Captain Underpants is one of those movies whose plot, themes and overall approach to its subject matter seems completely beyond reproach. Any criticism of the film, no matter how valid will inevitably be drowned out by a chorus of people, most of whom haven't even seen the film, yelling; "it's Captain Underpants! What did you expect!" I might as well shoot myself in the foot early in this review by saying that part of the reason I didn't enjoy the film was because I was in a theater full of crying children and inattentive parents. Thus I spent a huge portion of the film quietly seething, head vein a-pulsing and eyes a-twitching, just waiting for the movie to end so I wouldn't have to smell the remains of my arm rest neighbor's diaper.
The self-deprecating tone of the film hits incredibly early. We catch up with our merry pranksters George Beard (Hart) and Harold Hutchins (Middleditch) just as they're putting the finishing touches on their newest Captain Underpants comic book. When not irreverently goofing about in George's treehouse however, the duo are under the watchful, indignant eye of the grumpy Principal Krupp (Helms). To counter-act their oppressive environment, George and Harold pull elaborate pranks which eventually put them in hot water. Now faced with the prospect of separation, George and Harold inadvertently hypnotize Principal Krupp and turn him into the super but dunder-headed Captain Underpants.
What follows beyond this point is a constant barrage of light-hearted gags and elaborate slap-sticky moments that culminate in the quick and easy introduction, exploration and expulsion of our main villain Prof. Poopypants (Kroll). If you giggled to yourself about the prospect of having a villain by that name then congratulations this movie is for you. If however you chuckled more at the fact that Nick Kroll is once again voice acting for a character whose name is the butt of a butt of a joke, then maybe you'll find Captain Underpants more cheeky as opposed to outright funny.
And even then up to a certain point. The inherent lack of tension, reinforced by the film's complete inability to take itself seriously, all but guarantees that it'll eventually wear down most parents. That's of course if you're not already a Melvin like me. Kids self-effacing enough to claim they want to see this movie will either find more fulfillment reading the books or find themselves breaking focus so they can play with their fidget spinners.
Come to think of it, fidget spinners are a perfect metaphor for this movie. It's simple, it's elegant, it can provide a good half-hour of entertainment; yet after you get over the novelty, there's really not much to it other than a seemingly endless patter of puns and potty jokes. I mean, imagine if I told you the funniest poop joke you've ever heard, immediately followed by the second, third, fourth, funniest etc. There comes a point when you want to talk about anything else but poop!
