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| Shapiro |
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie: (Theodore
Shapiro) Prudish parents, often of religious sensibilities, have
protested the popularity of Dav Pilkey's "Captain Underpants" children's
novels dating back to the 1990's. These humorless folks have had these
books banned in schools because of insensitivity, offensive language,
encouraging disruptive behavior, promoting homosexuality, violence,
being unsuited to the age group, sexually explicit content, glorifying
fecal obsession, anti-family content, and encouraging children to
disobey authority. Clearly, Pilkey was doing something right. It took
twenty years before the concept transitioned to animation on screen,
bypassing television to launch straight to theatres in 2017 as
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie. After earning
surprising critical praise and box office success, the franchise shifted
immediately to an equally engrossing television series. The film's plot
maintains all the basics of the book, two Ohio school boy pranksters
discovering that they can hypnotize adults into becoming asinine super
heroes. Their primary target is their cruel principal, Mr. Krupp, who
they hypnotize with a cheap, plastic prize ring so that he becomes
Captain Underpants, a ridiculous superhero who wears only briefs and a
cape while endeavoring foolishly to save the day. The two boys make
comics about Captain Underpants and sell them to classmates, launching a
series of battles between them and Krupp. Meanwhile, an evil inventor by
the convenient name of Professor Pee-Pee Diarrheastein Poopypants
descends upon the school with the intent of ridding all the children of
laughter with the help of evil, talking toilets that you don't want to
sit on. In the end, Captain Underpants acquires real superpowers, gets
involved in a nascent romance, and allows the boys to continue bringing
good cheer to the school. (Sadly, Wedgie Woman makes no appearance in
the movie.) The whole affair is hopelessly stupid until you look at it
from the perspective of a fourth-grader, at which point
Captain
Underpants: The First Epic Movie makes a fair amount of sense.
The movie represented the first time music was associated
with the concept, and since the boys are fans of "Weird Al" Yankovic in
the stories, it's no surprise that he became involved in the picture.
More impactful was the hiring of parody master Theodore Shapiro for both
the score and songs in
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie.
The prior projects of director David Soren had typically been scored by
the many minions of Hans Zimmer's Remote Control Productions, but
Shapiro's involvement here is an absolutely perfect match. The composer
had already pilfered nearly every genre with parody music by this time,
proving himself adept at smart applications of stereotypes in such
scores. The assignment of
Captain Underpants: The First Epic
Movie was a little tougher, arguably; the entire point of parody
scores is to play the music seriously while the action on screen
provides the comedy by juxtaposition. But for this story, Shapiro had to
supply some of that strategy while also allowing the music to devolve
into outright stupidity alongside the story, essentially putting him in
the position of having to write funny music meant directly for gags. The
resulting soundtrack has a touch of Alan Menken and Marc Shaiman
deviancy in the songs while the score offers a blend of high-style
parody and Carl Stalling "Mickey Mousing." Some listeners' heads will
explode after hearing the result, but while portions of the work are
obnoxious by design, the whole is expertly rendered and extraordinarily
intelligent. The score is a fully orchestral and choral bonanza, aided
by a few headliner songs and a handful of source-like, vocalized pieces
of humor. (Naturally, the two halves were not released together on one
album.) Most importantly, since Shapiro had a hand in helping compose
and/or arrange the songs, the melodies of the two primary songs do
inform the score's top two themes, a welcome and refreshing synchrony.
The "Weird Al" Yankovic title song, "Captain Underpants Theme Song,"
isn't among his best, but it will induce smiles by the time it infuses
the score's large choral and orchestral layers. More directly impactful
in its melody on the score is Andy Grammar's modern and upbeat rock in
"A Friend Like You."
Among the secondary songs of
Captain Underpants: The
First Epic Movie, the "Saturday" entry offers two variants,
including a cast version that bring the insanity of an ensemble of
kazoos into the songs. The villain is punctuated by George Frideric
Handel's "Messiah," with the song version of "Hallelujah" a fuller
version of the score performance with lead vocal overlays from the cast.
