Movie Review - Captain Underpants

I admit I enjoy a good fart joke. And I enjoy the Captain Underpants books. So the other day when we were all suffering from the flu and needed something to watch, we turned on Captain Underpants. It was the only thing on Netflix that we actually wanted to watch. (That's a whole separate rant - Netflix has a much better user interface but crappy selection, Hulu has a better selection of shows but a really crappy interface. Don't get me started...)

So here's the review: Captain Underpants is an awesome romantic comedy.

It dawned on me partway through the movie that they were following the basic storyboard for a romcom. Completely. Including the cheesy musical montage number about a third of the way through. It was awesome.

The story is told, and partially illustrated, by the two main characters, George and Harold, mischievous grade-schoolers who adore a good prank. They have a great romance going - bff's forever. The villain, sort of, is Principal Krupp, who is determined to subjugate them and crush all joy from the kids at the school. He also has a shot at romance with Edna the Lunch Lady.

Things get a lot more complicated. Yes, it involves a superhero wearing just his underwear and a cape. But Captain Underpants is awesome. It involves giant robotic toilets. And lots and lots of gags that third-grade boys find hilarious. I know, I work with a whole bunch of them in Cub Scouts.

But the movie rises above the potty humor. It never reaches the point where I just want it to stop. They keep it light. The story is actually a pretty good story. The animation is beautifully done.

And the romance is a tear-jerker. So sweet...

Overall, this was one fun romp of a movie.

Four stars, with some mild violence and a few Poopypants jokes.

Okay, I admit I'm very biased about Captain Underpants. The books potty trained one of my kids. I will love him forever...