Surf's Up 2: WaveMania

Surf's Up 2: WaveMania is a 2017 American computer-animated comedy film directed by Henry Yu. It is a sequel to the 2007 film Surf's Up. Produced by Sony Pictures Animation and WWE Studios, the film received a direct-to-video release on January 17, 2017, on DVD and digital media.[1]

Surf's Up 2: WaveMania
DVD cover
Directed byHenry Yu
Produced byMichelle L.M. Wong[1]
Written byAbdul Williams
Starring
Music byToby Chu
Edited byMark Yeager
Production
company
Distributed bySony Pictures Home Entertainment[2]
Release date
  • January 17, 2017 (2017-01-17)
Running time
84 minutes[3]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1.2 million[4]

Jeremy Shada and Melissa Sturm respectively replace Shia LaBeouf and Zooey Deschanel as Cody Maverick and Lani Aliikai. Jon Heder and Diedrich Bader return as Chicken Joe and Tank Evans, respectively, while WWE professional wrestlers John Cena, The Undertaker, Triple H, and Vince McMahon make up the rest of the cast.

Plot

Two years after the events of Surf's Up, the now 19-year-old northern rockhopper penguin Cody Maverick lives in obscurity on Pen Gu Island, where he teaches children to surf in his own surf school alongside his now-wife, gentoo penguin Lani Aliikai, opposed by his former rival Tank Evans, who also runs his own surf school. As a result of winning the Big Z Memorial, Chicken Joe has become a world-famous surfer, performing in competitions around the world.

Chicken Joe leaves his world tour to visit Pen Gu island to visit his friends. At the same time, "The Hang 5", a team of extreme surfers and thrillseekers (consisting of sea otter Mr. McMahon, penguins J.C., The Undertaker, Hunter and Paige, and their announcer Seagull), arrive on the island. Since Cody was a big fan of them from childhood, he invites the whole team to his place and throws a party in their honor. At the party, Mr. McMahon reveals that the team are on a journey to a mythical surf spot called the "Palisade" to ride a 50 feet (15 m) rogue wave and perform "RTL", and further reveals to his team that he is retiring, and came to the island to find his replacement. After Mr. McMahon and Paige choose Lani, Cody and Tank respectively convince J.C. and Hunter to sponsor them as potential replacements for McMahon, the Undertaker randomly selecting Chicken Joe so that he will also have a candidate, unaware of his fame.

The group subsequently leaves the island atop a whale. Having approached an unknown coastline, they walk (and later surf) through a desert for a time (encountering quicksand), before reaching a jungle, at which the group stops for the night. The next day, while searching the jungle, they find a temple, the remains of an ancient penguin civilization that worshipped the art of surfing, Tank discovering a golden surfboard. Further, the group uses improvised hang gliders combined with surfboards to cross a lava lake on Cody's suggestion (from having viewed hieroglyphs from the temple), during which, due to his bickering with Tank, he accidentally almost knocks Chicken Joe into the lava, and The 5 berate him for his behaviour. Feeling immense guilt from this, Cody leaves overnight, while the group moves onwards towards the Palisade.

While walking back, Cody comes across another set of hieroglyphs depicting the civilization's champion riding the waves of the island and his eventual death on the Palisade, leading to Cody deciding to return to warn Chicken Joe and Lani Meanwhile, the rest of the group arrives in the Palisade, where-at Seagull is struck by lightning and disintegrated; Lani deduces the "RTL" catchphrase of The Hang 5 as being in reference to the act of "racing the lightning", i.e. surfing during a thunderstorm, which they have previously done worldwide. After admitting that all members of The Hang 5 are by definition "crazy" and that one must "RTL" to join, Lani declines membership, Chicken Joe accepts an honorary membership from the Undertaker, and Tank reluctantly agrees to "RTL" in order to acquire the fame and fortune associated with being a member.

Assembling before the formation of a 50 feet (15 m) rogue wave, The Hang Five and Tank ride atop of it as lightning rages overhead. Having changed his mind, and in fear for his life, Tank swims off behind the wave, pursued by lightning because of his surfboard's metallic nature, while The Hang 5 continues maneuvering between lightning bolts; the Undertaker is struck by lightning and falls into the water, after which he is rescued by Paige and J.C. and brought to the shoreline, where-at his heart is found to have stopped beating; the Undertaker is subsequently revived by Chicken Joe through the use of jellyfish stings; the group then witnesses a returned Cody rescuing Tank. After such a selfless act, Mr. McMahon invites Cody to join their team, but he refuses, having become unwilling to abandon his friends and his island. Impressed by Cody, Mr. McMahon decides to stave off his retirement and desire for "fish milk" to remain with the team further.[5]

Voice Cast

Production

Since the release of the original, Mario Cantone, Jon Heder and Shia LaBeouf from the film had mentioned the possibility of a sequel several times.[6] On March 1, 2016, Sony Pictures Entertainment announced that it had partnered with WWE Studios for a Surf's Up sequel. Henry Yu was hired as the director of the film, making this his directorial debut while Abdul Williams was tapped to write the screenplay.[7]

The project was initiated by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), which inquired with Sony for a possible project that would help expand their brand and reach a new generation of audiences. According to Yu, WWE thought that Surf's Up had "a really fun vibe. It's really light-hearted. It's got a lot of goofy, cartoony fun." He also remarked that the film is "about surfing – it's about sports. So we thought it was a natural fit." All character designs had to be approved by WWE.[8]

References
  1. Milligan, Mercedes (December 1, 2016). "Catch 'Wavemania' in Sony's 'Surf's Up 2' Trailer". Animation Magazine. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  2. Gallagher, Brian (December 1, 2016). "WWE Superstars Get Animated in Surf's Up 2: WaveMania Trailer #2". MovieWeb. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  3. "WWE Superstars John Cena, Undertaker, Triple H, Paige and Mr. McMahon are "The Hang 5" in the Totally Tubular "Surf's Up 2: WaveMania"". World Wrestling Entertainment. November 30, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  4. "Surf's Up 2: WaveMania". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  5. Makuch, Eddie (March 1, 2016). "Sony and WWE Team Up for Surf's Up Sequel (Really)". GameSpot. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
  6. Frosty (May 29, 2007). "Exclusive Video Interviews from the SURF'S UP Premiere in Hawaii". Collider. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  7. Anderton, Ethan (March 2, 2016). "'Surf's Up 2' Is Happening, But This Time with WWE Wrestlers as Surfers". /Film. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
  8. Murphy, Jackson (January 27, 2017). "Director Henry Yu Talks 'Surf's Up 2: WaveMania'". Animation Scoop. Retrieved January 15, 2017.

Official website

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