Johnny Tsunami: O Surfista da Neve

I really enjoyed the surfing, skiing and snow boarding scenes. Johnny Tsunami and his grandson and his friends were very like able characters.

On the other hand, The prep school characters were stereotyped and hard to believe and, having lived and skied in Vermont, I was disappointed with their poor imitation of that awesome state. Background info implies that they were actually skiing in Utah- so why couldn't they use Utah in the story line? The most ridiculous scene is the "luau" they have in the backyard of their Vermont home right after a snow sport race: some people are bundled in winter coats and hats while others are in Hawaiian shirts with no coat and it's obviously warm with no snow to be seen! Come on-Winter on the mountain and summer in the valley? Maybe in Hollywood, but not in Vermont!

Young Johnny Kapahala from Hawaii has two great loves in life, surfing and his grandfather, the latter teaching him all about the former. The grandfather is known throughout the Hawaiians Islands as the legendary Johnny Tsunami. And young Mr. Kapahala shows every indication of inheriting that name and all that goes with it.

But Johnny's parents played by Yuji Okumoto and Mary Page Keller are going to be moving to Vermont where Johnny is going to get to go to a fashionable prep school because Okumoto is going to teach computer programming.

The free and easy life of Hawaii contrasts with the snobbery he finds among all the young yuppies of the future. And while Johnny finds he's managed to adapt his surfing skills to snowboarding, the ruling elite in the school are skiers as headed by an especially snotty young preppie in Zachary Bostrum.

It's a Disney Channel production so don't expect the best in the way of acting, but Johnny Tsunami has two very good things going for it. Nice location photography both in Hawaii and Vermont and very good chemistry between Brandon Baker and Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa as the junior and senior Tsunamis. Their scenes together are really something special.

Johnny Tsunami proved to be one of the most popular of Disney features, warranting a sequel, Johnny Kapahala, Back on Board with most of the same cast. I've always maintained Hawaii is so beautiful it's almost impossible to make a bad picture there. At least I've seen very few of them.

Look also for a good performance by Gregory Itzin as the headmaster of the prep school whose attitudes are most reflected by the student body.

Go "Richter" with this 1999 Old DCOM (Disney Channel Original Movie), "Johnny Tsunami." It is about a boy from Hawaii who liked to surf, but because his father had found a great job opportunity way, way, WAY far away from Hawaii (like, say, Vermont), Johnny had to give up on his surfing and make adjustments to his life. He attended a very nice private school and, while a silly rule stated that everyone there had to ski, Johnny decided to try snowboarding, likely because it's like surfing, but on snow. So this leads me to the $64,000 question:

"Which side will he choose?????"

This movie, as well as the question above, teaches us a lesson about how we should live life and what type of friends we should have. It almost reminds me of Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken:"

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I; I had taken the road less traveled by, And that has made all the difference."

"Johnny Tsunami" is just like that. Watch it!

10/10

Johnny lives with his parents in Hawaii, where his grandfather is the legendary Johnny Tsunami, an accomplished surfer. Young Johnny's father, Pete, has serious misgivings about his own father's more unconventional lifestyle and decides to move the family to Vermont. He does this, in part, to get the teenage Johnny away from his love of surfing and into a more serious role as a dedicated student. As one can see, to travel from Hawaii to snowy Vermont is quite a change in venue and 13 year old Johnny has some big adjustments to make. He has to find new friends and new activities. But, the stuffy students at the private academy his father chose tend to snub him. Instead, Johnny makes friends with the so-called urchins (public school students) in town and takes up snowboarding. Yet, complications continue to present themselves. Will Johnny adjust to his new life? This is a fine and funny film for families everywhere. Despite all of his problems, young Johnny continues to have an attitude as sunny as the beach on Oahu and it is very infectious. All of the actors do a great job and the production values are quite nice. Most of all, the settings, in both Hawaii and Vermont, are picture perfect and wonderful to behold. Are you looking tonight for a film to entertain your loved ones? This lovely film is an excellent choice that will have everyone cheering.

I never expected to enjoy this movie, but trust it was really good. The movie's your classic teen trying to fit in story. Johnny, a Hawaiian surfer moves to Vermont. He doesn't fit in with his preppy peers at his school, so he makes friends with kids from a rival school. His peers consider him a traitor, and soon they get him in trouble with his principal and his parents. Guided by his grandfather's wisdom, Johnny finds a way to solve problems. What makes this movie so good, is the way Johnny struggles to fit in. Reminds me of "Angus."