since Raiders' Colonel Dietrich. Having a great villain is paramount to these turn-your-brain off adventures, there has to be someone truly evil to root against.

There were a couple of really great action sequences; I particularly liked the truck chase through the jungle, while nowhere near as classic as the chase is in Raiders, it reminded me of it. Only one thing bothered me while watching it, the use of CGI. It was very apparent in a couple of instances and that took me out of the scene. But I won't completely denounce their use of it in the film, it's simply another tool; one that's pretty unavoidable these days; and the gruesomely-awesome scene with the giant-killer-ants,my favorite moment in the film, couldn't have been done without it.

I walked out of the theater totally satisfied with this new Indy adventure, and only one scene bugged me while watching the film. Which was Mutt swinging through the trees with a bunch of digital monkeys, too ridiculous, even for an Indiana Jones film. It wasn't till later, when I got a chance to reflect on the film, that more things started not to work for me. The entire end of the film, seems way too out there, and didn't seem the right fit for a series ground in earthly matters. Though I must admit, it fits nicely into Spielberg's filmography.

In the first moments of my first viewing of the trailer for this film, my thought was, "exactly what the world doesn't need, another computer animated film about penguins." But the trailer began to grow on me, it seemed like something I might enjoy. Sometimes it's good to have a kid for exactly that reason. I probably would have felt a slight twinge of embarrassment buying tickets for this on my own, but with a three-year-old in tow, it was no problem; and in the end I think I enjoyed the film more than him. When we bought the DVD, I was happy for another chance to watch the film, and glad to have something well made for my son to watch a hundred times.

What I like most about Surf's Up is the documentary aspect. From a style perspective, Hollywood computer animated films are about as safe a genre as you can find. You don't often see someone trying to push the envelope; everything is pretty much straight forward, letting the ideas drive the film, instead of reaching for any kind of new artistry. As a fan of surfing documentaries; from Endless Summer to Riding Giants; I love that they pull those aesthetics into the crisp clean world of CGI. In telling the story of Cody Maverick, the film goes through scratchy Super-8 footage, old washed-out photos, TV coverage of surfing events, hand-held cameras, and they even have the filmmakers talking to the subjects from off-screen. Fairly gutsy stuff for a family film about talking penguins.

They did an impeccable job in casting as well; I love Shia LaBeouf as Cody, he gives the character a good mix of cockiness and self-doubt, plus he just sounds like a surfer. And you couldn't do any better than Jeff "The Dude" Bridges as the old surf guru Big Z. Zooey Deschanel has been a personal favorite of mine since Almost Famous, she's fine here as Cody's love interest, but she honestly isn't that memorable. Jon Heder is good, as he does his typical goofy thing as Chicken Joe, he gets in some good one liners. Diedrich Bader is a highlight as Tank Evans, Cody's nemesis, he's hilarious throughout the film. Even though the film is full of "names", the celebrity casting for this film isn't as obnoxious as something like the Shrek sequels; the filmmakers actually seem to be focusing on what's good for the character, instead of another name for the poster.

The story is fairly straight-forward. Cody Maverick grew up a bit different, he's the only surfer in his small "town" in Antarctica. His family doesn't understand him, and they try to squash his dream. When a surfing scout shows up, on the back of a whale, Cody forces his way on board, and takes a trip to Hawaii for the Big Z Open. Big Z is Cody's hero, who everyone believes died ten years before; Cody discovers him living in hiding, having given up surfing long ago. The two become friends, through each other they rediscover the joy of life and surfing, Tank gets his comeuppance and everything ends happily for everyone else. It's a kids movie.

Directed by Ash Brannon and Chris Buck, they have created a nice little gem. It has a very sweet spirit to it, a soul hidden beneath it's commercial facade. I enjoyed the documentary style, which they stick to fairly faithfully, except for one scene where they go riding through some lava tubes. I appreciated that the humor didn't rely on pokes at pop-culture, so the film will remain fairly timeless. If Brad Bird and the geniuses at Pixar hadn't created the wonderful Ratatouille, I would have considered Surf's Up the best animated film of 2007. It's far better than the other animated penguin movie Happy Feet; it has a nice message to it, but doesn't cram it down your throat like that film. I think that it would make a nice addition to any family's DVD collection; and that even childless film buffs can enjoy it from a filmmaking perspective. - Grade: B+