What's faster than a speeding Waistband...
More powerful than boxer shorts...
Able to leap tall buildings without getting a wedgie...
He fights for Truth, Justice and all that is pre-shrunk and cottony...
He is CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS!!
Yes! In a world where superhero movies reign, it's only fitting that DreamWorks Animation, along with treeHouse Comix Inc., is releasing this week, "Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie" on DVD, Blu-ray, 4K UHD and in a special HERO EDITION with all kinds of extras!
Now, if you haven't heard of Captain Underpants, you must not have kids! Because if you have kids in the 7-10 range, I can bet you they know about him. In fact, Captain Underpants books are generally the books kids are fighting over in classroom libraries for reading time. In fact, Dav Pilkey published the first Captain Underpants book back in 1997 and since then, there have been 11 more books, 9 spin-off books and several activity books and Collector editions. Yes, Captain Underpants definitely has a following and for many of his fans, it's about time a movie has been made on the best superhero in tighty-whities!
That being said…."Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie" is the story of two fourth-graders, George Beard (voiced by Kevin Hart "Ride Along" and the upcoming "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle) and Harold Hutchins (voiced by Thomas Middleditch "Silicon Valley" & "Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero"). These kids are the ultimate pranksters and best friends till the end! The boys even have their own tree house and spend their free time making their own comic books, about the superhero they dreamed up, Captain Underpants! While at school, Harold & George are always playing pranks and the one spoiler to those pranks is their mean-spirited, soul-sucking principal, Mr. Krupp (voiced by Ed Helms "The Hangover" & "The Office"). Mr. Krupp is always trying to catch the boys in the act, knowing full well they are behind the chaos at the school.
Then, one Saturday during the Invention Convention, these two boys play the ultimate prank on Melvin Sneedley (voiced by Jordan Peele "Key and Peele" and writer/director of "Get Out"), the nerdy tattle tale or you could just say a "Grade A Suck up". The only thing is, Melvin traps the boys by recording them with a nanny cam and takes it straight to Mr. Krupp! Now Mr. Krupp has proof and vows to split the boys up and ruin their friendship. In one last-ditch effort to stop Mr. Krupp, George pulls out his special hypnotizing ring and surprisingly enough it works! George and Harold tell Mr. Krupp that when they snap their fingers, he will be the fighter for Truth, Justice and all that is pre-shrunk and cottony, Captain Underpants!
George & Harold have created their very own superhero on paper in comic books, but now he's come to life in the form of their very own principal, and they are responsible for what happens next!
"Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie" surprised the heck out of me! I loved it! It was very funny, witty and even had a moral of being responsible for your actions. While there is a TON of potty humor (did you really think you would escape that with a superhero in underpants?), it keeps you laughing and entertained and I will even admit that I LOVED George & Harold walking into the school to Yello's "Oh Yeah"! In all honesty, you can't go wrong buying this for the kids and letting them watch it and re-watch it. In fact, it may just encourage them to start reading all 12 books in the series.
The 4K Blu-ray edition is, of course, presented in 2160p high definition video with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. While the quality is excellent there is only a marginal difference between the 4K and regular Blu-ray version. However, the colors are full-bodied and pop off the screen, which makes for an enhanced viewing experience. Conversely, the Dolby Atmos audio is fantastic and really helps the movie come alive. It is blended well for an overall balanced track.
Extras in the HERO EDITION includes:
- The Really Cool Adventures of Captain Underpants Motion Comic
- The Captain Underpants Guide to Being a Hero
- The Professor Poopypants (Totally Original and Supercool) Guide to Being a Villain
- Missing Underpants: Deleted Scenes
- Captain Underpants Lyric Video by "Weird Al" Yankovic
- "A Friend Like You" Lyric Video by Andy Grammer
- Kevin Hart and Ed Helms Surprise Fans
- Lunch Lady PSA with Kristen Schaal
- Sock Puppets Real Stars
- Tighty-Whitey Q&A with the Stars - Part 1 and Part 2
- Gallery: Comic Book Covers
- Gallery: The Art of DreamWorks Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie
- ...And if that isn't enough it comes with a CAPE!
I give "Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie" 5 out of 5 clean pairs of underpants! It's very funny, the animation is fantastic and for 88 minutes you will be quite entertained! Even better is the idea that you won't pull your hair out when your kids want to watch it for the 30 millionth time… But if it gets too much, give them their cape and a Captain Underpants book, and tell them they need to be ready for the sequel!
