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Captain Underpants

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For the film, see Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie. For the TV series, see The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants.

Captain Underpants
Logo of the series
AuthorDav Pilkey
IllustratorDav Pilkey
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre
PublisherScholastic
Published
  • September 1, 1997 – August 25, 2015 (main series)
  • February 5, 2002 – present (spin-offs)
Media typePrint (hardback and paperback)
No. of books12

Captain Underpants is an illustrated children's novel series by American author and illustrator Dav Pilkey. The series revolves around two fourth graders, George Beard and Harold Hutchins, living in Piqua, Ohio, and Captain Underpants, an aptly named superhero from one of the boys' homemade comic books, who accidentally becomes real when George and Harold hypnotize their cruel, bossy, and ill-tempered principal, Mr. Krupp. From the third book onwards, Mr. Krupp also possesses superhuman strength, durability and flight as a result of drinking Alien "Extra-Strength Super Power Juice".

Currently, the series includes 12 books, two activity books, colored versions, 15 spin-offs, and won a Kids' Choice Award on April 4, 2006. As of 2014, the series has been translated into more than 20 languages,[1] with more than 80 million books sold worldwide,[1] including over 50 million in the United States.[2]

DreamWorks Animation acquired the rights to the series to make an animated feature film adaptation, Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie, which was released on June 2, 2017, to positive reviews, followed by a television series, The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants, which aired on Netflix from July 13, 2018 to December 4, 2020, also to positive reviews.

After the main series concluded with the twelfth novel, Captain Underpants and the Sensational Saga of Sir Stinks-A-Lot, in 2016, a spin-off series titled Dog Man was released the following year.[3] The spin-off series has 12 books so far.

Novels

[edit]

The main series of novels has developed a pattern of alliteration from the fourth book on. The third book's "annoyingly long" title became a running joke in subsequent books.

Novels 6–12 in the main series form one unbroken story, in which the ending of each of such novel except the last is a cliffhanger, and the next novel in sequence immediately picks up where the last one left off.

Captain Underpants novels

[edit]
  1. The Adventures of Captain Underpants (1997)
  2. Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets (1999)
  3. Captain Underpants and the Invasion of the Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies from Outer Space (and the Subsequent Assault of the Equally Evil Lunchroom Zombie Nerds) (1999)
  4. Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants (2000)
  5. Captain Underpants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman (2001)
  6. Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy, Part 1: The Night of the Nasty Nostril Nuggets (2003)
  7. Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy, Part 2: The Revenge of the Ridiculous Robo-Boogers (2003)
  8. Captain Underpants and the Preposterous Plight of the Purple Potty People (2006)
  9. Captain Underpants and the Terrifying Re-Turn of Tippy Tinkletrousers (2012)[4]
  10. Captain Underpants and the Revolting Revenge of the Radioactive Robo-Boxers (2013)[5]
  11. Captain Underpants and the Tyrannical Retaliation of the Turbo Toilet 2000 (2014)[6]
  12. Captain Underpants and the Sensational Saga of Sir Stinks-A-Lot (2015)[6]

Captain Underpants activity books

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  1. The Captain Underpants Extra-Crunchy Book o' Fun (2001)
  2. The All-New Captain Underpants Extra-Crunchy Book o' Fun 2 (2002)
  3. The Captain Underpants Super Silly Sticker Studio (2005)

Captain Underpants spin-offs

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  1. The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby (2002)
  2. The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future (2010) (out of print as of March 2021)
  3. Super Diaper Baby 2: The Invasion of the Potty Snatchers (2011)

Dog Man

[edit]
The logo for Dog Man
"Dog Man" redirects here. For the upcoming film based on the novels, see Dog Man (film).

Dog Man is a comedic graphic novel series created by Dav Pilkey as a full spin-off book series after Captain Underpants ended with its 12th entry.[7] The book series centers around Dog Man, a new hero with the body of police officer, Officer Knight and the head of Greg the Dog sewn together.[8] There are 12 books so far in the series.[9] The latest book, Dog Man: The Scarlet Shedder was released on March 19, 2024.

