Romantic day start

The animated mock documentary "Surf's Up" is a delightfully rendered summer diversion in which a tiny Rockhopper penguin named Cody Maverick aspires to be a surfing champion.

Young Cody(voiced by Shia LaBeouf) is discovered in his native Shiverpool by a shrill, showbiz savvy shorebird named Mikey Abromowitz, who whisks him off to the idyllic island of Pen Gu to compete in the Big Z Memorial Surf-Off. Once there, Cody is mentored reluctantly by a surfing legend, the bigger-than-life but extremely laid-back King Geek(Jeff Bridges).

Directed by Ash Brannon and Chris Buck, "Surf's Up" parodies sports ducumentaries and television surf coverage, instilling the movie with an X Game vibe. The surfing action replicates and at times surpasses the real thing, and the fabricated "vintage footage" is a wonder to look at. Interviews with Cody and his family conducted by a comically intrusive documentary crew lead up to the fightless little bird's inevitable showdown with Emperor penguin Tank "the Shredder" Evans, nine-time winner of the Surf-Off.

Visually, the movie benefits from impressively inventive technical animation - from the crystalline waves to the sandy beaches, every detail suggests a parallel reality where penguins really do surf.

While many of the riffs in the mock ducumentary might be lost on the little tykes, everyone should enjoy the film's feel good message of perseverance, friendship and finding your own wave.