The First Epic Movie is a fun pick for elementary schoolers and up. But you really need to be OK with the potty humor, because it's constant. Based on the hugely popular book series by Dav Pilkey, the story follows two prank-loving best friends who hypnotize their angry principal into believing he's Captain Underpants, the hero of the boys' many comic books. In addition to all the jokes about poop, Uranus, and other bodily functions, there's some superhero/action violence -- particularly when the villain (Professor Poopypants) attacks the school. But many of the tense/perilous moments are lightened via humor (there's lots of slapstick) and animation choices (for instance, switching to a flip-book style at the height of a big battle). Some kids might be upset by the principal's constant yelling or his threat to separate the boys and end their friendship, but things generally stay pretty upbeat. Language includes frequent potty/body words, as well as insults like "weirdo," "stupid," and "suck up," and there's some stereotyping (particularly the nerdy character, Melvin). Two adults flirt with each other and go on a date. While the boys don't show much respect for authority, they do learn important lessons about what makes a friendship/team really strong and the importance of having empathy for others.
The film is directed by David Soren, an American director specializing in animation films. Soren began his film career in the franchise "Madagascar", directing the special "Merry Madagascar" (2009), a short film based on the characters of the franchise and set at Christmas. After this title directed another special short film of the same franchise titled Madly Madagascar (2013), framed in this occasion in the day of Valentine. In his next work debuted for the big screen directing Turbo (2013), film centered on a garden snail that dreams of being Indianapolis pilot and that one day after an accident receives the power of supervelocity.
WHAT'S THE STORY? CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS: THE FIRST EPIC MOVIE, Captain Underpants is the creation of best friends George (voiced by Kevin Hart) and Harold (Thomas Middleditch). They've been inseparable since kindergarten, when they bonded over their shared amusement at the word "Uranus" during a science lesson. These days, in fourth grade, they giggle over the potty-centric comic books they create and the pranks they pull at school under the nose of their by-the-book principal, Mr. Krupp (Ed Helms). When Krupp finally ends up with proof of their hijinks and vows to end the boys' friendship, George does the only thing he can think of: He flashes his plastic hypno-ring at Krupp. Somehow, it works, and the boys tell Krupp he's now Captain Underpants, so he promptly disrobes, makes himself a cape, and dashes off to fight crime. Since the Captain doesn't have the super powers to match his superhero mindset, he causes more problems than he fixes, but the boys can't risk turning him back into Krupp, especially when a villain by the name of Professor Poopypants (Nick Kroll) arrives on the scene. How can they save their school and their friendship?
MOVIE INFO Rating: PG (for mild rude humor throughout) Genre: Animation, Comedy Directed By: David Soren Written By: Nicholas Stoller In Theaters: Jun 2, 2017 Wide Runtime: 84 minutes Music: Theodore Shapiro Studio: 20th Century Fox Cast: Kevin Hart, Thomas Middleditch, Ed Helms