A video game based on the comics titled Dog Man: Mission Impawsible will be released on December 6, 2024. An animated film is in development with a release date of January 31, 2025.

In 2020, ten Dog Man books (including one Cat Kid Comic Club, a spin-off) sold a total of over 3.8 million copies, 13% of the total comic book sales, as charted by BookScan. This does not include digital copies or any copy sold by Scholastic through school book fairs.[10]

These books have been released or announced so far in the series:

  1. Dog Man (2016)
  2. Dog Man: Unleashed (2016)
  3. Dog Man: A Tale of Two Kitties (2017)
  4. Dog Man and Cat Kid (2017)
  5. Dog Man: Lord Of The Fleas (2018)
  6. Dog Man: Brawl of the Wild (2018)
  7. Dog Man: For Whom The Ball Rolls (2019)
  8. Dog Man: Fetch-22 (2019)
  9. Dog Man: Grime and Punishment (2020)
  10. Dog Man: Mothering Heights (2021)
  11. Dog Man: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under The Sea (2023)
  12. Dog Man: The Scarlet Shedder (2024)
  13. Dog Man: Big Jim Begins (2024) (Upcoming, December 3rd 2024)

The series has its own spin-off series titled Cat Kid Comic Club, with five books released:

  1. Cat Kid Comic Club (2020)
  2. Cat Kid Comic Club: Perspectives (2021)
  3. Cat Kid Comic Club: On Purpose (2022)
  4. Cat Kid Comic Club: Collaborations (2022)
  5. Cat Kid Comic Club: Influencers (2023)

Captain Underpants collectors' editions

[edit]
  1. The Adventures of Captain Underpants: Collectors' Edition (2005)
  2. Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets: Collectors' Edition (2007)
  3. Captain Underpants and the Invasion of the Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies from Outer Space (and the Subsequent Assault of the Equally-Evil Lunchroom Zombie Nerds): Collectors' Edition (2008)

Captain Underpants collections

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  • The Tra-La-La Riffic Captain Underpants Collection/The First Captain Underpants Collection (Books 1–4; 1997–2000)
  • Three More Wedgie-Powered Adventures in One (Books 4-6; 2006)
  • The Second Captain Underpants Collection/The Tra-La-Larious Captain Underpants (Books 5–7 & Super Diaper Baby; 2001–2003)
  • Captain Underpants: Three Pantastic Novels in One (Books 1–3; 1997–99)
  • The New Captain Underpants Collection (Books 1–5; 1997–2000)
  • The Tra-La-La Tremendous Captain Underpants Collection (Books 5–8; 2001–2006)
  • The Complete Captain Underpants Collection (Books 1–8; 1997–2006)
  • The Captain Underpants Collectors' Edition Collection (Books 1–3 + 3 CD-ROMs; 1997–1999, 2005–2008)

Captain Underpants in Full Color

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Potentially cancelled books

[edit]

These books were reported "coming soon-ish" at the end of a few books. No further information or cancellation has been released since their tease.

  • The Captain Underpants Cartoon-O-Rama Book: Heroes, Villains, and Supercreeps (mentioned in Captain Underpants and the Preposterous Plight of the Purple Potty People)
  • FrankenFart vs. The Bionic Barf Bunnies from Diarrhea Land (made appearances in Captain Underpants and the Preposterous Plight of the Purple Potty People and Cat Kid Comic Club)
  • The Adventures of Ook and Gluk Jr: Kung-Fu Cavekids in Outer Space (likely to be completely cancelled due to the discontinuation of the first Ook and Gluk book)
  • Captain Underpants Presents: F.A.R.T.S. The Major Motion Picture (made appearances in Super Diaper Baby 2: The Invasion of the Potty Snatchers)

Characters

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Overview

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List indicator(s):

