Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie

Captain Underpants:
The First Epic Movie
Film poster showing Captain Underpants, standing on top of a building. Behind him is a moon showing a silhouette of a pair of underwear.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDavid Soren
Screenplay byNicholas Stoller
Based onCaptain Underpants
by Dav Pilkey
Produced by
Starring
Edited byMatthew Landon
Music byTheodore Shapiro
Production
company
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release dates
Running time
90 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States[3]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$38 million[4]
Box office$125.4 million[5]

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie is a 2017 American animated superhero comedy film based on Dav Pilkey's children's novel series, titled Captain Underpants, produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox, the film was directed by David Soren from a screenplay by Nicholas Stoller, and stars the voices of Kevin Hart, Ed Helms, Nick Kroll, Thomas Middleditch, Jordan Peele, and Kristen Schaal, the film was released during the 20th anniversary of the Captain Underpants series. In the film, two fourth-grade pranksters, named George and Harold, hypnotize their humorless principal, named Mr. Krupp, into thinking he is a superhero, named Captain Underpants. The film loosely adapts the first, the second, the fourth, and the eleventh Captain Underpants books.

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie first premiered at the Regency Village Theatre, in Los Angeles, California, in the United States, on May 21, 2017, and was first released theatrically in theatres, in the United States, on June 2, 2017, in both the 2-D and the 3-D formats. The film received generally positive reviews, with critics praising the animation, humor, faithfulness, and references to its source material, and voice acting, particularly from Helms. It grossed $125 million worldwide against a budget for $38 million, the lowest budget for a film from DreamWorks Animation, until 2021, with Spirit Untamed, which had a budget for $30 million.[6]

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie was the last film from DreamWorks Animation to be distributed by 20th Century Fox, following the acquisition of both DreamWorks Pictures and DreamWorks Animation by both Comcast and NBCUniversal in 2016, and the acquisition of 20th Century Fox by The Walt Disney Company in 2019. Universal Pictures began distributing films from DreamWorks Animation beginning from 2019 with How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.

A spin-off television series, titled The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants, premiered on Netflix on July 13, 2018, while a spin-off film, titled Dog Man, is slated to be released by Universal Pictures on January 31, 2025.[7]

  1. ^ Rechtshaffen, Michael (June 1, 2017). "'Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 17, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  2. ^ "Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie". AMC Theatres. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  3. ^ "Captain Underpants The First Epic Movie (2017)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  4. ^ McClintock, Pamela (June 1, 2017). "Box Office Preview: 'Wonder Woman' Readies for $95M-Plus U.S. Debut". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  5. ^ "Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  6. ^ Amidi, Amid (June 2, 2017). "'Captain Underpants' Could Dramatically Alter The U.S. Feature Animation Industry". Cartoon Brew. Cartoon Brew, LLC. Archived from the original on June 2, 2017. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
  7. ^ Grobar, Matt (January 29, 2024). "'Dog Man' Movie Based On Books From 'Captain Underpants' Creator Set For 2025 Release From Universal And DWA". Deadline. Retrieved January 29, 2024.