Yikes, do I really have to talk about Surf’s Up 2: WaveMania? The best thing I can say about this movie is that it made me go back and watch the original which turned out to be a lot of fun. This is a joint project by Sony Pictures Animation and the WWE. I have been watching wrestling since 1989 and that was what made me take an interest in this movie.
How to Stream or Download Surf’s Up 2: WaveMania
You can stream it or you can download the film from a digital store. Click on the Download button at the end of the review. If you like animated movies with a wrestling theme, check out also Scooby-Doo! and WWE: Curse of the Speed Demo.
The Movie Review
They managed to get some of the A-list WWE talent for this movie. It features the likes of The Undertaker, John Cena, Triple H, and even the owner of the WWE Vince McMahon. One thing I have to say is that Surf’s Up 2: WaveMania is a straight to DVD movie, so it is lacking in the wow factor as the original did. It still looks good, but it clearly did not have the budget the first movie had.
We still have the characters from the first movie here. Cody owns a surf school and is still at odds with his rival Tank who also owns a surf school. They got some of the original voice cast back, but Cody is no longer voiced by Shia LeBeouf, instead, it is Jeremy Shada who is now voicing Cody and he does a decent enough job.
Coming to the island where Cody lives and works are The Hang 5. The Hang 5 are an elite team of surfers (The WWE crew) and Cody was a huge fan of them, so he throws a big party/dinner in their honor. He learns that they are on a quest to find a massive wave and surf it.
However, there is more to it than them just wanting to surf a big wave. The leader and owner of The Hang 5, Mr. McMahon (voiced by Vince himself) is looking for a replacement as he wants to retire. This leads Cody, Tank, and even Chicken Joe to follow them in hopes of becoming part of The Hang 5.
I have to be honest, the plot of the movie is nowhere near as good as the documentary style story that the first movie told. Also, while there are many wrestling related puns and nods to the WWE, why the heck was it decided that the WWE was a good fit for a movie about surfing penguins? It is not the worst animated movie I have seen, but after I watched it, I knew right away why this was a straight to DVD movie!
The most interesting thing about Surf’s Up 2: WaveMania is that there is a special release of this. Well, I say interesting, it is only interesting if you are a wrestling fan! They made a special release of this movie that would come packaged with a WWE figure, they used a few different figures, but some of them are far rarer than others and it has made it a bit of a collector’s item.
Did I hate Surf’s Up 2: WaveMania? I would have to say that I did not. How they convinced someone like The Undertaker to lend his voice to the movie is pretty amazing. It is pretty inoffensive stuff, but do not expect to be as thrilled as you are with some of the other Sony Pictures Animation movies or even the first Surf’s Up for that matter.
