CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS: THE FIRST EPIC MOVIE [BLU-RAY] (2017)

SYNOPSIS: Based on the bestselling book series, DreamWorks Animation presents the long-awaited global movie event, Captain Underpants. This outrageous family comedy tells the story of two overly imaginative pranksters, George (Kevin Hart) and Harold (Thomas Middleditch), who hypnotize their principal (Ed Helms) into thinking he's an enthusiastic, yet dimwitted, superhero named Captain Underpants.

MOVIE REVIEW:

Strangely, with material consisting of 12 novels and a strong fanbase, Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie became the first major DreamWorks movie that was never released in theaters locally. For an animation chock full of lowbrow toilet humour, it’s surprisingly very entertaining (even for adults) and of course doesn’t hide the fact that it is tailored squarely for the younger kids.   

George Beard (Kevin Hart) and Harold Hutchins (Thomas Middleditch) are two fourth-graders who often prank their schoolteachers and spending their after-school days doodling comics in their treehouse. The only person dead on separating the two of them is the mean school principal, Krupp (Ed Helms). Until one fateful day; Krupp is accidentally hypnotized by George who turned him into their own comic creation, Captain Underpants! When a mad scientist named Professor Pee-Pee Diarrheastein Poopypants(Nick Kroll) appears to rid the world of laughter, the unlikely Captain Underpants is called upon to save the world.   

Thanks to Nicolas Stoller’s (Neighbours, Stork) screenplay which stayed true to the spirit of Dave Pilkey’s novels. The movie is a blast to watch from start to finish. In fact, it’s probably more entertaining than imagining all the fart gags and Krupp’s alter ego, Captain Underpants in his white undies and red cape on paper. Conservatives on the other hand might have problem accepting the fact that why our two young heroes are questioning authority all the time. Besides this obvious problem, the rest of the movie actually has other positive underlying messages such as the importance of friendship, embracing creativity and inventive spirit.

When we mentioned the word creativity, the filmmakers even sneaked in crayon drawings, a flipbook and our favourite of all, an outrageous sequence featuring the use of sock puppets! It’s definitely a cheap but effective way to tell a story. There’s even a catchy theme song contributed by “Weird Al” Yankovic. The boisterous voice performers such as Hart, Middleditch and Helms has no shortage of energy to keep things going at a breakneck pace.  

Instead of waiting for the next tired instalment of Shrek or Madagascar, we recommend this epic adventure of an unlikely superhero. Besides having a good time laughing with the family, you will find yourself learning a new meaning of the word, Uranus too. “Tra la laa!”

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Continuing the tradition of DreamWorks home entertainment releases, the blu-ray edition comes with a galore of pardon the pun, brief special features targeted at kids including The Really Cool Adventures of Captain Underpants Motion Comic (2:52), The Captain Underpants Guide to Being a Hero (3:51), The Professor Poopypants (Totally Original and Supercool) Guide to Being a Villain (3:53), Missing Underpants: The Deleted Scenes of Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (11:00), Captain Underpants Lyric Video by "Weird Al" Yankovic (2:15), "A Friend Like You" Lyric Video by Andy Grammer (3:45),Tighty-Whitey Q&A With the Stars Part 1 & 2 (2:04), Kevin Hart and Ed Helms Surprise Fans (2:07), Lunch Lady PSA with Kristen Schaal (1:02), Sock Puppets Real Stars(0:27), Gallery, Trailer, Music Videos and Sneak Peeks. 

AUDIO/VISUAL:

Despite being an outsourced project for DreamWorks, Captain Underpants soars in hi-definition. Colour is vibrant, detailing more so. The DTS-Master Audio delivers a perfect aggressive listening experience but we are sure kids won’t mind the difference between a Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS 7.1 if you don’t possess the latter. 

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee