Underdog
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Movie Reviews of Underdog
Movie Review: Great for kids
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great movie for little ones. My daughters, 5 and 3, enjoyed it a great deal.Movie Review: Have No Fear!
Summary: 4 Stars
When I was a kid, one of my favorite cartoon heroes was Underdog. He was like Superman, only not as serious and certainly not as skilled. His city had to have been running out of phone booths, because every time he changed from his secret identity of Shoeshine Boy to Underdog, the phone booth blew up. Super, yeah. But not so talented.
And he talked in rhyme. Everything was a couplet. His questions and answers all rhymed and there was never any explanation as to why he had a quirk like that. Best of all, the character was voiced by Wally Cox, who had the nerd voice down pat and whose underplayed emotions even at critical times were terrifically funny.
The cartoon series started in 1964 and ran for 124 episodes. It was revived again and again as comic books, and even as a radio show, but never as a movie until Walt Disney films produced it and released it in 2007.
My son watched the movie in the theater and thought it was great. He's ten, older than I was when I first discovered Underdog. The movie is also live-action (with MAJOR CGI effects) which lends itself to the younger crowd. And it stars a cute beagle as the main character. If you're a kid, what's not to love?
I sat down with my son and popped the DVD into the player. Truthfully, I wasn't expecting much, but I can be a ten year old kid with the best of them. When the remix of the show's theme song came on, I have to admit that I got excited and carried away, and even started singing along (the words that I could remember).
The movie gave Underdog a police dog background that I wasn't exactly ecstatic about. But it had him screwing up and immediately drawing sympathy, so it worked.
In fact, the story pulls in the origins of so many things that weren't explained in Underdog's original cartoon run. Never once did the series tell how Underdog got his powers. It did mention the Underdog Super Energy Vitamin Pill, which gave Underdog a "lift," and that got edited out to some degree once drug awareness started kicking into the kid's cartoon. But no one mentioned where the pills came from. The movie takes care of that, but it doesn't give Underdog the nifty little ring he kept his Underdog pill in.
The movie explains where the costume came from as well as the name. It even tells viewers how Underdog got the name Shoeshine, which my son and I found particularly hilarious.
Some of the cartoon purists seem to hate the movie, but I thought it was really well done. It brought the idea of a super-powered dog into the real world (well, as "real" as that could be) and paired him up with a kid (Jack played by Alex Neuberger). Their dialogue and twist on the normal boy/dog relationship is great.
Peter Dinklage stars as Simon Bar Sinister, the diminutive mad scientist that constantly plagued Underdog in the cartoon series. There are moments when he steals the show and he is awesome. Patrick Warburton, his hair appropriately styled, stars as Cad, Simon's henchman, and is a riot with his deadpan delivery and his thesaurus that only has the P section left.
Although UNDERDOG isn't the most stunning film ever made, it's a great family film. The pacing moves along so that even the little guys will be kept entertained, and the characterization (and Jason Lee's voice portrayal of Underdog) is well done. It's a goofy little movie well worth watching, and will probably be watched again by the kids.
The special features section is well done, and most of the kid will be interested in the behind-the-scenes feature showing how everything was done. I know my kid loved the sections where they showed how the dogs were put into wire harnesses to "fly."
This is one for the kids, and one for the grownups who can remember being kids. There's no need to fear, Underdog is here!
Movie Review: Furry Family Fun
Summary: 4 Stars
When I first heard that Disney was going to be putting out a live action version of "Underdog," I cringed at the thought. How could one make a live action film based on a cartoon who's key character was A) a dog, B) interacted freely with humans and other animals and C) was definitely a product of its times? Sure, the "Scooby-Doo" films have been out for awhile, but Scooby (and his cousins) were the only animals that interacted with anyone and their update was a fair success. Although Disney's answer wasn't 100% perfect, it was definitely a good response.
What the writers did was simplify the original tale somewhat. Instead of having Underdog interact with humans by being a shoeshine boy, he became an out-of-luck former police dog who's picked up by the caring-but-tense family of James Belushi and Alex Neuberger. They name him "Shoeshine." They also made the rest of the animals, namely Polly and Riff-Raff, only interact with Underdog and not the humans. Lastly, they firmly planted this film in 2007 by updating the lingo, the music, and the science that created Underdog.
