Captain Underpants has finally arrived to bare it all on the big screen. And whether you’re a kid or a grownup, you won’t want to look away. Dreamworks’ colorful animation fits this cherished children’s epic adventure with great ease. You won’t mind getting caught up in the childish antics and humor. Why? Because its innocent, rambunctious fun is contagious, and not to be seen without a smile. Better not let me catch you bringing any lamebrain snootiness to this movie. Captain Underpants ain’t got time for that.
Best buds George (Kevin Hart) and Harold (Thomas Middleditch) are exceedingly imaginative kids and make quite the mischievous tag team. Comic books are their passion and they’ve got quite the superhero of their own. George feeding the words and Harold bringing them to life with his drawings is what makes their wild fantasies pop on the page. That is, until one day their tighty-whitey savior is unleashed for real.
Principal Krupp (Ed Helms) is the boy’s arch-nemesis and has had enough of their pranks. Thanks to that little snitch Melvin (Jordan Peele), Krupp finally gets the proof to tear Goeroge and Harold’s friendship to shreds. Before he can put them in to separate classes, Krupp is hypnotized by a cereal box ring, and with a snap of their fingers, George and Harold’s dashingly dimwitted, unbearably enthusiastic Captain Underpants (Ed Helms is him too) is here in the flesh. And just in time, because he will need to come to the rescue of the entire Jerome Horwitz Elementary School after hiring wacko Professor Poopypants (Nick Kroll) as the new Science teacher. As if his name didn’t already make you suspicious, his endgame is to wipe out laughter from our brains!
Sorry I yelled. I got a tad bit scared at the thought of that.
Directors Mark Caballero, Seamus Walsh, and David Soren give the material a boost of inventiveness and jaunty spirit that compliment the genial goofiness of the bestselling book series. As juvenile as Captain Underpants may be, and it absolutely is, there’s a sweet message about friendship. When it’s as strong as George and Harold’s, it’s going to take a lot more than being in different classrooms to break their bond.
Captain Underpants bounces with absurdity, but soars with winning originality and playfulness. No matter your age, the sound of laughter is constant and the entire family can share it with this one. And I promise it won’t be stolen. I hope not any way.
Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
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