Underdog (2007)

Underdog is the newest breed of TV-shows-turned-movies (Alvin and the Chipmunks is coming soon), and it succeeds far more than it has any right to. Jason Lee seems to have an amazing amount of fun, and the other cast members look like they're having a blast. Underdog ends up being loads of fun, especially for a little children's movie. It has everything to satisfy the youngsters, and it is full of grown-up jokes and humor; it's short and sweet, and never drags itself out to much, which seems to be the case with other films in the genre (Garfield: The Movie, anyone?) Underdog is directed by Frederik Du Chau, who also directed the forgettable and dull Racing Stripes and the underrated animated flick, Quest for Camelot.

After seemingly failing at everything, a beagle named Shoeshine obtains super powers after a lab accident. He befriends a young boy, who helps him come up with a secret identity, and the dog eventually becomes the superhero Underdog. As Shoeshine learns about his new powers and accepts his abilities, he must face Dr. Barsinister and his evil henchman, Cad, to save the town after they become obsessed with obtaining his DNA.

The acting and the quirky humor are the best parts about the film, although some of the jokes don't really stick. There are several fun gags and characters scattered throughout the film, although Underdog himself clearly takes center stage. The special effects were also superb, and the voice acting (and normal acting) is perfect. While it does have some similarities to many other films in the genre, it does things in such a fashion that everything seems new again! Overall, Underdog was a very cute and enjoyable movie. It won't be winning awards or anything, but it was a very fun summer movie that kids and adults will like. My expectations were pretty low, but the movie surprised me with its smooth direction, a great cast, and pretty good story. While it wasn't as fleshed-out as it could have been, they might have done this intentionally. I think I smell a sequel in the near future, and I would welcome it with it open arms! This premise showed a lot of promise, and hopefully the sequel could improve upon the original, although it is great as it is. Underdog was a great family film, although far from being perfect. 7/10

Fmovies: 'Underdog' is a dog super-hero, originally a comic strip creation, and here played by a live beagle. This film is a wild and unrestrained satire on comic book superheroes, which makes fun of Superman in particular. Here Underdog wears a Superman-style cape as he flies, and he changes costume in a payphone booth. He is always saving people in distress. All the dogs in this film talk, and underdog's voice is by Jason Lee. This film is not a classic ultra-hilarious comedy in the mould of BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA (2008, see my review, soon to be followed by BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA 2, which is eagerly awaited by the entire Dog Kingdom and people like me too). But it is funny enough to give a lot of laughs and be most enjoyable. All those soreheads who have given bad reviews for this film clearly do not love dogs, or have no sense of humour, or both. It comes as a shock to see the Mayor in this film played by John Slattery, as now that he has subsequently played Roger Sterling in MAD MEN and is etched on all our brains forever as that person, we can never allow him to be another character again. How dare he play somebody else earlier in his career! Amy Adams gives a very good voice for Polly, the canine girlfriend of Underdog. As the film tagline says, Underdog is 'saving the world, one paw at a time', but he is making those of us who know how to laugh do so two guffaws at a time. The sillier this film gets, the funnier it gets. That is because it is silly on purpose. Geddditttt?

When Underdog the cartoon debuted in 1964, at the age of 7 I was hooked immediately. He was Top Dog (pun intended) in my book-(that is, until Batman premiered on ABC a year or so later). Even when it was clear that Disney was going to make a live-action version of the once popular Saturday morning cartoon, it was equally clear to me that it was going to be a piece of crap. Even reading the reviews in the papers seemed to confirm this. However, I made it a point to: a) never attempt to write a review unless I have seen the movie from start to finish; and b) never to spend one red cent on a movie that I'm almost certain I will hate.

Thanks to YouTube I: a) am fully qualified to write this review; and b) it only cost me 84 minutes of my hard earned time.

It also proves my point, namely, that this movie is not merely a piece of crap. It's a steaming pile of dog droppings. It resembles the TV series in name only, even though they almost got it right with Simon and Cad.

All in all, Underdog is a huge waste of time- and money, which thankfully, I didn't have to spend.

Rating: 1/2* out of *****

Underdog fmovies. When I heard Disney had the rights to "Underdog",I figured at the very least it would be a cool Pixar partnership affair,and we'd get a great Adults & Kids film like "The Incredibles". Alas...I forgot how Disney must dumb down classic material for today's dumbed down youth. What were they thinking? "Underdog" was a product of the 60's,your Prime Fanbase is in their 40's and 50's,why would you refocus it to 5 year olds? It should have been done ala "Roger Rabbit",half animated half real. Instead we get characters like Riff Raff ( a WOLF!! ) dumbed into another dog."Underdog" can't have an "energy pill",as we're now so "enlightened" it would obviously be a steroid or drugs reference.The only good casting was Patrick Warburton as "Cad" because he actually sorta resembles the cartoon version. Otherwise,old school "Underdog" fans should avoid this like the plague it is. What next? A live action version of "The Go-Go Gophers" disguised as a re-visionist history lesson? ( My advanced apologies if Disney jumps on this! )

They did it again: ripped off an old show's title, then destroyed the nostalgia with boring "re-imagined" stuff. The '60's cartoon was one of the funniest of its time, a good-natured satire of super hero comic books. The character was drawn as 1/2 way between animal and human, the way Mickey Mouse is. Here they use a real beagle; that's about the same as making a Mickey Mouse watch with a real rat.

Most of the clever schtick that made the original show funny is missing from this film. Instead, we get a clumsy ex-police dog who's even dumber than Cad. And some pet owners who add nothing to the story. Cheesy effects (the dog-talking animation is embarrassing). Poor scripting. A stereotyped dwarf playing Simon Bar Sinister. The gravelly noise box guy they hired to voice Underdog is painful. You'd think they'd at least gotten a voice impressionist to approximate Wally Cox's humorously distinctive voice for Underdog. But no. There are, at least, a few affectionate references to the source material (such as the rhyming lines), which lift it to a 4.

Only small children that love dogs may enjoy this. Everybody else should get a DVD of the original cartoon series. Watch this only in desperation.

This movie was fun to watch, even for us adults. The humor was spot on, and the acting was what you'd expect. Jason Lee was great as Underdog's voice. Get this movie when it comes out on DVD. It's worth your while for a few chuckles with the kids. Even though it's aimed at kids, both my wife and I liked it, and honestly, I usually don't like kid's movies. I think they are usually way to low on the intelligence and believability scale. This one, actually had a decent story that didn't stray into stupidity and utter ridiculousness that most kid's movies do. Once again, go see this movie, or get the DVD when it comes out, you can see it again and again.