Friday, December 17, 2021

There's No Need To Fear!


Underdog remains one of the most thoroughly entertaining cartoons of its kind. In an era when myriad versions of superheroes were turning up in all shapes, sizes and species the hero who was the humble Shoeshine rose above the chaff. The reason was sharp writing to maximize the limited animation necessary to make the project profitable and the voice of the singular Wally Cox. Underdog was created under a specific mandate from advertisers to create something "super".  So, the crew at Total TeleVision productions (Buck Biggers, Chet Stover and artist Joe Harris among others) went to work to make a show that would as successful as had been King Leonardo and his Friends and Tennesse Tuxedo. The inspiration according to one tale is that the episode of I Love Lucy in which Lucy imitates Superman was the spur to make a superhero show. 


Underdog proved to be quite successful and one year after its creation was rewarded with a balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. The show not only had the adventures of Underdog as he whipped around the globe and beyond saving Sweet Polly Purebred from the clutches of sundry aliens and villains such as Simon Bar Sinister and Riff Raff, but offered up the hijinks of the Go-Go Gophers, Klondike Kat, Commander McBragg among others from the TTV stable. 


2007 was a banner year for Underdog as the property was dusted off after several decades and given the big screen treatment using modern digital techniques to bring to seeming real life a dog who is a superhero among people. It's a charming movie, if not a great one and has some really outstanding villains in Peter Dinklage as Simon Bar Sinister and Patrick Warburton as his henchman Cad Lackey. The weakness is that like many of these kinds of movies we have to endure a cute kid as Underdog's "master" in the story. But all things considered it's a diverting and entertaining outing. 


Underdog had a decent career in comics at Gold Key and at Charlton throughout the 70's despite the fact the show was itself cancelled in 1967 after three seasons on network TV. There was a brief comic revial in the 80's and there are new comics today from American Mythology which offer new stories as well as reprints of the classic tales. I'm surprised really that Underdog has not been revised and updated for new cartoon episodes. But likely I'd dislike those as with most revivals the omnipresent irony would wear thin quickly. 


To read much more about Underdog and other Total TeleVision productions check out Mark Arnold's book on the subject. Not only is there stuff on Underdog but Tennesse Tuxedo and other dandy cartoons as well. The dvd set from Shout Factory is the most comprehensive presentation of the series and is highly recommended for cartoon lovers by the management here at the Dojo. There's no need to fear...Underdog is here!

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4 comments:

  1. One interesting curiosity is that in the first episode, "Safe Waif," Underdog seems pretty much a total goofup. Then, as I recall, in all other episodes, he sometimes does silly things, but on the whole he's able to beat villains with both his brain and his super powers.

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    1. Exactly so. Underdog was such a nincompoop in the first cartoon and it was hard to root for him, and his clumsiness was a joke that wore thin and they were smart to underplay as the shows rolled by.

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  2. Used to watch this mornings before school, before an episode of Batman. Loved it, such a fun show. Never saw that movie, though. Might not ever. ;)

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    1. It won't be a tragedy if you don't. I waited over ten years to see it and enjoyed more than I thought, but if I'd never seen it that would've been fine too.

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