And, of course, the soundtrack wouldn't be complete without the "1812
Ofarture," made with fart and burp sound effects over an orchestra in
ways that certainly must make Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky turn over in his
grave every time it is played. The score makes its own plentiful
references to other composers' work, John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith
not immune to Shapiro's sense of humor. Comparisons to the fanfare
rhythm of
Superman are inevitable for the main Captain Underpants
theme, but there's an extended pull from
Gremlins at 1:42 (and
with more force later) in "A Hero is Born." Pieces from
E.T. The
Extra Terrestrial and even the Frank Sinatra song, "New York, New
York," manage to wiggle in that "A Hero is Born" cue, which is
particularly burgeoning with referential fun. Generally, Shapiro's
instrumental tone is haphazard but functional. The lively orchestra is
joined by adult choir and a slew of specialty sounds that are
highlighted by 1980's analog synthesizer tones that are effectively
annoying. Some light rock elements join those tones as representation of
the two boys and their carefree and somewhat cool imaginations. Mischief
is provided by the kazoo ensemble that litters early cues. An accordion
handles the silly romantic portions with consistency. For darker
concepts, Shapiro turns to a theremin for the hypnotization aspect and a
cimbalom for the villain. It doesn't really matter in the end of these
accents are remotely organic or if they are purely sampled, as the
vivaciousness of the surrounding orchestral players more than
compensates. Much of the success of the soundtrack as a whole comes from
the close coordination of instrumentation between the songs and the
score, the chorus' vocalized heroic lyrics especially vital to the main
theme song and served up by Shapiro in several reminders throughout the
score even if much of the phrasing of the song actually doesn't persist
in the score.
Shapiro provides four significant themes and one recurring
minor motif to
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie, and each
of them is a resounding success. Rarely do scores offer such outstanding
narrative development in their themes, Shapiro developing, manipulating,
and overlapping each with extreme care and humor. The main Captain
Underpants theme shares some but not all phrasing with the "Weird Al"
Yankovic "Captain Underpants Theme Song." The melody punctuates the
massive fantasy of the first minute of "Comic Book Opening" in otherwise
nicely unique melodic bravado, the hero rhythm introduction building to
first full statement of the theme for brass and choir at 1:18 over
roaring snare and cymbals. Wild flutes and bursts with choral lyrics
commence at 0:54 into "Bromance Origin Story," the "Underpants... He's
Captain Underpants!" singing quite unforgettable. The theme receives
quiet foreshadowing on brass at 1:14 into "Snooping" but is teased in a
massive build-up in the first minute of "A Hero is Born." Here, it
rollicks in propulsive Silvestri form at about minute in, leading to the
title lyrics, a
Superman allusion in counterpoint at 1:19 before
a big reveal at 2:20, and a redemptive choral performance at the end
with a little "New York, New York" touch. From here, the identity is
adjusted to the less ideal conditions of the heroism, false starts with
the rhythm at the outset of "Bringing Krupp Home" finally exploding with
the full theme over victorious wordless choir but diminishing faintly
against the rhythms of the friendship theme in the middle of "Two Blue
Eyes." A slight reference to the rhythm and theme at 0:54 into
"Hallelujah, His Name is Poopypants" is followed by a pinch of hope
against the villain material at 0:32 into "Anti-Humor Boy," a subtle
hint late in "Art Class Liberation" yielding one major vocal cameo, and
a declaration war throughout "Carnival Conniptions" in multitudes of
fragments. A slight piano reference at the end of "Separation Anxiety"
is a great touch, and the rhythm builds steam at the start of
"Flip-O-Rama!" before the theme bursts at 0:16. The main theme fights
the villain identity early in "Really Silly Names," and its secondary
phrasing finally matures in "Saving the Day," where it follows huge
anticipation with the theme's vocals at 4:09 and bumbles along with
pompous, cymbal-crashing heroism at 5:12 and with genuine relief at the
end of the cue as it finally defeats the villain material.
