The Movie
Underdog revives the 1960s/70s cartoon series of the same name based upon the heroic adventures of the show’s namesake, but it moves the tale into the non-animated world and adds some human elements to make the story more relatable, especially for young children.
Unfamiliar with the original series, I can’t attest to the authenticity of the movie with complete accuracy. However, based upon the original episode included as a special feature, it appears that much of the story was altered for the movie adaptation. The obvious move to live action aside, Disney shifted Underdog (voiced by Jason Lee) from a solo lead to more of a shared lead/supporting role, adding Jack Unger (Alex Neuberger) as the teenager who befriends Underdog. The two operate as a duo to fight crime, with Jack encouraging Underdog to use his superpowers to their full crime-fighting potential and Underdog encouraging Jack to revive his strained relationship with his father (Jim Belushi). The friendship that develops between the two adds many aspects common to a buddy movie.
Additionally, Underdog no longer perpetually speaks in rhyme (but he does so often enough for the audience to get the point), and he isn’t completely oblivious to the excessive collateral damage he causes (but that doesn’t necessarily mean that collateral damage is avoided).
These changes aren’t the downfall of the movie, though, and the friendship between Underdog and Jack actually adds a human element that improves upon the story by adding appropriate family-related themes to the entertainment value of the original series. Unfortunately, Disney would have done better to add a little more entertainment value, too. I suppose children won’t notice much, but I found it impossible to maintain a willing suspension of disbelief. I understand that the basic premise is physically impossible, but a good movie will make even the impossible believable in the context of the story, and Disney failed miserably in this area. As I said, children will likely have no trouble buying into the fantastic elements, but a family film should be enjoyable for both children and adults, and I’m afraid this one is not.
I can’t even really place my finger on exactly what hampered my appreciation of the film; perhaps there are simply too many problems to identify only one that stands out. In general, the plot was under-developed, over-simplistic, and entirely predictable; the characters are trite archetypes with no original degree of depth; and Underdog’s character was thoroughly inconsistent. For example, he frequently tries to convince Jack to make the effort to renew his relationship with his father, implying that the dog has a rather well-developed understanding of human relationships, but Underdog panics when he sees a hot dog vendor, naively thinking that the vendor is selling meat made from actual dogs.
The acting is similarly sub-par. Belushi, Neuberger, Peter Dinklage, Patrick Warburton, Taylor Momsen, and Amy Adams (as the voice of Polly) are thoroughly unremarkable, but not necessarily through their own fault, simply because the story doesn’t provide for any exceptional acting. Jason Lee gives the most memorable performance, although even he won’t be winning any awards for this movie. Lee’s wit provides an upgrade to the completely oblivious Underdog of the original series while maintaining a humor that is both simplistic enough to keep children laughing and delivered cleverly enough for adults to appreciate.
Ultimately, unless a parent wants to pass an intense childhood love of Underdog on to a new generation or a child has an intense love of dogs, better family films in general and Disney films in particular can be found. No aspect of the film is absolutely atrocious, but there is nothing original enough about Underdog to warrant viewing, and while children may find the movie entertaining enough, I would suggest finding a family film that is more satisfying to adult sensibilities if your child(ren) will be subjecting you to multiple viewings of the movie, in which children are known to indulge.
Special Features
Considering the unremarkable quality of the primary feature, the special features available on the DVD actually offer some refreshingly original content. The deleted scenes (with optional commentary by director Frederik Du Chau) should remain just such, deleted, as subjecting viewers to additional minutes of the feature film only prolongs exposure to sub-par and unoriginal content. The bloopers are similarly uninteresting, although children will likely find them funny and entertaining even if their adult counterparts find them to be a bit juvenile.
The remaining features, however, are surprisingly well-crafted considering the below-average quality of the DVD content to this point. The making-of feature, ‘Sit. Stay. Act: Diary of a Dog Actor’, not only provides an extended forum for Lee to exhibit his dry wit, but the feature is actually constructed with a moderate level of interactivity generally reserved for higher quality or high definition DVDs. The feature gives viewers the opportunity to watch extended interviews and behind-the-scenes footage by clicking when an icon appears on the screen. Granted, this interactivity is limited and simplistic, but it’s appropriate for children and it shows that Disney put at least some effort into this DVD. Unfortunately, the feature doesn’t provide much in the way of interesting insight into the film, but it’s enjoyable enough relative to the rest of the DVD.
The special features also include the music video for the movie’s theme song, “Underdog Raps”, as conveniently performed by Disney actor Kyle Massey. Again, the video is simplistic and unoriginal, but the song is fun and catchy enough. Finally, the first episode of the original Underdog cartoon series, “Safe Waif”, is included as a special feature. While perhaps less entertaining than the movie, after watching the entire film the original episode is short enough to warrant viewing for comparison to the movie, even if it’s not good for much else.
Presentation
The DVD presentation falls a bit closer to the second half of the special features, constructed with enough creativity to prove that Disney put at least a minimal amount of effort into this project. There is only moving video on the main and special features menus and only a transition between these two menus, but the mood of the menus is bright and airy, introducing the humorous tone of the movie and appropriately mimicking a superhero’s flight through the sky. Finally, one final touch that makes the menu setup stand out is the inclusion of brief, funny lines delivered by Lee as Underdog. If a menu is left idle for more than a couple of minutes, a quick rhyming couplet or witty remark is delivered, humorous on account of the thoughtfulness required for its inclusion more than for the content of the comments.
Overall
Familiar with the original cartoon series only through watching the original episode included on the DVD, I feel that many improvements were made for the movie adaptation. Human elements were added to make the story more relatable for children and the series’ namesake was updated to make him cleverer and less oblivious. Unfortunately, the movie still lacks certain intangibles that would fully update the story and make it contemporary. Children may not notice, but various inconsistencies make it difficult for adult viewers to maintain a willing suspension of disbelief, and while Jason Lee’s performance is characteristically witty, the story doesn’t allow for the actors to deliver memorable performances.
Ultimately, children may find Underdog enjoyable enough, but there are certainly many other family films that will better satisfy adult tastes while still keeping children entertained.
