Nymo

I know many out there would just instantly think that 'El Tigre' should have stayed in the little Nick film festival it was first shown off at, but I somewhat beg to differ..

Out of the couple new Nick shows shown off in the past year, this has to be one of the more enjoyable ones I've seen, and out of all the Hispanic-based cartoons (others being dora, that other dora spin off, and -shudder- mucha lucha), I'd totally take this over them, especially Mucha Lucha, I can't stand that show..

If you expect something educational or something of moral value, you're out of luck.. The adventures of Manny Rivera is basically very random adventures with very random humor, just in what looks to be set in a Mexican city..

overall, Quick-witted, random humor, with a hint of action sequences. Kinda strange, you'd imagine with an cartoon intro showing off the 'El Tigre' super hero character a majority of the time, and the family's back story, you'd imagine it all action or something all-to-most of the time, like, oh, Danny Phantom action.. (well, all this based off two episodes, "Zebra Donkey" and "Moustache")

But I'm quite a sucker for very random humor, and the show can quite deliver in that..

Something else I have to sort of praise about it is that it's a rather slick looking cartoon. From backgrounds, character design, all in a Flash-animated cartoon.. Sort of like 'Fosters Home', but based in a Mexican style city, and a bit more action sequences..

All in all, I'd rather watch more of this rather than any other new show that's on Nick's On Demand menu right now.. oh, And easier to get into than 'Mucha Lucha' in my book..

'Surf's Up' Is A Very Enjoyable Film, However, It's A Bit Hard To Say Who It's Aimed To..

Yes, It May Be Animated, And Also Have Penguins, But It's More That That..

The Movie Feels A Bit More Aimed To An Older Crowd, Who Will No Doubt Enjoy The Film A Bit More So Than The Kids They Brought Over To Watch It..

sure, You Got Some Of The Kid-Friendly Potty Humor, But There's A Couple Things They Might Not Catch Onto.. Not To Mention That The Film Is Presented In A Documentary-Type Of Fashion (and the 'handheld' camera movement was real good.. not to mention the old film reels appear like, well, old film reels..)

Speaking Of Which, It's Rather Visually Stunning.. More So Than, oh, Sony's Own Other 'Spider-Man 3'.. Guys At Sony Pictures Animation And ImageWorks Did A Great Job On Water, Feather, Fur, And Other Animation..

All Complimented By A Wonderful Little Cast That Will Surprise You A Bit When You Actually Check Them Out.. i mean, From The Trailers From Way-Back-When, I Didn't Notice Shia LaBeouf (who is now getting into everything) Did Cody Maverick, The Main Protagonist.. And Looking At The Cast Now, I'm Thinking "Oh, THAT Zooey Deschanel" Or "Oh wait, THAT Jon Heder?"..

And The Music Compliments The Film As Well, With Some Surfing Rock Music, As Well As Some Good Little Hawaiian Music..

The The Film Itself Is Quite A Ride..

We First Meet Up With Cody Maverick In A Sad, Cold Little Land Where It's The Same Boring Stuff All The Time (all in documentary-vision, mind you, with shaky cameras, microphone booms, and people talking behind the camera).. He Kills Most Of The Time By Surfing, After Being Inspired By A Visit From Big Z, A World-Famous Surfer That Has Now Been Lost At Sea..

He Eventually Gets Picked Up To Go And Compete In The Big Z Memorial Contest, But His Hopes Are Literally Crushed Early On Before The Competition, Until He Really Meets Up With Lani And Geek, Who We Find Gives A Rather Big Twist On The Story Right Smack-Dab In The Middle Of The Film, which is sadly some-what ruined if you read other reviews, or even the cast.. Luckily, I Missed Both, So It Was Rather Big To Me..

Does He Make It? See The Film For Yourself.. and yes, The Ending Does Give A Little Life-Lesson Of Sorts..

What I Liked About The Story Was That It Was More Than, well, Just Another Penguin Movie, And Also The Little Nods To Actual Surfing Things And Stories.. Surfing Buffs Should Have Quite A Kick During The Film, and heck, Big Surfing Dudes Kelly Slater And Rob Machado Make A Cameo In The Film (ok, more than a cameo) In A Rather Fun Penguin-Caricature Of Themselves..

however, We Go By A Rather Big Bunch Of Characters That Have No Big Role Or Too Much Of A Meaning In The Film. However The Documentary-Style Sort Of Forgives That Little Notion. i mean, Documentaries Can Generally Show Bunches Of People, But Don't Really Contribute Much And Don't Do Much To The Whole Production, Except, In This Case, Give Some Comic Relief, As If The Film Didn't Have Enough..

And Again, The Film's Target Audience Feels Lost Considering The Direction They Brought The Film To.. But Still, Not Matter What, The Whole Family Will Enjoy The Film, But Maybe The Adults Will More-So Than The Kids..

And Be Sure, if possible, To See The Film In A Digital-Projector Theater. Really Shows The Film's Great Details In A Rather Crisp Look More-So Than Those 35MM Versions..

Bring The Family, Especially The Older Ones, To This Swell-Surfing Film (which thankfully takes out some cliché surfer stereotypes)..