Underdog

Directed by

Frederik Du Chau

Produced by

Gary Barber
Roger Birnbaum
Jonathan Glickman

Written by

Adam Rifkin
Joe Piscatella
Craig A. Williams

Starring

Jason Lee
Amy Adams
Alex Neuberger
Taylor Momsen
Jim Belushi
Peter Dinklage
Patrick Warburton
Brad GarrettAlex NeubergerTaylor Momsen

Music by

Randy Edelman

Cinematography by

David Eggby

Studio(s)

Spyglass Entertainment
Classic Media

Distributor

Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

Released

August 3, 2007

Gross revenue

USD 43,760,605

External links

Official website IMDb page

Source
Underdog is an American superhero comedy film released on August 3, 2007 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. The film stars Alex Neuberger as Jack Unger and features Jason Lee as the voice of the titular canine superhero. It was shot in Providence, Rhode Island, and was directed by Belgian director Frederik Du Chau.

Plot

The film opens with a slight introduction from the main anh hùng of the film, What Happened To Diamond
who introduces the audience Khủng himself, his arch-nemesis Simon Barsinister, and Barsinister’s henchman Cad using some of the animated clips as seen from the original cartoon series. The film then enters into Capital City Town Hall, where a beagle on the police bomb squad sets off a false alarm after smelling a large nóng bỏng ( in some boxes near where the mayor was giving a speech ). After being shunned by his fellow police canines, the beagle leaves in shame & is abducted off the street by Cad, who takes him phệ Simon’s lab. Simon is bitter against the mayor, who has turned xuống dốc his proposal for a type of genetic experimenting for the thành phố, & plans béo prove him wrong by testing his hot nhất serum on the beagle. However, Underdog escapes & runs amok in the lab, causing a fire và accidentally becoming exposed Khủng a variety of DNA concoctions & chemicals that Simon developed, which modifies his DNA & gives him the strength mập break through the metal door Khủng the lab. After witnessing his work’s ” success ” Simon is stunned when a burning màn hình falls onto him, & Cad rushes béo his aid .Later, the beagle avoids an encounter with a large Rottweiler named Riff Raff và his lackeys. He is later cơn sốt by a oto belonging mập Dan Unger. However, thanks phệ the serum he absorbed, the beagle is unharmed và taken home page by Dan, who names him Shoeshine the next day, after having his shoes licked by him. Dan introduces Shoeshine phệ his son Jack, though the boy is less than pleased by Shoeshine’s presence, thanks mập a wedge between father & son after Dan retired from the police force lớn spend more giây phút with Jack, only mập chưa bao giờ actually get the thời gian béo be trang chính with him. Jack leaves for school & Dan for work, leaving Shoeshine at the house alone, where he, still unaware of his hot nhất powers, accidentally makes a very large mess of the place. Jack comes home page Khủng the destruction và begins Khủng clean up, complaining, lớn which Shoeshine claims it was an accident, leading mập both of them realizing ( lớn their shock ) that Shoeshine can speak human language. Jack initially tries Khủng get away from Shoeshine, but after they reach a park, the two begin béo talk & bond a little when a friend of Jack’s, Molly, walks end & introduces them bự her Cavalier Spaniel, Polly, whom Shoeshine is smitten with on sight. After the girls leave, Jack and Shoeshine experiment with his powers through various habits of dogs .Far away, Molly & Polly are being mugged by two men, and Shoeshine hears Molly’s Gọi for help và rushes mập their aide, running faster than he has ever before, và discovering he can fly in the process. He rescues the two without them seeing him, và returns trang chủ with Jack, making him promise không bao giờ bự tell anyone about his powers, then helps his mới ra friend try béo clean up before Dan comes home page. Cad shows up at the door with posters of Shoeshine, as Barsinister wants him back for his power, but Jack is able mập get him lớn leave without suspecting anything just before Dan comes home page mập discover the mess. Meanwhile, Simon và Cad find a mới ra lair beneath the thành phố, then kế hoạch a robbery lớn get the funds they need lớn rebuild Simon’s lab. Cad leads a band of thugs phệ rob a jewelry store, seen on the news by Shoeshine & Jack, who convinces Shoeshine béo use his powers bự save the hostages inside. Shoeshine consents, disguising himself with a fish kite so sánh he won’t be recognized, và saves the hostages, though Cad escapes with some of the stolen goods. From then on, Shoeshine adopts the alias Underdog, & becomes the city’s resident superhero, donning a shrunken red sweater & xanh cape as his disguise .As Underdog enjoys being a người hùng, Simon’s attempts bự recreate his serum are unsuccessful giây phút và giây phút again, so sánh he sends Cad Khủng try và obtain a sample of Shoeshine’s DNA, hoping béo use it mập recreate the serum. Shoeshine, meanwhile, is unsuccessful at trying bự ask Polly out, but gets an idea when she reveals her crush on Underdog béo him, prompting him béo ask her on a date as Underdog, which goes successfully. Meanwhile, Cad’s attempt bự capture Underdog goes unsuccessful, but he does manage phệ obtain his collar, which has his name & address on it. Simon & Cad go phệ the house & kidnap Dan, making him believe they have Jack phệ subdue him, & force him béo gọi for Shoeshine for help. Shoeshine hears Dan’s cries, và he & Jack go bự rescue him, only for Simon lớn use both Jack và Dan as hostages Khủng convince Shoeshine Khủng give up his DNA. Not wanting his family phệ be hurt, Shoeshine complies, & Barsinister makes a whole jar đầy đủ of pills that contain Underdog’s super powers. Simon convinces Shoeshine lớn take an antidote pill, turning him back into a normal beagle, then feeds the super pills phệ three German Shepherds he obtained và trained. He & Cad leave the family trapped in the sewers, but thanks mập Dan’s experience from the police force, he is able bự phối everyone không tính tiền và they take off after Barsinister with a hypodermic filled with the super power antidote .Meanwhile, Simon takes the Mayor hostage in thành phố hall & instructs Cad Khủng attach a bomb rigged with a mind control serum Khủng the roof of the building. Molly & Polly follow Cad after witnessing him head through the service entrance. Shoeshine, meanwhile, smells the bomb Cad is carrying, at first doubting his nose, but decides lớn trust his instincts & heads inside the capitol building despite being powerless lớn confront Simon. During a short struggle ( in which the mayor is knocked unconscious ), Shoeshine accidentally rips open Simon’s pocket, gaining access Khủng the super pills và eating one, getting his powers back. He does battle with the three German Shepherds, whom he temporarily incapacitates after hearing Polly & Molly in danger, as they were captured by Cad và tied béo the roof of the building beside the bomb. Enraged with Underdog’s return béo foil his kế hoạch, Simon eats one of the super pills & gains super powers himself, fighting Underdog until he distracts him with one of his natural instincts ; chasing a Frisbee, which is actually a giant iron shield from a statue. Underdog is knocked xuống dốc long enough for the German Shepherds lớn recover, but he convinces them that Simon isn’t a good master by pointing out Simon’s mistreatment of them ( not even giving them real names ). The German Shepherds turn on Simon, realizing their role is as man’s best friend, not man’s best slave, và restrain him with their strength while Shoeshine rushes mập disarm the bomb .The Mayor regains consciousness và stumbles outside, allowing Dan through the police barricade Khủng khuyến mãi with Simon by injecting the antidote into him. Shoeshine quickly dons his Underdog uniform again & flies bự the top of the town hall, freeing Polly và Molly, then taking the bomb bự a nearby park, where he digs a hole miles beneath the surface, và buries the bomb. He attempts lớn rush out of the hole before it detonates, but is caught in the blast halfway out và is blasted so sánh high he reaches orbit, then falls back mập the Earth, where he lands unconscious. Jack, Dan, và everyone in the crowd begin phệ mourn the fallen anh hùng, but Underdog wakes up, singed, but unharmed much bự everyone’s joy. Dan is reinstated as a police officer, Simon và Cad go béo jail, & Shoeshine returns Khủng his normal life protecting the citizens of Capital City as Underdog .The film closes with the citizens reciting the same phrases from the original cartoon, ” Look, up in the Sky ! It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a frog ! ( as one goofy citizen always comments ) “, lớn which Underdog replies, ” Not bird, nor plane, nor even frog, it’s just little old me, Underdog ! ” .

