'Surf’s Up' Is Back: Animated Film Returns as TV Series

Originally posted on SURFER | By Dashel Pierson | Last updated Sep 25, 2025 2:45 PM ET

A teenaged penguin, hailing from the frosty shores of Antarctica, with dreams of traveling to tropical locales, surfing perfect waves, and turning pro.

That’s essentially the plot of the 2007 animated film, Surf’s Up, starring the voices of Shia LaBeouf (as the main character, Cody Maverick), Jeff Bridges (as the salty old legend, Big Z), and comedic relief from John Heder (most famous for Napoleon Dynamite, but in this film, plays Chicken Joe). There are also cameos from Kelly Slater, Rob Machado, and Selema Masakela. And it’s all shot in a mockumentary style, à la This Is Spinal Tap.

The film was even nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 200 Academy Awards, although lost to Pixar’s Ratatouille. Now, according to reports, the story of surfing penguins will return – this time on the small screen – as an animated TV series.

Regarding the plot of the new series, here’s a synopsis from Deadline:

“The series will follow an over-confident teen penguin named Flip, who teams a zany bunch of young surfers in his attempt to become a surf legend. Things go spectacularly wrong and the wipeouts are spectacular, so they instead they build their own surf community on Pen Gu Island. Characters from the movie such as Cody, Big Z and Chicken Joe will return.”

Although it’s said that characters from the original film will return in the animated series, no word if they’ll be voiced by the original cast. TBD on that.

“Our team at Atomic is thrilled to be working on Surf’s Up: The Series and for the opportunity to introduce these adored characters to the small screen, reaching new and existing fans of the iconic animated film,” said Twiner McCarron, the CEO of Atomic in addition to Thunderbird.

It’s well-known that Hollywood has a knack for reboots and sequels, so bringing back the Surf’s Up franchise is not that big of a surprise. But surfing penguins (and a chicken) making a comeback in a mockumentary. A bit out of left field. Go figure.

TBD on the release date for Surf's Up: The Series.

This article first appeared on SURFER and was syndicated with permission.

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