  • A dark gray cell indicates that the character was not in the property or that the character's presence in the property has yet to be announced.
  • A Main indicates a character had a starring role in the property.
  • A Supporting indicates the character appeared in two or more times within the property.
  • A Guest indicates the character appeared once in the property.
Character Book series Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie The Epic Tales
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 Special
1997 1999 2000 2001 2003 2003 2006 2012 2013 2014 2015 2017
Main characters
George Beard Main
Harold Hutchins Main
Benjamin Krupp
Captain Underpants 		Main
Sulu Main Main Mentioned
Crackers Main Main
Yesterday George Beard Main
Yesterday Harold Hutchins Main
Tony Guest Main
Dawn Guest Main
Orlando Guest Main
Lunchlady Edith Main
Erica Wang Main
Dressy Killman Main
Villains
Doctor Diaper Main Guest Mentioned Guest
Melvin Sneedly
Bionic Booger Boy
Big Melvin 		Main Guest Guest Guest Main Guest Main Guest Main
Turbo Toilet 2000 Main Guest Guest Guest Main Main
Zorx Main Guest
Klax Main Guest
Jennifer Main Guest
The Deliriously, Dangerous, Death-Defying Dandelion of Doom Main
Tippy Tinkletrousers
Professor Pippy Pee-Pee "P" Diarrheastien Poopypants Esq. 		Main Guest Guest Main Guest Main
Tara Ribble
Wedgie Woman 		Guest Main Guest Guest
Carl Guest Main Mentioned
Trixie Guest Main
Frankenbooger Guest Main
Evil George Beard Main
Evil Harold Hutchins Main
Captain Blunderpants Main
Giant Evil Sulu Main
Kipper Krupp and his Goons Main Guest
Zombie Nerd George Beard and Zombie Nerd Harold Hutchins Guest Guest
Kenny Brian Meaner
Coach / Sir Stinks-A-Lot 		Guest Guest Mentioned Supporting Main Guest Recurring
Teachers
Miss Edith Anthrope Guest Supporting Main Main Guest Main Recurring
Mr. Morty Fyde Main Supporting Guest
Miss Singerbrains Main Mentioned
Mr. Riles Rected Guest Guest Supporting Recurring
Ms. Dayken Guest Guest
Students
Jessica Gordon Guest Guest Recurring
Gooch Yamaguchi Guest Recurring
Sophie One Recurring
Other Sophie Recurring
Bo Hweemuth Recurring
Stanley Peet Recurring

