Surf’s Up 2: WaveMania appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.78:1 on this single-sided, double-layered DVD; the image has been enhanced for 16X9 televisions. This seemed like a decent but unexceptional presentation.
Sharpness took a hit. Much of the film offered fairly good delineation, but occasional instances of mild softness occurred. Even when I lowered my expectations to suit the SD-DVD format, I still thought definition came across as a little lackluster.
No issues with jagged edges or shimmering occurred. I also saw no signs of source flaws.
Colors tended toward a blue or purple tint. These showed moderately positive vivacity – they could’ve been more dynamic but they looked acceptable. Blacks were a bit inky, while shadows showed reasonable clarity. In truth, the movie looked perfectly fine, but I thought it was less than exemplary given expectations.
With a fair amount of action on display, WaveMania brought us an occasionally lively Dolby Digital 5.1 mix – though not one with a ton of ambition. Surfing scenes offered the highest levels of activity, as these used the five channels in a moderately peppy manner.
General ambience was less convincing, though, as the mix oriented toward “big moments” well but became less invested during other scenes. Still, the track added some life at times and had a few exciting moments.
Audio quality was fine. Music showed decent pep and range, while effects had moderate impact. Speech was natural and concise. Nothing here impressed, but the mix felt more than adequate.
A smattering of extras fill out the disc. Bloopers runs one minute, 20 second and provides the “fake goof-ups” pioneered by Pixar. They’re not especially amusing.
A featurette called Behind the Mic lasts three minutes, 55 seconds. It presents comments from actors John Cena, Triple H, and Michael Cole. “Mic” looks at cast, characters and performances. Little actual information appears in this puffy piece.
Next comes Chicken Joe’s Extreme Slaughter Island Tour. It fills five minutes, 10 seconds with observations about the movie’s main location. It offers basic educational comments about concepts found in the movie, so it may be interesting for kids.
How to Draw Your Favorite Characters breaks into three subsections. Presented by director Henry Yu, we get tutorials for JC (3:00), Cody (2:11) and Chicken Joe (3:00). This turns into a mildly fun experience.
Finally, Inside the Music with Toby Chu lasts three minutes, 30 seconds. Composer Chu discusses his work on the film in this short and only occasionally informative reel.
The disc opens with ads for Smurfs: The Lost Village, The Swan Princess: Royally Undercover, The Swan Princess: Princess Today, Pirate Tomorrow and The Angry Birds Movie, Apple Of My Eye and Open Season 3: Scared Silly. No trailer for WaveMania appears here.
Why did it take 10 years for a sequel to Surf’s Up to arrive? I have no idea, but the bland and forgettable Surf’s Up 2: WaveMania isn’t worth the wait. The DVD offers mostly good picture and audio as well as insubstantial supplements. Though not a terrible animated tale, WaveMania seems mediocre even at its best.