Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie

Superheroes can often have the most bizarre of origin stories. There are characters such as Quicksilver and Hawkeye who have some pretty convoluted backstories involving the nature of their upbringing and there are those of Superman of Martian Manhunters being survivors of their own races following an extinction level event. Then there are media outside of Marvel and DC that do their own kind of superhero origin stories, which brings us here. When I was young, I read a few books that parody the genre known as Captain Underpants. The premise involved the character in question foiling menacing situations while being completely unaware of doing this under a hypnotic spell by our main protagonists. These stories were very funny and clever in entertaining children while also having a neat addition where a fight sequence was shown in a couple of pages by zooming through them quick enough (in the same way someone could do with sticky notes). Much like how Megamind parodied and paid homage to the superhero genre, I got that type of feeling and hope when I saw the trailer for the film adaption of Captain Underpants. It looks zany and goofy in a fun way without revealing too much and almost looked like it had a comedic vibe from Storks (which makes sense when one of the writers did that film). With very few reviewers putting out their assessments of the movie (most likely due to Wonder Woman having the main focus), I managed to find positive reviews from my sources. I went into the mostly empty theater ready for a fun time and left feeling ecstatic from the hilariously enjoyable experience.

Note: If you're going to the movie, stay during the end credits for a funny song and a goofy mid-credits scene.

Plot: The story follows the premise of the books where two best friends hypnotize their principal after getting caught in a school prank into becoming their favorite comic book hero. From there shenanigans ensue as they use the situation to their advantage while doing their best to make sure that the guy doesn't die or hurt himself while in the superhero trance. One rule to keep in mind for this adventure is being prepared to throw all rules of logic and physics out the window. The comedy that takes place is spread throughout and isn't always just limited to the antics of the hypnotized character. Paying attention to visual details throughout the environment and some of the running gags involved adds another layer of enjoyable silliness. The movie is self-aware of itself to the point where the two best friends break the fourth wall a lot (similar to Deadpool but much more child friendly). One thing that does deserve credit is the fact that layers of sympathy are given to the main characters to give reasons for their actions instead of it being pointless slapstick fun. Overall the predictable plot of Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie is strengthened by the comedic family friendly nature in the antics of the main leads while showing a lot of effort in creative animation.

Characters: The characters to focus on in Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie are Harold Hutchins (Thomas Middleditch), George Beard (Kevin Hart), and Principle Krupp/Captain Underpants (Ed Helms). George and Harold are two inseparable comic book loving best friends in elementary school who hypnotize their principal after getting caught in one of their pranks. Kevin and Thomas give great individual performances and are have a fun time in their chemistry with each other. Both of them show the enthusiasm of well-meaning pranksters who enjoy having fun with each other while they keep an eye of the hypnotized Krupp. They are so likable to the point of having their imagination affect the nature of the narrative at hand (as mentioned before, imagine child friendly Deadpool fourth wall breaking). Krupp is a strict and stern stereotypical elementary school principal who ends up being mesmerized into believing he's Captain Underpants. Ed gives a fantastic performance in balancing both sides of his character: stern and strict on one side while being happy and jolly in the other. Throughout the movie he goes over-the-top and you can tell he's having fun throughout the zany antics, especially when he's Captain Underpants. Most of the best banter in the movie comes between George/Harold and Krupp/Captain Underpants as the interactions provide a lot of great comedic relief and ridiculous zaniness (and it also helps that the writing was done by the writer of Storks). An honorable mention goes to Nick Kroll for his over-the-top goofy performance as Professor P and his interactions with George and Harold. Overall the cast and characters of Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie make the comedy worth watching in how they do a great portrayals in their roles while having a lot of fun working off each other.

Overall Consensus: Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie is an underrated comedic gem that does a great job adapting the source material with visually creative animation, likable characters, and a great deal of effort put into the zany comedic style for all ages to enjoy. ⭑⭑⭑⭑🍿

Reasons to watch it: You have read the Captain Underpants books and want to see how the movie honors the source material. You like any of the aforementioned actors. You are bored with the upcoming blockbusters for the month and want to watch a great animated comedy. You like colorful creative superhero movies. You like comedies where the main characters break the fourth wall. You want to hear a funny Weird Al Yankovic song during the end credits. You like watching comedies that make you feel like you're on a fun rollercoaster sugar rush.

Reasons to avoid it: You don't like any of the aforementioned actors. You don't like animated comedies. You don't like superhero movies.

Coming up next: Tra La Laaaaa!!! Jam-packed June has been a great time so far going two for two with good superhero movies. Both made a great impression in utilizing their source material in order to create an enjoyable experience. Next time, the next movies coming up won't be here until the near end of the month. As mentioned before, I won't be covering the rest of the blockbusters coming up this month due to their inevitable lackluster qualities that aren't worth wasting my time on. If the scheduled release times for my next movies are correct, there's a possibility that I will consider attempting a double feature for these two low key under the radar type of movies that are probably going to be under appreciated due to the blockbusters coming out at the time. Jam-packed June will be concluding next time with a double feature of The Big Sick and Baby Driver!!!!