Main

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  • George Beard and Harold Hutchins – Two fourth grade pranksters, who are best friends, next-door neighbors, and the main protagonists of the series. They started a comic book company called "Treehouse Comix, Inc.", and sneak to the secretary's office at school to make copies of their latest comic book and sell on the playground. They are the class clowns in 4th grade at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School (named for Curly of the Three Stooges), a school which discourages imagination and fun, located in Piqua, Ohio. They often get in trouble with Mr. Krupp. In the ninth epic novel, Captain Underpants and the Terrifying Re-Turn of Tippy Tinkletrousers, George wore his hair in a huge afro when he was 5¾ years old (it is also mentioned that he got his hair cut into a flat top by Harold before their final anti-bully prank). After time travel antics, duplicates of them are created in the present, referred to as Yesterday George and Yesterday Harold. After the original duo travel to the future, they find their other selves to have become graphic novel creators. Future Yesterday George married a woman named Lisa and had two children named Meena and Nik. Future Yesterday Harold married a man named Billy and had adopted twin children named Owen and Kei. George's parents are named Moses (his father) and Barbara (his mother), while Harold's mother is named Grace (Harold's parents got divorced and his father moved to Nevada a few months before he turned six). George's grandmother and Harold's grandfather appear in the eighth book, where they unknowingly drink the last of the superpower juice while reading a comic the boys created where they are the heroes. They later transform into the same heroes to defend George and Harold from Captain Blunderpants and profess their love to each other, much to the boys' disgust. In the adaptations, their personalities are mostly unchanged, but they now usually only prank to entertain their schoolmates and treat Captain Underpants more as a friend than a last resort. In the film, they are respectively voiced by Kevin Hart and Thomas Middleditch and by Ramone Hamilton and Jay Gragnani in the series.
  • Mr. Benjamin "Benny" Krupp – The "cruel" and "mean-spirited" principal of Jerome Horwitz Elementary School and the antihero of the series (usually when no real dangers are happening). He is usually depicted as an overweight man. Mr. Krupp has a deep hatred of children and also tries to protect the students at Jerome Horwitz Elementary from George and Harold's pranks. He has a younger brother named Jasper (Kipper's father), and his parents are named John and Bernice. When Mr. Krupp was little, he performed a hip-hop dance at a talent show, his mother passed out fruits and vegetables to the audience so they could throw them at him because he did not watch the cows from his family farm. This leads him to become "mean" and "cold-hearted" and vow to make all kids feel just as bad as he did. His last name is a pun of the word "corrupt". When he goes by his full name, it is a pun on "bankrupt".[citation needed] Mr. Krupp was based on Mr. Crutch from Shrimps for a Day and was originally named Mr. Crutch. In the film, it is revealed that he read George and Harold's comics when he confiscated them and felt they were a little funny, which explains how he knows what Captain Underpants acts like when he is hypnotized. In the film, he is voiced by Ed Helms and in the series, he is voiced by Nat Faxon.
  • Captain Underpants – The superhero counterpart and alter ego/split personality of Mr. Krupp. He only wears white briefs and a red cape with black polka dots. Whenever Mr. Krupp hears the sound of fingers snapping, he turns into Captain Underpants and he turns back into Mr. Krupp when water is poured on his head. Captain Underpants gains superpowers in the third book and possessed superhuman strength, durability, flight, and "wedgie power" where he can pull unlimited underwear from his utility waistband. As the book series went on, Captain Underpants had increasingly minor roles in each installment. In the 12th book, he lost his superpowers and was erased from existence, much to George and Harold's apathy. Captain Underpants is considered to be the "light side" of Mr. Krupp himself, as he is friendly to everyone. He is very protective of children, especially George and Harold since he believes that they're his sidekicks. In the film, he is voiced by Ed Helms and in the series, he is voiced by Nat Faxon.
  • Melvin Richard Sneedly – George and Harold's nerdy nemesis. He is an "annoying snitch", a "genius inventor", and the school's smartest student. His parents, Cindy and Gaylord, are professional scientists and are canonically neglectful. In the Netflix series, he is thought to have been inventing ever since he was a baby and has a bizarre sense of humor, laughing at videos of rotting fruit. In the movie, he is the only student who has no sense of humor because he thinks everything childish is not funny and only focuses on his studies so he can get extra credit. He is also said to have no brain stem. In the eleventh book, he becomes a superhero named Big Melvin after he defeats the Turbo Toilet 2000 after he drinks superpower juice he created from Mr. Krupp's dirty toenail clipping. He rescued people from emergencies, but later, people started to abuse the system by calling him to do menial tasks. He travels back in time to bring Captain Underpants to the present to defeat the Turbo Toilet 2000 so his life as a superhero would never become reality. In the film, he is voiced by Jordan Peele and in the series by Jorge Diaz.
  • Sulu and Crackers – George and Harold's pets. Sulu was Melvin's abandoned pet bionic hamster who was adopted by George and Harold. Crackers is their pet Quetzalcoatlus they got when they traveled back in time with Melvin Sneedly's time machine. The pair then had three children together named Tony, Orlando, and Dawn.

Recurring

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In book 11, when the teachers saw two Georges and two Harolds, they think they are dreaming and then they go naked. They are arrested when Miss Fitt pulled down Officer McWiggly's pants. Mr Hand in the series gets hired.

