Who is Cody Maverick's surfer friend in the 2007 movie "Surf's Up"?

Cody Maverick’s surfer friend in the 2007 animated film Surf’s Up is Chicken Joe. He is a friendly, carefree rooster from Sheboygan, Wisconsin, who meets Cody while traveling to the Big Z Memorial Surf-Off. Although Cody is the ambitious young penguin at the center of the story, Chicken Joe becomes his closest friend and one of the film’s main sources of comic relief.

Chicken Joe’s relaxed personality contrasts with Cody’s intense desire to prove himself as a surfer. He is easily distracted, speaks in a laid-back style and often seems oblivious to danger, but his loyalty is genuine. Their friendship becomes especially important when Cody faces pressure from Tank Evans, the competition’s intimidating champion, and learns that surfing is about more than winning.

Jon Heder, best known for Napoleon Dynamite, provides Chicken Joe’s voice. The character returned in the 2017 direct-to-video sequel Surf’s Up 2: WaveMania, where he is presented as a more established surfer. Viewers sometimes confuse Chicken Joe with Big Z or Lani Aliikai, but Big Z is Cody’s surfing idol and Lani is the competition’s lifeguard.