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Underdog (2007 film)
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox film
| name = Underdog
| image = Underdogposter.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = Frederik Du Chau
| producer =
| writer =
| based_on =
| music = Randy Edelman
| cinematography = David Eggby
| editing = Tom Finan
| production_companies =
| distributor = Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
| released =
| runtime = 82 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget = $25 million
| gross = $65.3 million
}}
'Underdog' is a 2007 American superhero comedy film based on W. Watts Biggers, Chet Stover, and Joe Harris 1960s animated television series of the same name, which is a spoof on the DC Comics superhero Superman, created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster. Directed by Frederik Du Chau and written by Joe Piscatella, Adam Rifkin, and Craig A. Williams, the film stars Jim Belushi, Peter Dinklage, John Slattery, and Patrick Warburton with the voice talents of Jason Lee, Amy Adams, and Brad Garrett. Unlike the TV series, the Underdog character is portrayed as a regular dog rather than an anthropomorphic one. Underdog, voiced by Jason Lee, was played by a lemon beagle named Shoeshine sporting a red sweater and a blue cape. The film grossed $65.3 million worldwide. It has approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which called it "mostly forgettable."
Plot
In the Capital City Town Hall, a beagle on the police bomb squad sets off a false alarm. Ridiculed and rejected, the beagle leaves in shame and is abducted off of the street by Cad Lackey, who takes him to Simon Barsinister's lab, where Cad works as an assistant. Bitter that his proposal for genetic experimentation was declined, Barsinister plans to prove the mayor wrong by testing his new serum on the beagle. The beagle escapes and runs amok in the lab, starting a fire and becoming exposed to various chemicals, which modify his DNA and give him superpowers.
After his escape, the beagle avoids an encounter with a Rottweiler named Riff Raff and his lackeys. Dan Unger strikes the beagle with his car, but thanks to the serum, the beagle is unharmed. Dan takes him home and names him Shoeshine after the dog licks his shoes. Dan's son, Jack, becomes jealous of Shoeshine's attention. Dan retired from the police to spend more time with Jack after his wife's death but still seems busy. Jack leaves for school and Dan for work, leaving Shoeshine at the house alone, where he, still unaware of his new powers, accidentally makes a very large mess. After coming home, Jack complains as he cleans up, and Shoeshine shocks both of them by verbally claiming it was an accident. Jack initially runs away, but after they reach a park, Jack and Shoeshine talk and bond over their respective attraction to Molly and Polly, Jack's friend and her dog. After the girls leave, Jack and Shoeshine test the latter's powers discovering; he has super speed, strength, hearing, and smell in the process.
When Molly and Polly are kidnapped and Molly almost has her backpack stolen, Shoeshine rushes to their aid, discovering he can fly. After discreetly rescuing them, Shoeshine returns home with Jack, making him promise to never reveal his powers. Cad shows up at the door with posters of Shoeshine, but Jack fools him into leaving just before Dan comes home and discovers the mess. Meanwhile, Barsinister and Cad find a new lair beneath the city, then plan a robbery to fund rebuilding the former's lab. Seeing Cad's heist on the news, Jack convinces Shoeshine to intervene. Shoeshine disguises himself as a fish, saves the hostages and defeats the two thugs assisting Cad in the robbery, but Cad himself escapes. Shoeshine adopts the alias "Underdog" and becomes the city's resident superhero; donning a shrunken red sweater and blue cape as his disguise.
Barsinister repeatedly fails to recreate his serum and sends Cad to obtain a sample of Underdog's DNA. Shoeshine is rebuffed by Polly, but gets a date with her as Underdog. Cad fails to capture Underdog, but obtains his collar which contains his secret identity's name and address. Barsinister and Cad kidnap Dan and force him to call Shoeshine for help. Shoeshine and Jack attempt a rescue, but Barsinister uses both Jack and Dan as hostages to convince Shoeshine to give up his DNA. Barsinister synthesizes Underdog's superpowers into pills, injects Shoeshine with an antidote to the serum, and feeds the super pills to three trained German Shepherds. He and Cad leave the family trapped in the sewers, but Dan's police experience allows him to free everyone. They pursue Barsinister with a hypodermic needle filled with the antidote.