  • Mr. Kenny Brian Meaner – Mr. Meaner is Jerome Horwitz Elementary School's gym teacher. He is depicted as being an overweight man and with a personality similar to Mr. Krupp's. Like him, he is cruel to students and often yells at them. He appeared in the Netflix series, where he is depicted as being ignorant and talks in a stutter by saying "yeah yeah yeah yeah." In book 12, Meaner becomes Sir Stinks-A-Lot. His name is a pun on the word "misdemeanor" or the saying "can he be meaner". He is voiced by David Koechner in the TV series. In the TV series, he has an alternate ego by the name of Sargeant Boxers, which was made as a replacement for Captain Underpants in the first episode of the second season.
  • Miss Edith Anthrope – The school secretary who is often shown to be in a bad mood. Like all the other teachers at the school including Mr. Krupp, she is unkind to children. She is slightly overweight, in contrast to most of the other teachers. In the movie, she is on hold for three days thinking she will win a contest with a cash prize of $1 billion. In the movie she does not speak, but in the series, she is voiced by Patty Mattson where she is glum but yells "Fine!". A running gag in the series involves her entering Mr. Krupp's office saying "Did you call me?" followed by something else she says. Her name is a pun of the word "misanthrope" or by saying "eat it/miss and throw up."
  • Mr. Morty Fyde – Mr. Fyde was the science teacher at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School. Unlike all the other grown-ups in the school, he is rather dorky and stupid. The events of the first three books gradually cause him to believe himself is insane and resign from his job to put himself in a mental institution (but in the movie Mr. Krupp simply fires Fyde because he'd rather spend time with his family instead of judge the school science fair and Krupp considers this unacceptable). His name is a pun on the words "mystified" and "mortified." In the film, he is voiced by Mel Rodriguez and in the series he is voiced by Stephen Root, where he is released from the mental institution, though he becomes nervous around loud noise, which is unfortunate for Mr. Fyde; an elementary school is practically built on noise. One of Melvin's inventions accidentally fuses Mr. Fyde with an avocado pit belonging to George and Harold, turning him into a giant avocado monster named Avocadwoe that attacks everything that makes loud sounds. Mr. Fyde is planted by Captain Underpants and he is turned into an avocado tree in a peaceful forest behind the school, something that Mr. Fyde is content with.
  • Ms. Tara Ribble – Ms. Ribble is the homeroom teacher of George and Harold's 4th-grade class. In book 5, she is hypnotized into becoming Wedgie Woman. Her name is a pun on the words "terrible" and "miserable." Voiced by Dee Dee Rescher in the movie and Laraine Newman in the TV series.
  • Miss Singerbrains – Miss Singerbrains is the librarian at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School who banned all but one of the books in the library and eventually closed down the library. Her name is a pun on the saying "missing her brains".
  • Mr. Riles Rected – Mr. Rected is the guidance counselor at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School. He is very nasty to students, especially George and Harold, and he is often seen hanging with Mr. Krupp, Mr. Meaner, Miss Anthrope, and Ms. Ribble. His name is a pun on the word "misdirected." He is voiced by Brian Posehn in the film and Jorge Diaz in the animated series.
  • Ms. Dayken – Ms. Dayken is a member of the teaching board at Jerome Horwitz Elementary school. Her name is a pun on the word "mistaken". In the film, she is voiced by Susan Fitzer and was George and Harold's kindergarten teacher where she teaches about the planets, including "Uranus," which the boys found amusing.
  • Mr. Rustworthy – Mr. Rustworthy is (according to his tie) the music teacher of Jerome Horwitz Elementary School. His name is a pun on the word "mistrustworthy". In the series, he is replaced by a different music teacher, Ms. Herd (a pun on "misheard").
  • The Lunch Ladies – The Lunch Ladies are the three women who run the cafeteria. They are notorious for cooking horrible, inedible, and possibly lethal food. They quit in the third book when Mr. Krupp says he cannot punish George and Harold for their antics without proof, though they are possibly rehired after the replacements are revealed to be aliens. Two of the Lunch Ladies are Miss Creant, the head lunch lady, and Mrs. DePoint, the cook. The revealed names are puns on the word "Miscreant" and the phrase "Misses the point".
  • Doctor Diaper (known alternatively as Doctor Nappy in the UK) – A diaper-clad mad scientist and the first villain Captain Underpants ever faced.
