Film review: Underdog

Underdog @ IMDB

My tour of the current state of kids films continues unabated, now we venture back into the live action talking animal genre. Considering the last time we wandered down this surprisingly dark alley it was for Alvin and The Chipmunks, also starring Jason Lee, we should probably be concerned.

This time, rather than being cast as an actual human, he's the voice of the eponymous Underdog. An ex-police dog gifted with super-powers following a lab accident, can Underdog protect the city and find a new family?

Of course he can. This is a kids film. But it's no where near as bad as The Chipmunks. I'm not really sure why.

It's not like the nostalgia factor works outside of the US. This film falls into a strange sub-genre of live action cartoon re-makes, specifically US cartoons from the 50s and 60s. This isn't a great sub-genre as other films in it include Rocky & Bullwinkle and George of The Jungle. The only Underdog cartoon I've ever seen was the highlights in the opening credits.

Perhaps it's because Underdog isn't as annoying as the Chipmunks. Lee's usual laconic drawl works quite well in canine form and the special effects are quite good. The human cast, however, is the usual sketched in roles that don't really go anywhere.

The casting itself is, however, a bit interesting. You've got James Belushi cast as the Father of the family so right there you've got a reference to K-9. The main bad guy is great. He's previously been in several indie films but here he really goes for it as the villain. He's chewing scenery as fast as they can build it and he's almost worth the price of entry alone.

So, we seem to be on a sliding scale. Each week gets a bit better and whilst Underdog is no Wall-E it's still an enjoyable film. The main moral to take away from this film is probably only watch Jason Lee in a kid's film if he's the voice of an animal rather than one of the human cast.

In a word? Barking.

Sorry.