At the City Hall, Barsinister takes the mayor hostage and instructs Cad to attach a bomb rigged with a mind control serum to the roof; Molly and Polly follow Cad. Shoeshine smells the bomb and, conquering his self-doubt, enters the building despite having lost his powers. Cad discovers Molly and Polly and captures them and ties them up. During a scuffle with Barsinister, Shoeshine accidentally rips open Barsinister's pocket and swallows a super pill, restoring his powers. Shoeshine temporarily incapacitates the German Shepherds after he hears Molly and Polly call for help, but Barsinister ingests a pill and distracts Shoeshine by tossing a shield like a Frisbee. When the German Shepherds recover, Shoeshine convinces them to turn on Barsinister, who has not treated them well. While they restrain Barsinister, Underdog appears on the roof and saves Molly and Polly, instructing them to take the mind control serum to the police while he gets the bomb out of harm's way. After being reinstated and promoted by the mayor, Dan arrives and injects Barsinister with the antidote while arresting him. Underdog takes the bomb and buries it deep underground just before it explodes. Underdog tries to escape, but is caught in the explosion, launched into space, and is presumed dead. Amidst a mournful crowd, Underdog revives, leaving everyone overjoyed.
Dan is reinstated as a police officer, Barsinister and Cad are arrested for their crimes, and Shoeshine returns to protecting Capitol City as Underdog.
Cast
* Jim Belushi as Dan Unger, a former police officer turned security guard.
* Peter Dinklage as Dr. Simon Barsinister, a mad scientist.
* Patrick Warburton as Cad Lackey, Simon Barsinister's henchman.
* John Slattery as the Mayor of Capital City
* Alex Neuberger as Jack Unger, the son of Dan who befriends Shoeshine.
* Taylor Momsen as Molly, Jack's friend.
* Samantha Bee as Principal Helen Patterson, the principal of Jack and Molly's school.
* Susie Castillo as Diana Flores
* Timothy Crew as the Chief of Police
* Frank L. Ridley as Police Sergeant
* Jay Leno as Himself (cameo)
Voice cast
* Jason Lee as Shoeshine/Underdog, a Beagle* Shoeshine portrays as Underdog
* Amy Adams as Sweet Polly Purebred, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
* Brad Garrett as Riff Raff, a Rottweiler
* John DiMaggio as Bulldog
** John DiMaggio also voices a Supershep
* Phil Morris as Maim ("Supershep #1")
* Michael Massee as Kill ("Supershep #2")
* Cam Clarke as Attack ("Supershep #3")
** Cam Clarke also voices a Little Brown Dog
* Danny Mastrogiorgio as Crazy Dog
* Jess Harnell as Astronaut
Release
'Underdog' opened on August 3, 2007, in 3,013 theaters across the United States. It earned $11,585,121 on its opening weekend, placing in third behind 'The Bourne Ultimatum' and the second weekend of 'The Simpsons Movie'. The film closed on December 13, 2007, having grossed $43.8 million in the US box office and $21.5 million overseas for a worldwide total of $65.3 million.
The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD on December 18, 2007. Disney has no more plans to reissue this movie on any home media after the first home release, but it is available to purchase on iTunes.
Soundtrack
The licensed soundtrack album is only available as a download on various online music stores. It contains the original score by Randy Edelman and the hip hop rendition of the 'Underdog' theme title, "Underdog Raps", performed by then-Disney star Kyle Massey, which received airplay on Radio Disney. The Plain White T's rendition of the theme, titled "Underdog Rocks", plays at the beginning of the film but was not included on the album.
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of based on reviews and an average rating of . The site's critical consensus reads, "'Underdog' is a mostly forgettable adaptation that relies far too heavily on recycled material and sloppy production." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 37 out of 100 based on 16 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.
See also
* 2007 in film
* Cinema of the United States
* List of Underdog characters
References
Buy Underdog (2007 film) now from Amazon
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