Yup, crazy huh? To be frank, I didn't see that coming either; I was just in it for the penguins. At that, it certainly delivers, with some of the cutest baby penguins ever being plentiful throughout. Plus, the other characters were all pretty awesome too, notably the chicken and the small long-legged bird thing. And of course, the voice talent was excellent all around with the top 3 standouts being Zooey Deschanel, Jeff Bridges and Shia Labeouf. But that's all stuff that you'd find in a generic kids' CGI movie. And this movie has a lot more to it than that.
First and most obvious is the documentary style that is used to great effect here. It really gives it a fresh, new and most of all original feel, with the camera crew actually being an (unseen) character, "real" camera effects like grain or fisheye being used during some scenes, interviews with pretty much all of the characters and TV sequences and old (in the narrative) footage being shown.
Then, you've got the wonderful exploration of different themes from the surfer lifestyle, that leaves you guessing as to what will happen and what the actual moral of the story will be in the end. Now, my fascination with said themes might have a lot to do with my enjoyment of the film, so be aware of that... Still, I think everyone has something to learn from it.
Finally, this is a visually stunning piece of art. Water and waves glimmer as sunlight shines through, or crash and explode into white flurries on the arctic coast. The environments are truly used to full effect, and supplemented by the great animation, design and facial emotions.
So while it may look like just another talking animal CGI formulaic adventure, this is actually full of heart and very unique. It might not have Pixar's thematic and emotional subtlety, but it makes up for it with other, newer strengths.
In a sentence:
A fresh and original take on the fascinating surfing subculture, with gorgeous imagery and freaking penguins!