While Pixar has gone for realism, Sony seems to have gone for stylized looks for their movies, and Surf's Up is no exception.
Visually, this movie looks awesome. Like many CGI movies, Surf's Up is best seen on blu-ray.
Story wise Surf's Up is a typical kid's movie in that it contains morals but it is not overly apparent or is detriment to the enjoyment of the movie. The documentary style this movie adopts in places provides a novel way of narrating the story without losing tempo.
There is no scary or questionable bits in this movie making it perfectly suitable for kids. In fact the parts that could be scary are made into comedy to further the story line.