While the general tone of the major performances of the
Captain Underpants theme may not vary much when they are vocalized, they
still maintain an intelligent narrative arc highlighted by the final
cue. It turns whimsical at 2:07 into "The Prank for Good" on flute and
harp for a dose of vintage
E.T. charm before closing the cue at
5:06 with the necessary vocal fanfare sendoff. Applied brilliantly as
counterpoint to that final moment is Shapiro's friendship theme for the
two boys, an idea that shares it melody and secondary phrasing with "A
Friend Like You." Straight instrumentation matches and snippets of
vocals from that song carry over to "Treehouse," a cue that allows
Shapiro's analog sounds and rock percussion to combine with score's
synthetics as a transitional moment. The theme is tentative and
fragmented early in "Bromance Origin Story" but debuts in its fullest
form at 0:31 on keyboarding over quirky synthetics, and a really warm
and optimistic rendition at 1:10 closes the cue. The friendship theme
underlines the melodramatic choral fantasy at the outset of "Annihilate
the Friendship" and is nicely eerie at 1:10 on solo piano over choral
haze, a passage sadly interrupted by terrible analog tones at 1:40. The
theme carries an espionage variant for the boys' deviousness, and that
version is developed at 0:40 into "Snooping," 0:52 into "Bringing Krupp
Home," and 0:43 into "Two Blue Eyes" with less sleaze. From there, the
theme continues to prove its remarkable malleability, shifting to deep
choral fantasy at 0:24 into "Power of the Hypno Ring" prior to tribal
chanting and massive size at 1:12 under the Hypno Ring motif. It serves
as a rambunctious interlude to the main theme in the last minute of "A
Hero is Born," lends slick 1970's influence on the original electronics
late in "Bringing Krupp Home," is lightly affable at 0:20 into "Brain of
a Child" against the villain's theme, and continues the same way at 0:18
into "Hallelujah, His Name is Poopypants." It's massively redemptive at
1:00 into "Art Class Liberation" (again annoyingly diminishing to analog
cuteness), struggles in agony late in "Carnival Conniptions," and
laments on solo cello at 0:16 into "Separation Anxiety" before gaining
melodramatic volume that eventually includes the choir and entire
ensemble. The friendship theme turns positive with choir again at 0:29
into "A World Without Laughter," makes a quick statement at the start of
"Really Silly Names" (returning to its analog personality at 0:52 but
suddenly interrupted), and is lightly exuberant at 2:25 into "Saving the
Day" before turning heroic itself to achieve one grand statement of
defiance at 3:01.
Like the main theme for
Captain Underpants: The
First Epic Movie, the friendship theme experiences catharsis in the
conclusive "The Prank for Good," where the idea is wholesome at the
outset, with its secondary sequences mostly organic and pretty. The
significant woodwind presence for the melody is a first, strings adding
warmth, and the more mature, keyboarded version at 1:36 allows the
analog effects in a better dose against the ensemble. The theme receives
one last, pretty resolution at 4:45 for the full group and is provided
the excellent aforementioned snippet as counterpoint to the main theme
in the closing fanfare. The third major theme in the score belongs to
Professor Poopiepants, whose theme consists of typically stomping,
ascending, six-note phrases of obvious, evil intent. The Handel
"Messiah" references don't directly relate to the theme but are instead
the boys' reaction to the character. A rattling cimbalom often
accompanies this material, as does an occasional tuba for the emulation
of flatulence. (Tubas continue to represent fat people and farty people,
neither of which particularly fair.) The idea has its own rhythmic
figures that are highly reminiscent of Danny Elfman's opening to
Beetlejuice, this underlying rhythm debuting on tuba at 0:29 into
"Mad Genius Inventor." The theme itself emerges at 0:40 into that cue on
brass in a brief crescendo of menace. It opens "Brain of a Child" with
its bubbly rhythm underneath and teased melodic fragments, a massive