  • The Talking Toilets – An army of living toilets created by George and Harold, who were accidentally brought into the real world with a modified photocopier. All they could say is the phrase "Yum, yum, eat 'em up!"
  • The Turbo Toilet 2000 – A giant toilet created by George and Harold, who was accidentally brought into the real world with a modified photocopier. After he was defeated by the Incredible Robo-Plunger, he and the other toilets were taken to Uranus where he remained for several books until being brought back to life by juice from the destroyed Robo-Plunger. In the film, it was now Melvin's invention that was grown by Poopypants with his size ray.
  • The Incredible Robo-Plunger – A giant robot created by George and Harold to defeat the Turbo Toilet 2000. Afterwards, he repaired the school and took all the toilets to Uranus where he remained for several books until he was hit on the head by a kickball kicked into space by the Harold 2000. He is then rebuilt by the revived Turbo Toilet 2000 into a rocket scooter so the toilet could return to earth.
  • Zorx, Klax, and Jennifer – Three space aliens who planned to invade Piqua, Ohio. They are the main antagonists of the third book. They disguised themselves as lunch ladies to turn the students of Jerome Horwitz Elementary School into Zombie Nerds by using Evil Zombie Nerd Juice.
  • The Dandelion of Doom – A dandelion that absorbed alien super evil rapid-growth juice, causing it to grow into a giant monster.
  • Tippy Tinkletrousers (formerly known as Professor Pippy Pee-Pee Poopypants, and in the film as Prof. Pee-Pee Diarrheastien Poopypants Esq.) – A scientist who comes from a foreign country where everyone has a silly name. In book 4, he forces everyone on earth to change their names into a silly one. After his defeat, Professor Poopypants changes his name, suggested by George rather than forcing everybody to change theirs. But Poopypants does not change his name to something normal, instead, he changes it to his grandfather’s name Tippy Tinkletrousers. In the film, he is voiced by Nick Kroll.
  • Wedgie Woman (Ms. Ribble) – A villain created by George and Harold who was based on their teacher Ms. Ribble. After a second mishap with the Hypno-Ring, it convinced her that she is Wedgie Woman. At first, she has no superpowers, but after her hairstyle gets splattered with superpower juice from the third book her hair transforms into arms and she gains super-intelligence.
  • Robo-George and The Harold 2000 – Two giant robots built by Wedgie Woman based on George and Harold. They were fully obedient to Wedgie Woman; each had a vast arsenal of powerful weapons and gadgets and were programmed to destroy Captain Underpants once they heard him say "Tra-la-laaa!"
  • The Bionic Booger Boy (Melvin Sneedly) – A fusion of Melvin Sneedly, boogers, and a super-powered robot. His growth is triggered by a field trip to a tissue factory.
  • Carl, Trixie and Frankenbooger (The Three Robo-Boogers) – Boogers who all come from the Bionic Booger Boy. They all share a weakness to oranges, which Captain Underpants successfully used to destroy the rampaging trio of living mucus. Carl had the Bionic Booger Boy's legs, Trixie had the tentacles, and Frankenbooger had the arms. Whenever they ate, they became bigger and more evil.
  • Evil George and Evil Harold – Alternative versions and negative counterparts of George and Harold from an alternate dimension who are both intelligent and evil. They are the main antagonists, along with Captain Blunderpants, of the 8th book in the series. They helped Captain Blunderpants and unlike the sketchy, amateurish George and Harold they are good authors and illustrators (ironically, the main George and Harold consider the alternative George and Harold's work inferior). Additionally, they also tended to change the signs into evil phrases (while their counterparts often change the signs into funny words).
  • Captain Blunderpants – The opposite and evil counterpart of Captain Underpants from an alternate dimension, who has a toupee and looks and acts more like Krupp, while the alternate Krupp is nice. His transformation process is the opposite; when water is splashed on him, he becomes the evil Captain Blunderpants and when someone snaps their fingers, he becomes the nice Mr. Krupp.
  • Kipper Krupp – A sixth-grade bully and Benjamin's nephew and Jasper Krupp's son, who would bully George, Harold, and other children when they were all in kindergarten. Due to a series of pranks that George and Harold conducted, he would eventually become nicer to the children along with his also mischievous friends Finkstein, Bugg, and Loogie.
  • Sir Stinks-A-Lot (Mr. Meaner) – Mr. Meaner later becomes the alter ego of Sir Stinks-A-Lot, an evil hypnotist. While in prison, Meaner transforms into a blob of pure energy after eating an egg salad sandwich. He later removes Captain Underpants's superpowers and the effects of the Hypno ring.

