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Surf's Up poster

Movies that feel likeSurf's Up (2007)

With a documentary crew in tow, Cody Maverick—a young surfer from Antarctica—travels to the pacific for his first professional competition. Determined to earn respect and live up to his idol, Big Z, Cody pushes himself to the limit. But all that changes when an encounter with a laid-back local forces him to rethink his values.

If you loved Surf's Up, the closest films we have are Chicken Run (2000), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013) and The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales (2017). All three share Surf's Up's whimsical and witty feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Lion King 1½ (2004).

🍅 78% Rotten Tomatoes★ 6.7 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Ash Brannonwhimsicalwittyplayfulwarmcozy
5 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video

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If Surf's Up hit the spot, these will too

Chicken Run poster
Chicken Run
2000 · dir. Nick Park
🍅 97%★ 7.1animation · comedy · familyRent or buy

Both are built on the same subject: chicken

The creators of Wallace & Gromit bring you an exciting and original story about a group of chickens determined to fly the coop–even if they can’t fly! It’s hardly poultry in motion when Rocky attempts to teach Ginger and her feathered friends to fly…but, with teamwork, determination and a little bit o’ cluck, the fearless flock plots one last attempt in a spectacular bid for freedom.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 poster
🍅 71%★ 6.3animation · family · comedy

The same mix in both: whimsy, then wit

After the disastrous food storm in the first film, Flint and his friends are forced to leave the town. Flint accepts the invitation from his idol Chester V to join The Live Corp Company, which has been tasked to clean the island, and where the best inventors in the world create technologies for the betterment of mankind. When Flint discovers that his machine still operates and now creates mutant food beasts like living pickles, hungry tacodiles, shrimpanzees and apple pie-thons, he and his friends must return to save the world.

The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales poster
The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales
2017 · dir. Benjamin Renner
🍅 97%★ 7.4family · animation · comedy

Playful and warm in the same breath

The countryside isn't always as calm and peaceful as it's made out to be, and the animals on this farm are particularly agitated: a fox who mothers a family of chicks, a rabbit who plays the stork, and a duck who wants to be Santa Claus.

Penguins of Madagascar poster
Penguins of Madagascar
2014 · dir. Simon J. Smith
🍅 74%★ 6.7family · animation · adventure

Common ground in both: penguin and anthropomorphism

The difference: Leans harder into adventure than Surf's Up does

Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private join forces with undercover organization The North Wind to stop the villainous Dr. Octavius Brine from destroying the world as we know it.

Happy Feet poster
Happy Feet
2006 · dir. George Miller
🍅 76%★ 6.4animation · comedy · family

One thread runs through both: penguin

Into the world of the Emperor Penguins, who find their soul mates through song, a penguin is born who cannot sing. But he can tap dance something fierce!

Antz poster
Antz
1998 · dir. Eric Darnell
🍅 92%★ 6.5animation · comedy · familyNetflix

Cozy animation in both cases

A neurotic worker ant in love with a rebellious princess rises to unlikely stardom when he switches places with a soldier. Signing up to march in a parade, he ends up under the command of a bloodthirsty general. But he's actually been enlisted to fight against a termite army.

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie poster
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
2004 · dir. Stephen Hillenburg
🍅 68%★ 7.2adventure · animation · comedyPrime VideoParamount+

Common ground: sea

There's trouble brewing in Bikini Bottom. Someone has stolen King Neptune's crown, and it looks like Mr. Krab, SpongeBob's boss, is the culprit. Though he's just been passed over for the promotion of his dreams, SpongeBob stands by his boss, and along with his best pal Patrick, sets out on a treacherous mission to Shell City to reclaim the crown and save Mr. Krab's life.

Over the Hedge poster
Over the Hedge
2006 · dir. Karey Kirkpatrick
🍅 75%★ 6.7adventure · animation · comedyRent or buy

The same preoccupation in both: animals

A scheming raccoon fools a mismatched family of forest creatures into helping him repay a debt of food, by invading the new suburban sprawl that popped up while they were hibernating – and learns a lesson about family himself.

Ferdinand poster
Ferdinand
2017 · dir. Carlos Saldanha
🍅 71%★ 6.7animation · family · adventureMax

Both keep coming back to the same thing: anthropomorphism

Ferdinand, a little bull, prefers sitting quietly under a cork tree just smelling the flowers versus jumping around, snorting, and butting heads with other bulls. As Ferdinand grows big and strong, his temperament remains mellow. But one day five men come to choose the "biggest, fastest, roughest bull" for the bullfights in Madrid— and Ferdinand is mistakenly chosen.

Tom & Jerry poster
Tom & Jerry
2021 · dir. Tim Story
🍅 29%★ 5.3comedy · family · animationRent or buy

Comedy built on whimsy, twice over

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

Tom the cat and Jerry the mouse get kicked out of their home and relocate to a fancy New York hotel, where a scrappy employee named Kayla will lose her job if she can’t evict Jerry before a high-class wedding at the hotel. Her solution? Hiring Tom to get rid of the pesky mouse.

Open Season poster
Open Season
2006 · dir. Jill Culton
🍅 48%★ 6.1animation · family · adventure

Witty family, and it commits to that

Boog, a domesticated 900lb. Grizzly bear finds himself stranded in the woods 3 days before Open Season. Forced to rely on Elliot, a fast-talking mule deer, the two form an unlikely friendship and must quickly rally other forest animals if they are to form a rag-tag army against the hunters.

The Lion King 1½ poster
The Lion King 1½
2004 · dir. Bradley Raymond
🍅 76%★ 6.5adventure · animation · comedyDisney+

Both lean on play more than on animation

Timon the meerkat and Pumbaa the warthog are best pals and the unsung heroes of the African savanna. This prequel to the smash Disney animated adventure takes you back -- way back -- before Simba's adventure began. You'll find out all about Timon and Pumbaa and tag along as they search for the perfect home and attempt to raise a rambunctious lion cub.

In the mood for more whimsical?

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The best-reviewed films that share Surf's Up’s defining feeling.