performance at 1:22 interrupted by humorous brass slur. The theme
continues its bloated threatening to start "Hallelujah, His Name is
Poopypants," and a frustrated variant opens "The Nobel Prize" with
cimbalom before becoming stately and classical on harpsichord at 0:58
and then whimsically romantic in full; these are really fantastic
manipulations of a theme that returns to the realm of evil at the end of
the cue. The stomping rhythm opens "Anti-Humor Boy" on the low brass,
joined by the theme, with analog style and kazoos at 0:50 yielding to a
pounding brass crescendo at 1:28. The Poopiepants villain's theme builds
to a huge fantasy proclamation in the first minute of "Art Class
Liberation," twists into a deviant, almost Russian form at 0:27 into
"Carnival Conniptions," shines in its rhythm at 0:14 into "Poopypants
Has No Gas," and prances victoriously at 0:50 into "A World Without
Laughter" with resolute ensemble, repetitively building to more menacing
renditions. It accompanies the hero rhythm at 0:30 into "Flip-O-Rama!"
in a truly fantastic overlap of ideas, and that battle persists into the
first half of "Really Silly Names."
The villain's theme of
Captain Underpants: The First
Epic Movie stomps in overlapping performances at the outset of
"Saving the Day," its rhythm progressing along in the first minute and
returning at 3:18. The theme stews in the middle of the cue, remaining
defiant at 5:00 and thereafter, and Shapiro offers the long cue one last
pairing of the theme and rhythm as they die off. Along the same
emotional lines is the composer's Hypno Ring motif, simple rising pairs
on theremin that emerge at 1:10 into "Snooping" and become fuller at
1:02 into "Power of the Hypno Ring." It opens "A Hero is Born" before
hoedown madness and tribal exoticism and starts "A World Without
Laughter" hysterically before blasting with force at 0:40. The theremin
suggests the protagonists' themes in the middle of "Saving the Day," and
the motif is reminded humorously at 2:13 into "The Prank for Good" with
one phrase. It's a cheap motif meant for quick synchronization point
thrills, but it works. More entertaining but not substantially deep is
the love theme for the principal and lunch lady's silly romance. It's
built upon six-note phrases with French romance stylings, often with
accordion, and expect the score's most lovely interludes to come from
this idea. The accordion carries it in the latter half of "Tuna
Casserole" and briefly to open "Snooping," but the idea is joined by
noble brass at 1:39 into "Two Blue Eyes," confirming Shapiro's intent to
manipulate every major theme in the score to an alter-ego at some point.
The idea really shines in the conclusive "The Prank for Good," with
fuzzy synthetics and woodwinds at 3:18 developing really nicely at 4:13
on piano and accordion after a crescendo of false fright. Ultimately,
these themes weave a magnificent tapestry that stands as one of the best
narrative application of themes to grace a children's score in quite
some time. Shapiro has provided incredibly intelligent parody music in
small doses through the years, but
Captain Underpants: The First Epic
Movie is a culmination of all those efforts. Still, since he didn't
play the parody mode with straight seriousness, opting for an abundance
of cheap humor and cartoonish diversions, the score can be
headache-inducing for some listeners. The album situation is also not
ideal, the songs and score really needing to be provided on one product
(which was possible given their lengths) due to the close relations
between the two. This is not music that you will be able to forget even
if you tried, the catchiness factor so overwhelming that it's not
recommended that you play it for your kids, because they'll be singing
it for months after just one listen. That might be acceptable if they've
been trained to wash the shit stains out of their own underwear.
@Amazon.com: CD or
Download
- Music as Written for the Film: *****
- Music as Heard on Album: ****
- Overall: ****
The insert of the Virgin/Capitol album includes no extra information
about the score or film. The Back Lot album has no official packaging.