Simon Barsinister (Peter Dinklage) and Cad (Patrick Warburton) are along for the ride and just like in the old TV show, they are Underdog's primary adversaries. Jason Lee provides the voice of the super pup, and gives him a refreshing update that I'm sure will tick off fans of the original cartoon.
The story, as mentioned earlier, is based around a not-so-hot police dog who's literally laughed off of the force by his comrades. He's picked up by Barsinister and Cad and becomes Underdog through a lab accident. He escapes from Barsinister and is picked up by another has-been cop, James Belushi. He's taken in by Belushi and his son and begins to form a strong bond with the boy. The rest of the story centers around Barsinister trying to capture Underdog to use his powers to take over the city and, eventually, the world. Along the way Shoeshine/Underdog falls for Polly, his new family gets closer, and he struggles with a catchphrase.
Sure, the story is simplistic and entirely unbelievable, but this is still a very good film to take your children to. I don't recall any harsh language but there is a little bit of violence and some puppy peril. At one point a particular pup gets into a deadly situation that might scare very young children. Just know that all turns out well in the end and I promise that your kids will be smiling before the movie is over.
This isn't a great film, but it is a very good family flick. The cast do an excellent job with what they have to work with and the special effects are of a similar (but slightly better) grade as those in other recent live-action flicks that involve CGI characters. I'm especially fond of Underdog's take-offs when he heads to the air.
Fans of the original series will probably cry foul over what has happened to their beloved Underdog. They do have a legitimate gripe but this film wasn't made to recall a ton of memories. It was made to draw in a modern crowd of youngsters and their families (some of which may not have even heard of the original show). The bottomline is this: It's a good family show that is enjoyable for both kids and their parents. Haggle over the changes if you must, but in the end, Disney has a winner with "Underdog."
Movie Review: UNDERDOG is back!
Summary: 4 Stars
At least for me he's back. As a kid growing up in the sixties I loved watching the "UNDERDOG SHOW"! Underdog was not the most graceful superhero (blowing up telephone booths, accidentally crashing through walls and destroying buildings left and right),but he was a true hero through and through. His catch theme "there's no need to fear underdog is here" very popular back then(Underdog always talkled in rhyme). and he was loved by many(myself included). I also always loved the Underdog theme which included the lyrics"a cry goes out from far and near for Underdog"! So when I first learned that Disney is making a live action version of the show I decided to hold judgement until I saw it. Past movies made from books or tv shows didn't fair to well (A Wrinkle in Time could have done much better if it was truer to the book). But, the preview of the movie looked promising. So I decided to just buy the movie rather than renting. I was not disappointed! The movie was great! It was very true to the original tv series(of coures some changes had to be made), but none-the-less it was a great movie. Fun for all ages 6 to 106! Those who choose to talk down the movie are just to rigid! I should know, I grew-up watching Underdog back in the sixties. True everyone has their own taste, but, I can't imagine anyone who loved Underdog not liking this movie, it's just good clean fun!!!(Maybe that's why some people don't like it, no bad language, no sex, no adult themes and no real violence.)Oh well you can't please everybody. But, you can please a lot of kids, parents and fans!Movie Review: Entertaining, wish it was a little more kid friendly
Summary: 4 Stars
Ok, I admit I watched too many Underdog cartoons as a child. Much to my wife's dismay I flip this movie into the DVD player just after midnight on new years (hey, it's fair game I had to sit through Sweeney Todd for her). Were lounged across the living room floor, and I have the home theatre system up way too loud as usual (Yes, I still like to play my music way too loud too).
The opening moments of the film were a little disappointing for me. It starts slow, and there are some tawdry moments in this script for sure. That being said it's a super hero movie!!! I mean do you really expect superb scripts and shakespearian acting? There is no plot, the acting is very disney channel in delivery, and there were a few lines children won't get that weren't funny to adults (and I felt a little inappropriate for a childrens movie). That all being said I actually enjoyed the movie. The cheesy lines were actually funny to me. The generic plot actually works for the movie, and the super hero dog is cute. I give it 3.8 stars. It really is a shame they didn't clean up the movie just a little. They could have made this a G film and it would have gotten 4.5 stars from me. As it stands it has some inappropriate innuendo I don't feel is appropriate for a childrens film. They just didn't target the right audience. Parents bring their children to these movies for the children. No need for secret innuendo in a failed attempt to entertain the parents as well. As I said 3.8 stars.