The tag line is simply brilliant, but that's about the only thing remotely associated with this film that would classify as such.

The elements of the film don’t quite mesh: The villains are cartoony, but [director] Du Chau aims for soggy family drama in his father-son story.

The film is a smug and contemptuous mess from beginning to end that is likely to bore little kids and aggravate any adult still holding fond memories of the character from their own childhoods.

An underachiever.

A very bad dog of a movie.

...not as bad as it might have been...

Oh, there's reason to fear. 'Underdog' the movie is here.

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

After a lovably dopey prologue culled from the TV cartoon, this live-action adaptation gets down to the business of entertaining tweens, earnestly and nonironically.

Yet another misbegotten live-action remake of a beloved Saturday morning cartoon, Underdog is a negligible family film that's so blandly formulaic, it makes the original, '60s-era cartoon look downright edgy in comparison.