Underdog (film)

Underdog
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Frederik Du Chau
Produced by	Gary Barber Roger Birnbaum Jay Polstein Jonathan Glickman
Screenplay by	Adam Rifkin Joe Piscatella Craig A. Williams
Story by	Joe Piscatella Adam Rifkin Craig A. Williams
Based on	Underdog  by W. Watts Biggers
Starring	Jason Lee Peter Dinklage John Slattery Patrick Warburton Alex Neuberger Taylor Momsen Brad Garrett Amy Adams
Music by	Randy Edelman
Cinematography	David Eggby
Editing by	Tom Finan
Studio	Spyglass Entertainment Classic Media Maverick Films Have No Fear Productions
Distributed by	Walt Disney Pictures
Release date(s)	August 3, 2007
Running time	84 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$65,270,477

Underdog is a 2007 American live action action comedy superhero film based on the 1960s cartoon series of the same name. The film was directed by Frederik Du Chau and stars Peter Dinklage as Dr. Simon Bar Sinister, Patrick Warburton as Cad Lackley, and Jason Lee as the voice of Underdog. The film also stars Jim Belushi, Alex Neuberger, Taylor Momsen, and Amy Adams. The film was loosely based on the super-powered cartoon character of the same name and several other characters from the cartoon. It was produced by Spyglass Entertainment and Classic Media and distributed theatrically in the United States by Walt Disney Pictures. It was filmed in Providence, Rhode Island.

The film was the third highest grossing film in box office on the opening weekend of its release, but the film received extremely negative reviews.

Plot

The story begins when a police dog is accidentally kidnapped to be a guinea pig by Capitol City's best geneticist, Simon Bar Sinister (Peter Dinklage), who is secretly experimenting on dogs to perfect his serum. The beagle escapes, but not before causing a lab fire and being exposed to various substances. Found by ex-police officer and widower Dan Unger (Jim Belushi), the beagle is named "Shoeshine" and becomes the pet of Dan's 14-year-old son, Jack (Alex Neuberger). But as both eventually learn, the incident at the lab has not only made Shoeshine able to speak, but also able to fly and possess supercanine strength. Jack convinces Shoeshine to use his superpowers to help the citizens of Capitol City, taking the name, "Underdog."

However, Bar Sinister (whose face was badly disfigured when a burning television monitor fell on him during the lab fire), hunting Underdog and eventually learning of his identity, manages to get a sample of his DNA. The scientist uses it on Shoeshine to turn him back to a normal dog. After feeding three DNA pills to his German Shepherds, Bar Sinister takes the mayor hostage while setting up a bomb on top of city hall, which is filled with a formula that makes whoever breathes it obey Bar Sinister. However, Shoeshine manages to regain his powers by eating the same pills Bar Sinister gave to the German Shepherds, afterward he turns them against Bar Sinister and saves the day.

Cast

• Jason Lee as Shoeshine / Underdog
• Peter Dinklage as Dr. Simon Bar Sinister
• Patrick Warburton as Cad Lackey
• Jim Belushi as Daniel "Dan" Unger
• Alex Neuberger as Jack Unger
• Taylor Momsen as Molly the news reporter
• John DiMaggio as The Bulldog / Supershep
• Phil Morris as Maim the Dog ("Supershep #1")
• Michael Massee as Kill the Dog ("Supershep #2")
• Cam Clarke - Attack the Dog ("Supershep #3") / The Little Brown Dog
• Amy Adams as Sweet Polly Purebred (Molly's dog)
• Brad Garrett as Riff Raff the Rottweiler
• Jess Harnell as The Astronaut
• John Slattery as The Mayor
• Samantha Bee as Principal Helen Patterson
• Jay Leno as Himself
• Stephen James Kidd as The Hot Dog Vendor Customer / The Bomb Squad Captain
• Tony Moreira as Bomb Squad Officer Farrell (uncredited)

Visual effects

The bulk of the visual effects work on the film was completed by two London-based companies, Frame Store CFC, and Cinesite. The visual effects supervisor at Cinesite was Ben Shepherd, and the animation supervisor was Alexander Williams.

Merchandise

The merchandise for the film was released on July 31, 2007 at the Disney Store. Among the merchandise released that day was a soundtrack album from Hollywood Records and books from Disney Publishing Worldwide. A video game was planned to be released for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Wii, and Nintendo DS in time for the film's release, but was cancelled due to negative pre-release reviews along with its massive box office failure.

Reception

Box office

Underdog was released on August 3, 2007, in 3,013 theaters across the US. It grossed $11,585,121 on its opening weekend, placing in third among that weekend's films in release. As of October 11, 2007, Underdog made $42,937,703 at the domestic box office.

Critical

Upon its release, Underdog was universally panned by critics. Rotten Tomatoes' freshness rating for Underdog stood at 16% in March 2010, the lowest of director Du Chau's three movies at that time (Quest for Camelot and Racing Stripes, receiving 35% and 34% respectively). The movie consensus on that site reads:

"Underdog is a mostly forgettable adaptation that relies far too heavily on recycled material and sloppy production."

Ken Fox of TV Guide said: "If you set your expectations just low enough, or are an easily satisfied 8-year-old, you might have a bit of fun." The New York Daily News saw Underdog as being "made for the Saturday morning TV crowd," claiming that "parents who lead their tykes to this adventure aren't likely to leave disappointed."

Home media

Underdog was released on standard DVDon December 17, 2007. A Blu-ray combo pack containing the Blu-ray standard and 3D versions, along with the DVD and a digital copy, was released on November 28, 2010 as a Target Exclusive.

The DVD and Blu-ray Disc releases contain the film in both the Widescreen 2.35:1 and Fullscreen aspect ratios selectable through the options menu. Both releases contain the first episode of Underdog on the bonus features section.

See also

• Underdog: Original Soundtrack
• Kyle Massey, sang the single "Underdog Raps"
• List of Underdog characters
• Underdog, the television show
• Quest for Camelot
• Racing Stripes

External links

• Official site
• Underdog Movie - Official Disney DVD site
• Underdog at the Internet Movie Database
• Underdog at AllRovi
• Underdog at Box Office Mojo
• Underdog at Rotten Tomatoes
• About the Production