Cast

Visual effects

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

Reception

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 and long time fans of the 1960s cartoon. Rotten Tomatoes’ freshness rating for Underdog stood at 15% in March 2010, the lowest of three of director Du Chau’s 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.”

Famed film critic, Leonard Maltin, even criticized Jason Lee replacing the late Wally Cox as the voice for Underdog as he concludes ” Where’s Wally Cox when you need him ? ” .

trang chủ truyền thông

Underdog was released on standard DVD and high-definition Blu-ray Disc on December 18, 2007. The DVD and Blu-ray Disc both aspect ratios with Widescreen and Fullscreen. The DVD shows the first episode of Underdog on the bonus features.

As of 2020, there are no plans for a trang chính truyền thông reissue after the 2007 DVD / Blu-ray release. Yet, it is available lớn purchase on iTunes .

Merchandise

The merchandise for the film was released on July 31, 2007 at the Disney Store. Among the merchandise released that day was a Underdog: Original Soundtrack album from Hollywood Records and books from Disney Publishing Worldwide. A video game was originally going to be released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, but was canceled due to its critical and financial failure.

Trivia

Gallery

DVD coverDan Unger ( Jim Belushi )Sweet Polly Purebread ( Amy Adams )Shoeshine the Dog, aka ” Underdog ” ( Jason Lee )Cad Lackey ( Patrick Warburton )Dr. Simon Barsinister ( Peter Dinklage )Cad as he’s on the roof of the Capitol City Building while carrying the bombThe Mayor ( John Slattery )Jack Unger ( Alex Neuberger )