'Surf's Up' sinks rather than swims

SURF'S UP — ** 1/2 — Animated feature starring the voices of Shia LaBeouf, Jeff Bridges, Zooey Deschanel and others; rated PG (vulgarity, violence, brief drugs).

The animated surfing aspects of "Surf's Up" are pretty cool. And so is the idea of having Jeff Bridges voice a penguin who is a lot like Bridges' amusing burned-out character from "The Big Lebowski."

But those things can only take this sketchy animated comedy so far. There's a troubling reliance on flatulence and scatological humor, as well as inside jokes that even some adults may not understand.

The film is not a complete wash, but it doesn't live up to its initial potential or suit its talented voice cast.

Shia LaBeouf voices the main character, a would-be surfing star named Cody Maverick, whose fellow penguins scoff at his home-made board and his questionable surfing moves.

But he may get the last laugh when he's spotted by surfing entrepreneur Reggie Belafonte (James Woods), who is sponsoring a big competition named for Cody's idol, the late surfing legend Big Z.

Cody thinks he's a shoo-in, but if he's going to beat reigning champ Tank Evans (Diedrich Bader), he may need help ... including the encouragement of his new friends Chicken Joe (Jon Heder), Lani (Zooey Deschanel) and Geek (Bridges).

The movie does have a few enjoyable moments — mostly when the focus is on Bridges' character. But you certainly expect better things than this from Disney and Pixar veterans Ash Brannon ("Toy Story 2") and Chris Buck ("Tarzan"), who co-directed .

One of their biggest mistakes is giving Deschanel so little to do. She's basically consigned to uninteresting love-interest status, and the acid-voiced actress is capable of so much more. The same goes for Woods, who doesn't get nearly enough screen time, er ... voice time.)

Surprisingly, the film's largest comic presence is Heder, whose doofus shtick has grown pretty tiresome. Also, the sequence with his character encountering cannibals seems derivative of a similar subplot in "Madagascar."

"Surf's Up" is rated PG for some crude and suggestive humor (including a pretty lengthy doo-doo joke), comic and sports-related violence (surfboard wipeouts), and brief, suggestive drug references. Running time: 85 minutes.

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