Directed by David Soren
Starring Ed Helms, Kevin Hart, and Thomas Middleditch
If you didn't read the Captain Underpants books when you were a kid, man you missed out. They're just so engaging, creative, and ridiculous. They're also still in publication so if you or your kids need a new read or something to laugh at I recommend you head on down to the library or bookstore.
Anyway there comes a time in every book or book series' run, where it becomes so popular, Hollywood comes to see it as an opportunity for a film or film series. Captain Underpants's time came and The First Epic Movie hits theaters this weekend via Dreamworks Animation. As someone who grew up with the books, I found it to be a pretty faithful adaptation and a fun film.
Like the first novel, the film centers around two young boy George Beard and Harold Hutchins (voiced by two very adult actors, Hart and Middleditch). George and Harold are best friends and the school pranksters. Their shenanigans make them a constant target of their grumpy school principal Mr. Krupp (Helms).
Finally Mr. Krupp catches the boys red-handed, and threatens to put them in separate classes, and to an extent destroy their friendship. In a last-ditch attempt to save themselves, the boys try to hypnotize Mr. Krupp with a "3D Hypno-Ring", a cheap plastic prize out of a cereal box. Surprisingly the ring works, and it's not soon after that George and Harold command Mr. Krupp to become Captain Underpants, the fictional superhero they spend their afternoons writing comics about.
This little gag backfires quickly when Captain Underpants rushes off to fight crime, and George and Harold have to keep him safe and under control. To make matters worse, a new science teacher named Professor Poopypants (Nick Kroll, and yes that's his name) arrives with some sinister motives.
So for the uninitiated, with names like Captain Underpants and Professor Poopypants, I think you can tell this a strange world of stories. There's no explanation for any of it though, and that's fine because that's a large part of the franchise's charm and this is a property targeted towards kids after all. The script follows the plot of the first book for the first half of the film, and then forges its own path, taking elements from the second and fourth, "Attack of The Talking Toilets" and "The Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants"..you can't make this stuff up.
Anyway think of it as similar to what the A Series of Unfortunate Events film did, but here it's more effective...you could argue that's in part due to the weight of the books being adapted but it works. There's plenty of jokes and nods to the books that fans will get, while others might just chuckle and continue on. To build off that, many gags are geared towards the younger audiences, which is fine because again, that's what the books are too. Parents or older audiences might not like the film as much but it's still really entertaining. The spirit of the books is on perfect display here.
What's really great is at the heart of the film is a story of friendship and how it can evolve as we grow. It's really very sweet and a valuable lesson for kids. One thing about the film that kind of bugged me though was George and Harold spend a lot of time breaking the fourth wall, delivering exposition to the audience. It's fine at first but it starts to slow down the film, and for the record was not something that was done a lot in the books if I remember correctly.
Onto the voice cast. Again, Kevin Hart and Thomas Middleditch play George and Harold and they do a great job, but it's very noticeable that two adults are voicing our young protagonists. Were there no child voice actors leftover from The Peanuts Movie looking for work? Ed Helms gives a hilarious and spot-on performance as Mr. Krupp/Captain Underpants. When he belches out the hero's famous "TRA LA LAAA" you know he's right for the role. Nick Kroll is clearly having fun as Professor Poopypants, but I swear I've heard him do this German scientist voice before. To contrast Hart and Middleditch, Jordan Peele is unrecognizable as the class dork Melvin.
Can't review an animated film without talking about the animation. The animators did a spectacular job of bringing the illustrations of the books to life. Everything is so polished and vibrant, and I never noticed until they were brought into CGI but these characters kind of look life the Peanuts (Crossover?!?!?!). Building off that comparison the look of the film almost does look like hand-drawn animation with a 3D boost. Lastly, the theme song written and performed by Weird Al will get stuck in your head. No question.
To conclude Captain Underpants is a wonderful film that won't appeal to all ages like a Pixar or Disney film but can still be a pretty entertaining viewing. In terms of being an adaptation it's very, ahem, by the books *dodges tomatoes*. Seriously though this film is Captain Underpants brought to life, and personally I would love to see some sequels because the other book get even crazier.
Trust me when I tell you this is the highest, and most appealing form...of toilet humor....I'll see myself out.
Side note: This is probably Dreamworks Animation's best film in years, not counting any Kung Fu Pandas or How To Train Your Dragons....Side-side note: Where the heck is How To Train Your Dragon 3?
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