After an accident in the mysterious laboratory of Dr. Simon Barsinister (Peter Dinklage), an ordinary beagle named Shoeshine (voice of Jason Lee) finds himself with extraordinary powers - the speed of a cheetah, the ability to fly like an eagle, and the strength of an animal 100 times his weight. After being taken in as a stray by Dan Unger (James Belushi) and his son Jack (Alex Neuberger), a young boy struggling with the loss of his mother, Shoeshine begins to discover his new powers and soon reveals them to Jack. It isn't long before Shoeshine dons a uniform and transforms into Underdog, a crime-fighting canine who vows to use his powers to protect the citizens of Capital City and, in particular, a spaniel named Polly (voice of Amy Adams). When a plot by Barsinister and his overgrown and moronic henchman Cad (Patrick Warburton) to destroy the city is discovered, there is only one dog that can shout out, "Have no fear, Underdog is here."
True fans of the Underdog cartoon - meaning people old enough to remember Woodstock (not the bird in the Peanuts cartoons) - will absolutely detest this movie. Why' Pretty much because it's not the cartoon and won't speak to adults the same way it will speak to children. This is a children-friendly movie, with a simple story-line that only a complete idiot would fail to understand, and it rings Disney from beginning to end. It has good morals and teaches lessons about coming to terms with your own identity, resolving family problems, as well as how to train a talking stray dog with super powers. The bad guy and his goon are not evil to the point where it will scare children - in fact, they are quite perfect for this type of movie, and go along with the cartoonish sound effects and masterful special effects. Disney tries to make a version of the cartoon without actually making a cartoon. And while children will be fascinated and laugh 1,000 times a minute when Underdog makes his signature crash landings, adults and fans of the original will, unfortunately, want to rip their faces off.
Underdog is supposed to be a parody of Superman - they both have secret identities, super powers, women (or puppies) fantasizing about being with him, and an entire police force relying on his abilities to do the job they're supposed to do. Underdog is basically, in a way, the poor man's (or the children's) Superman - and Disney does not try to hide that in the making of this movie. There is one instance where Underdog changes in a phone booth, and another where he sets up a late night rendezvous with Polly and takes her for a late night flight (a la Lois and Superman). In addition to all of this, Underdog wears a red shirt with a blue cape (Superman wears a red cape with a blue shirt). Knowing Underdog is supposed to be like Superman, it doesn't not bother me that there are so many similarities.
It does, however, bother me that there doesn't seem to be any attempt to make Underdog, a great cartoon, stand out on its own. It's just like the filmmakers decided to follow a simple formula, one that has worked for other Disney and superhero movies (and Superman), and not make this movie interesting for everyone - especially those who are familiar with Underdog. There are a few funny one-liners from the dog and Cad, but that's not enough to keep the attention of someone with an IQ higher than a door knob. What bothers me even more is the blatant Lady and the Tramp reference thrown into the movie, and the fact that some of the scenes where Underdog flies have the feel of the Spider-Man flicks (not to mention the fact that they take the whole "with great powers comes great responsibility" line right out of Spidey's world).
Even more problematic is the casting of Jason Lee as the voice of Underdog. It sounds like someone is holding a knife up to Lee's scrotum, threatening to perform a castration without anesthesia if he doesn't speak the role. There is very little, if any, enthusiasm in his voice. He's speaking the role of an iconic cartoon character, something that should be, in some way or another (even if the script is a little cheesy and childish), fun for an actor. Instead, it sounds like he just showed up for the paycheck.
The movie also suffers because Belushi and Neuberger are the dullest father-son duo imaginable. They do nothing to hurt the film, but they don't exactly help it either. They try to make us believe there is a rift between the two of them, but the truth is they barely seem like father and son until more than an hour into the film. By that time, you'll be too bored to give a hoot what happened to them before Jack Unger gave up being a cop and took a job as a security guard. Peter Dinklage, on the other hand, is the perfect villain, despite the fact that he is on the screen very little (no, that is not a wisecrack at his height), or less than he should be. Warburton is funny, as he is in almost everything he does, but his character is a little too dumb to be funny. Reading the thesaurus and using new words in the wrong fashion. Wow, funny stuff.
The truth is, kids will watch Underdog and love it. They are still impressionable to the point where talking animals and poop jokes are funny and cute. On top of that, there are silly villains, tons of first-rate special effects, and flying frogs err, I mean, dogs. It also helps that the movie is only 82 minutes long, which is long enough for a child to be entertained and an adult to finish the fifth of vodka he or she would need to tolerate this Disney flick. Hardcore fans of the Underdog cartoon will probably want to steer clear of this one, because once Underdog comes crashing into your lap, chances are you'll want to leave him on the curb and housebroken - mainly because he sounds like that annoying comic obsessed dude from Mallrats, minus the cursing and disgust of third nipples. |
Underdog - DVD Review
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