feelsalike.comSign in

Movies that feel like Surf's Up (2007)

If you loved Surf's Up, the closest films we have are Penguins of Madagascar (2014), Happy Feet (2006) and Chicken Run (2000). All three share Surf's Up's whimsical and witty feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 7 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video and Paramount Plus Premium and others, checked against today's data.

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.

🍅 78% Rotten Tomatoes6.7 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Ash Brannonwhimsicalwittyplayfulwarmcozy

Not on subscription streaming right now. Rent or buy below.

See it on the map

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

Penguins of Madagascar poster
Penguins of Madagascar
2014 · dir. Simon J. Smith
🍅 74%6.6family · 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!

Chicken Run poster
Chicken Run
2000 · dir. Peter Lord
🍅 97%7.1animation · comedy · family

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.

Chicken Little poster
Chicken Little
2005 · dir. Mark Dindal
🍅 36%5.7animation · family · comedy

Both keep coming back to the same thing: animals

The difference: Critics were much harder on this one

When the sky really is falling and sanity has flown the coop, who will rise to save the day? Together with his hysterical band of misfit friends, Chicken Little must hatch a plan to save the planet from alien invasion and prove that the world's biggest hero is a little chicken.

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie poster
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
2004 · dir. Stephen Hillenburg
🍅 68%7.2adventure · animation · comedy

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 · comedy

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.

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water poster
🍅 80%6adventure · animation · comedy

The same preoccupation in both: sea

Evil pirate Burger Beard is in search of the final page of a magical book that makes any evil plan he writes in it come true, but the final page happens to be the Krabby Patty secret formula. When Burger Beard endangers Bikini Bottom, SpongeBob, Patrick, Mr. Krabs, Squidward, Sandy, and Plankton must embark on a quest to retrieve the recipe and save their city...a quest that takes them to the surface world and transforms them into superheroes.

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

The same preoccupation in both: 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.

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.

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa poster
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
2008 · dir. Eric Darnell
🍅 64%6.7adventure · animation · comedy

Cozy animation, and it commits to that

Alex, Marty, and other zoo animals find a way to escape from Madagascar when the penguins reassemble a wrecked airplane. The precariously repaired craft stays airborne just long enough to make it to the African continent. There the New Yorkers encounter members of their own species for the first time. Africa proves to be a wild place, but Alex and company wonder if it is better than their Central Park home.

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted poster
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted
2012 · dir. Eric Darnell
🍅 78%6.8animation · family · comedy

Both lean on whimsy more than on comedy

Animal pals Alex, Marty, Melman, and Gloria are still trying to make it back to New York's Central Park Zoo. They are forced to take a detour to Europe to find the penguins and chimps who broke the bank at a Monte Carlo casino. When French animal-control officer Capitaine Chantel DuBois picks up their scent, Alex and company are forced to hide out in a traveling circus.

In the mood for more whimsical?

all whimsical movies →

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