One of the only books I remember reading as a kid was Captain Underpants. I started reading them in first grade, and began writing my own comic books detailing the ongoing adventures of Captain Underpants. Now he has his very first movie, and how is it? It is actually a delightful film that was both heartwarming and hilarious.
Tra-La-Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
There is a lot to like about this movie, starting with the animation. This movie does not look realistic, rather it embraces the book’s cartoon appearance, which is very appropriate. There are also scenes where there is 2D animation rather than 3D animation, which is a nice little nod to the books. This movie is also really funny. There is a joke pretty much every single minute, and surprisingly most of them land.

Krupp just being a chicken.

Some of the jokes are potty humor (I mean, it IS called Captain Underpants, what did you expect?) but there are also a lot of clever jokes sprinkled throughout which can appeal to pretty much anyone. I personally found myself laughing throughout the entire film, despite a few jokes not being up to par. Watching the trailers for this film I was worried about the voice acting. For some reason, everyone seemed off to me. Why hire adults to do voice acting for children? I like both Kevin Hart and Thomas Middleditch, but they seemed completely miscast. Oh how wrong I was. These two actors do such a great job in their respective roles. Not only do they completely become George and Harold, but they brought some great emotion to their roles as well. Then there is Ed Helms as Mr.Krupp/Captain Underpants. He also does a pretty good job. At times it would have been nice if his Mr.Krupp sounded a bit more diabolical, but all in all I was pleased with his voice acting.
In association with Treehouse Comics!
I briefly touched on how both Kevin Hart and Thomas Middleditch brought emotion to their characters, but I want to talk about how this movie is so heartfelt. At its core, this is a movie about friendship and what that bond means. Harold and George are scared that if they are put in separate classes their friendship may cease to exist. Throughout the film you see exactly why they are friends, and how they need each other.

This is what friendship looks like.

There is also never a moment in the film where they stop being friends with each other. I feel like a less movie would have came up with some sort of superficial dispute and made them hate each other, only to realize how important their friendship is. However, this movie does not do that at all. From start to finish, through thick and thin, they are each others best friends, and what a nice message that is.
Closing Remarks
Yeah, I really liked this movie. At times it can be a bit kiddie for me, but overall I had a blast. If you have ever read the books I am sure you will enjoy it. Even if you never have read the books, the movie may just win you over with its sense of humor and heartfelt message.