Underdog
Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 08/15/2008 Run time: 82 minutes Rating: Pg
What happens when mad scientist Dr. Simon Barsinister (Peter Dinklage) and a former police beagle Shoeshine (voiced by Jason Lee) are involved in a fiery lab accident? A dog with superpowers is born (soon to be dubbed Underdog) and Dr. Barsinister becomes a man obsessed with revenge and bent on genetically modifying the entire population of Capital City. An unwitting former policeman Dan (James Belushi) and his son Jack (Alex Neuberger) adopt Shoeshine in hopes of improving their strained relationship and what follows is a typical scene of home destruction by a young dog multiplied exponentially by the incredible strength, speed, and newly developed language skills of one super dog. While Jack and Shoeshine struggle with the conflict between Shoeshine's desire to be a regular dog and Jack's insistence that he use his newfound powers to help people, mayhem reigns in Capital City as Barsinister and his henchman Cad (Patrick Warburton--Emperor's New Groove) wreak havoc on the entire city and Jack's dad, schoolmate Molly (Taylor Momsen), and her dog Polly (voiced by Amy Adams--Enchanted) are all unwittingly dragged into the conflict. Underdog dedicates himself to good, quickly becoming revered as a superhero, but ultimately it will take the combined efforts and understanding of Underdog, Jack, Dan, Molly, and Polly to defeat Barsinister and save Capital City from destruction. Based on the original animated Underdog television series, this live action film is entertaining, if not great. Bonus features include deleted scenes with director introductions, bloopers, a 5-minute glimpse of the logistics of shooting animals and blending live action with animation, and the first Underdog cartoon "Safe Waif." (Ages 3 to 12) --Tami Horiuchi NOTE: This DVD offers both full screen and wide screen formats, but defaults to full screen with the wide screen option accessible only through the audio option menu.
Underdog Accessories
 Alvin and the Chipmunks
The Game Plan (Full Screen Edition)
Enchanted (Widescreen Edition)
Bee Movie (Widescreen Edition)
Snow Buddies
The Water Horse - Legend of the Deep (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Meet the Robinsons
Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (Widescreen Edition)
The Santa Clause 3 - The Escape Clause
National Treasure 2 - Book of Secrets (Widescreen)
Underdog Reviews
Over all you will love the music and the dog but hate everything else in this flick if you watch this movie.blue ray helps but a little. GOOD beat, POOR actors (BAD actors, BAD acting), and a cute dog. In order to make the dog look cute and lovable everybody else had to be made ugly which I don't think is fare or nobleit destroyed what could have been great movie and made it mediocre back street alley type of flick. That's the theme of this story. The beat was good and the music is smooth.I actually sat through the titles and listened to the song until the very end of the movie.
The jokes. Just as good. See ya next review. It is just as funny and entertaining the second and third time around. Simply awesome. Perfect.
If you haven't bought this movie, I suggest you go ahead and make the purchase. The CGI. He manages to come across as the typical cool Joe-America. But, then you add a bad guy who is determined to make the world his own, and, well, now you have a fantastic movie. They're good. The pratfalls. The cast.
This is a must own for any family. You will love it. Take a police dog without a good sense of smell, a security guard with a heart of gold, and a teenager in desperate need of direction, and you have all the makings of an extremely good movie. And this movie once again proves that James Belushi is one of the nicest guys on the planet.
This is a DVD I would not allow my children to see. Well, at least the hound is clean, but this movie is a DOG. Shouldn't the lead player be expected to wash his hair. And the bratty slob gets rewarded with a dog. Worst of all the actors are sickening to look at. Repulsive overweight teenage boy shows contempt for his hard working single parent by ridiculing Dad's occupation. The plot, music, and special effects do nothing to redeem this picture.
In summary, the movie was ok. The plot was predictable. I was disappointed they made the Underdog theme song a rap. The movie does has some mild chuckles. Don't expect too much and definitely rent don't buy.
However, Shoeshine is a wise-cracking dog and not a humble shoeshine dog/boy. The movie didn't do anything really creative.
The movie plays up looking at the world from a canine point of view pretty well. They kept Underdog a dog, Polly a dog, and Simon a human.
It worked very well.
The movie tried to do its best with the original material. The humor is the strongest part of the movie and the canine/human relationship works somewhat.
There is a "Scrubs" episode where the song was sung acapella by a barbershop type group. The actors were ok.
Anyone that likes animal movies will like this too. But also a story of friendship. lots of funny moments as the dog flies etc. I enjoyed this movie.
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