The animation team pored over videos of renowned surfers like Greg Knolls, Sunny Garcia, Rob Machado, and Kelly Slater. They scrutinized such top surfing documentaries as The Endless Summer (1966), Step Into Liquid (2003), Second Thoughts (2004) and Riding Giants (2004) to better understand the sport and what characteristics those movies shared.

They also tapped champion surfers like Kelly Slater and Rob Machado to add expert authenticity.

The film profiles teenage Rockhopper penguin Cody Maverick (Shia LaBeouf), an up-and-coming surfer, as he enters his first pro competition. Followed by a camera crew to document his experiences, Cody leaves his family and home in Shiverpool, Antarctica to travel to Pen Gu Island for the Big Z Memorial Surf Off. Along the way, Cody meets Sheboygan surfer Chicken Joe (Jon Heder), famous surf promoter Reggie Belafonte (James Woods), surf talent scout Mikey Abromowitz (Mario Cantone), and spirited lifeguard Lani Aliikai (Zooey Deschanel), all of whom recognize Cody's passion for surfing, even if it's a bit misguided at times. Cody believes that winning will bring him the admiration and respect he desires, but when he unexpectedly comes face-to-face with a washed-up old surfer (Jeff Bridges), Cody begins to find his own way, and discovers that a true winner isn't always the one who comes in first.

This fun animated comedy is shot in a mockumentary style and follows a camera crew as they go behind the scenes at the Penguin World Surfing Championship. Surf's Up was made to feel like a documentary because the camera motion was captured from a real camera.

To help capture what it feels like to take a board out to the sea, most of the Surf's Up crew also took surfing lessons and shot hours of reference video before they applied their own considerable artistry to this daunting task.