Tra-La-Laaa! Fruit of Dav Pilkey Looms Large in Epic Kid Flick

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Captain Underpants on Blu-ray

If you have children...

No. Scratch that. Trigger warning, I'm about to go sexist for a half a second.

Ahem.

If you have young boys in your home, you are likely no stranger to that dynamic figure in the tighty-whiteys, Captain Underpants. (If you're not, just check under their mattress, so long as they're still under 13.) That jaunty gentleman of justice who makes brief work of supervillains has starred in countless books (okay, they could actually be counted, but I'm kinda lazy) has now leaped off the page and onto your screens in an epic movie flush with adventure and clogged with laughter! (Okay, maybe I should leave that to Mr. Pilkey.)

Harold (THOMAS MIDDLEDITCH) and George (KEVIN HART) are best friends and have been since Kindergarten. They share the same sense of potty humor, and pull all kinds of pranks on the teachers in their penitentiary elementary school. But their greatest achievement is Captain Underpants, the hero of their own comic book that they write and draw in their treehouse.

But when Principal Krupp (ED HELMS) finally catches them in the act of one of their pranks, he threatens to separate the two into different classes so that they'll never see each other again. Through a series of improbably circumstances that make complete sense in comic book worlds, the two hypnotize Krupp, taking control of him and convincing him he actually is their superhero.

With a doff of the trousers and a hearty "Tra-La-Laaa!" the Au Naturel Avenger takes to the skies -- and promptly falls flat on his face. You see, being hypnotized into believing you're a superhero doesn't actually give you super-powers. Suddenly Harold and George are given the one thing they never really wanted: responsibility. They have to watch out for Mr. Krupp / Captain Underpants so that he doesn't accidentally hurt himself trying to do the super-things he thinks he can do.

It's all fun and games until the supervillain arrives. An actual, honest-to-goodness mad scientist by the name of Professor Poopypants. (I $4!+ you not!) He wants to eliminate laughter from the world, largely because most of the laughter he's encountered has been prompted by his unfortunate name. And he's got the technology to do it, too!

And that's when things get wonderfully ridiculous!

Told in a variety of animation styles (and some sock puppetry), CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS: THE FIRST EPIC MOVIE is anything but boring. If you're not careful, you may find your inner six-year-old giggling on the couch while your kids are watching.

This Blu-ray release comes with some fun kid-friendly features like "The Captain Underpants Guidt to Being a Hero," "The Professor Poopypants Totally Original and Super Cool Guide to Being a Villain," "The Really Cool Adventures of Captain Underpants Motion Comic," deleted scenes, music videos, and interviews with the actors.

Grade: 
4.5 / 5.0