Underdog: Critic Reviews

The endearing airborne-beagle effects help to offset the formula twists.

The lackluster story connects the cliches but leaves the characters isolated. Underdog may have been originally created to sell cereal for General Mills, but this latest incarnation couldn't sell Frisbees at a dog park.

Where (oh where) are Tennessee Tuxedo and Phineas J. Whoopie when we need them?

Underdog is made for the Saturday morning TV crowd, and parents who lead their tykes to this adventure aren't likely to leave disappointed.

The TV show was mildly subversive, with humor that children and adults could enjoy on different levels, but the movie strives for a blander, family-oriented middle ground.

Underdog is an underachiever in almost every way.

The sort of noisy, over-produced affair in line with much recent family-friendly programming.

I have an idea for the sequel: Underdog Vs. Michael Vick.

It's a harmless bore.

Even at a lean 84 minutes, padded with a credit blooper reel, it seems long. If you've seen one flying dog, you've seen them all. Jay Leno's cameo appearance proves he's almost as big a publicity hound as Larry King.

Good one-liners and dog tricks, but no best in show.

The movie's sloppiness is galling, especially given its target audience. It's one thing to feed grown-ups junk, and another to serve it to consumers too young to know they're being had.

Underdog as a film is not totally worthless. It's a winner with kids, as is anything with a talking dog.

The essential cartooniness of the plot and the gags works against the rather lame attempt to lather on a message about reconciliation between father and son.

While this idea may have been enough to happily fill 25 minutes, the film version fails to effectively stretch it out to feature-length.

Call me a kid at heart, but Underdog is the cutest doggone fantasy.

At just over 80 minutes it feels not so much like a proper film as a piece of extended filler for slow afternoons on Disney's TV channels.

...an affable, sporadically entertaining piece of work that's ultimately undone by its emphasis on relentlessly silly elements...

Despite the talent on show, there's little to distinguish this from any other bland family comedy.

An ill-conceived and often irritating bout of Children's film fare...

Disney's charmless live-action resurrection of the beloved super-mutt [is] just a bunch of mercenary actors and technicians who can barely disguise their contempt for the film's screenplay

...rather dull and uninspired, lacking in imagination or humorous spark.