In an effort to squeeze every dollar out of the “March of the Penguins” craze, and mimic the success of Warner Bros.’ “Happy Feet,” the latest animated tale made to capitalize on the enchanting Antarctic fowl is “Surf’s Up.” While it’s hard to imagine there’s any need for another penguin saga (it arrives in a summer movie season primarily dominated by sequels and film franchises), this picture is surprisingly entertaining and benefits from an original story concept co-written by directors Chris Buck and Ash Brannon.

As part of a surfing documentary, a film crew follows the adventures of a misunderstood teenage penguin, Cody Maverick (voiced by Shia LaBeouf), who trades his job of sorting fish in his hometown of Shiverpool for a chance to enter a professional surfing contest.

Catching a ride on top of a whale, Cody meets up with the gregarious Chicken Joe (voiced by Jon Heder) and soon they arrive at Pen Gu Island, a surfer’s paradise. Awed by tales of his idol, Big Z, who is rumored to have perished in a “wipeout,” Cody befriends Lani (Zooey Deshchanel), an island-savvy lifeguard, while simultaneously making a quick enemy of the reigning champion Tank Evans (Diedrich Bader), who arranges for the diminutive penguin to have a disastrous first-run at the waves.

With his body and pride wounded, Cody is carried (by Lani) into a tropical forest retreat, in order to recover and train with Geek (voiced by Jeff Bridges), an aging recluse who offers the tenacious surfer a “crash-course” in discovering that riding a wave is more about having fun than it is about winning contests.

The actors infuse personality and wit into the characters by inflecting the voice-over contributions with an easygoing and natural speaking style. Somewhat akin to a Christopher Guest “mockumentary,” the performers often banter back and forth adding an unscripted realism to the dialogue. Fine production values and art direction also provide for some spectacular surfing scenes and a visually compelling concept of what beach-dwelling penguins might look like.

With a bit of a sports-history lesson in the art of surfing as well as a charming message about honor and friendship, “Surf’s Up” is likely to enjoy a long and thus lucrative run at the box office.

(Three out of four stars.)

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