Last year, between the two of us, we watched an average of 317 movies.
This year our goal is to top that by watching at least one a day.
And as an extra special torture, we've decided to write about all of them.

18 February 2008

Underdog, dir. Frederick Du Chau (2007)

NIKKI says:
How could it not be cute? I went into this wit a vague recollection of the cartoon, so I wasn't concerned about it living up to anything. It turned out to be one of those movies you can just relax and enjoy because it's sole purpose is to entertain and be way cute.

I found out during the film that it represented the cartoon very well. Underdog's real name was Shoeshine in the movie, and he was a shoeshine boy in the cartoon, that kind of thing. Tossing real humans into the mix only made it better I reckon, as the dogs had people to play off and react to which added to their cuteness and helped shape their humanoid personalities.

The best thing, I reckon, was Jason Lee as the voice of Underdog. He's so funny anyway that throwing his voice into a super cute dog can only work. Underdog, then, had this cheeky charm and a bone-dry humour that really suited him.

I loved it. It's definitely a keeper.

3/5

STEVE says:
I'll admit it, I was not thrilled about watching this one. It seemed to me just another example of something I thoroughly enjoyed in my youth being pillaged for profit. And from Disney, no less. But Underdog surprised me. Sure, the anthropomorphic animals from the cartoon were nixed and replaced by talking dogs with human familiars. But what did it matter that Polly Purebred wasn't a reporter, when her master was? Okay, so it wasn't the original, but the filmmakers definitely took care to preserve the spirit of the original - unlike some other films I could mention.

Lee definitely didn't hurt. His amiable personality shone through and helped make the live action premise easier to swallow. But worth mentioning also - indeed, probably worth the price of the rental - are Peter Dinklage as Simon Barsinister and Patrick Warburton as his sidekick, Cad. Dinklage once again shows that he's one of the best actors around today, even in a silly mad scientist role, and Warburton... well, he's Puddy all over again. And how bad can that be?

3/5