In 1997, children’s author, Dav Pilkey, released book called, “The Adventures Of Captain Underpants.” It’s about two best friends named, George & Harold, known for being pranksters at their school, due to their shenanigans, their principal, Mr. Krupp is finally fed up with their pranks, as he’s about to punish them, the boys use a hypnotizing ring to make Krupp act like the titular superhero from the comics the duo create in their spare time. At first, the problem’s solved, but it turns out that Captain Underpants is an unintelligent manchild who thinks he has powers like Superman, causing the boys to receive a reality check.
The book went on to spawn a series of follow ups and spin-offs, involving new characters. Captain Underpants eventually became an instant classic among young book readers. There are currently 12 published books from the main series, the final entry called, “Captain Underpants And The Sensational Saga Of Sir Stinks-A-Lot,” was released in 2015.
The first book caught the attention of movie studio, DreamWorks, to come up with a film adaptation, but the author of the book, didn’t want to sell the film rights to DreamWorks. In order to persuade him, DreamWorks invited Dav to the studio with every single employee wearing underwear outside of their trousers, causing Dav to laugh out loud, and as a result, Dav finally approved DreamWorks that he’s willing to allow the studio to adapt his work. Development didn’t start until DreamWorks Animation won the film rights in an auction. After six years of development, casting Ed Helms, (The Hangover Trilogy, Andy Bernard from The Office) as the titular character, writing, and distributing to Fox, we’ve finally get to witness Captain Underpants’ big screen debut.
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie, was released on the same day as Wonder Woman. It received positive reviews from critics and fans alike. Plus, the film made enough revenue at the box office.
The following review doesn’t contain any SPOILERS. Feel free to read this article if you’ve never seen the movie yet. Is this movie on the same page as the books? Well, let’s find out shall we?
Good: Kevin Hart, Thomas Middleditch, Ed Helms, Nick Kroll, Jordan Peele & Kristen Schaal, all did a hilarious job on their respective performances.
Nick Kroll’s character, Professor P, stole the show as The Villain. He has an unfortunate real name similar to his character from Sausage Party. Plus, he has an interesting backstory on why he hates being called by his real name.
Professor P describing the average brain of a child, pretty much sums up my personality traits. I’m not kidding, he’s basically describing me if I was in the movie. I’m giving this scene Bonus Points for making me feel flattered.
C.G.I. Animation matches the look of the film. I’m gonna give the animators an Extra Point, for including one scene which pays tribute to Captain Underpants’s 2D hand drawn animation.
The Storyline is a combination of the first four books complete in one gigantic package.
Slapstick filled with toilet humor is retained from the books, the jokes managed to give me a bunch of laughs and they’re used effectively.
George & Harold constantly “Break The Fourth Wall.” It means they talk to the audience on what’s going on in the story. If you’ve seen Deadpool, you probably know what I’m talking about.
Character Development involving George & Harold, alongside Principal Krupp/Captain Underpants. Without giving too much away, Krupp has a hidden layer within his dark side.
Jerome Elementary School, which is the name of the school George & Harold attend, is named after Curly’s (from The Three Stooges) actual birth name.
There’s a Mid Credits Scene which is played for laughs. It’s optional if you want to see what it is.
Weird Al Yankovic contributes the theme song to Captain Underpants during The End Credits Sequence.
Evil: I couldn’t find anything wrong with this film. I’ll have to give The Cast & Crew an Extra Point for making Captain Underpants as flawless as possible.
The Final Verdict: A, FOR APEX!
In my opinion, Captain Underpants kept me entertained from beginning, middle, and end. If you grew up reading the books or if you’ve never read them before, I strongly recommend this movie for you and your family.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 