Controversy

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According to the American Library Association, the Captain Underpants books were reported as some of the most banned and challenged books in the United States between 2000 and 2009 (13),[12] as well as between 2010 and 2019.[13] The books were named one of the top ten most banned and challenged books in 2002 (6), 2004 (4), 2005 (8), 2012 (1), 2013 (1), and 2018 (3).[14] The Captain Underpants series was explicitly banned in some schools for "insensitivity", offensive language, encouraging disruptive behavior, LGBTQ+ issues, violence, being unsuited to the age group, sexually explicit content, anti-family content, as well as encouraging children to disobey authority."[14]

The American Library Association stated in a release by the National Coalition Against Censorship that "This year's #1 banned book, Captain Underpants... is the gift that keeps on giving. Why? Because these popular, silly books are read by parents, with their children, all over the country. The toilet humor makes parents roll their eyes and kids giggle. The absurdity of banning books to attack perceived moral problems is exemplified by this year's winner."[15]

In October 2015, the 12th book received controversy due to a reference to Harold being gay. Some elementary schools have banned the book due to this.[16][17]

On March 29, 2021, Pilkey and Scholastic announced that The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future would be ceasing further publication due to its use of passive stereotypes towards Asians, which Pilkey stated to be, despite unintentional, "harmful to everyone". Pilkey also announced that he would be donating all royalties from the book to organizations dedicated to stopping violence towards Asians and Asian-Americans.[18]

Hiatus

[edit]

Although the first few books came out regularly, the ninth book, Captain Underpants and the Terrifying Return of Tippy Tinkletrousers (advertised in a teaser at the end of the eighth book), was not released until 2012, after a six-year wait. During this time, Dav Pilkey was caring for his terminally ill father, who died in 2008.[19] In 2009, he signed a deal with Scholastic for four new books, the first of which was The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future, released August 10, 2010. The second was Super Diaper Baby 2: The Invasion of the Potty Snatchers, released June 28, 2011.[20] The third book, Captain Underpants and the Terrifying Return of Tippy Tinkletrousers, was released August 28, 2012. The fourth book, Captain Underpants and the Revolting Revenge of the Radioactive Robo-Boxers, was released January 15, 2013.

Other media

[edit]

Films

[edit]

CGI-animated film adaptation

[edit]
Main article: Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie

On October 20, 2011, it was reported that DreamWorks Animation had acquired rights to make an animated feature film based on the Captain Underpants series.[21] On October 25, 2013, it was reported that Rob Letterman would direct the film, while Nicholas Stoller would write the script.[2] It would have been the second film to have Letterman and Stoller working together, the first being Gulliver's Travels. On January 21, 2014, the cast was announced, with Ed Helms joining as Mr. Krupp/Captain Underpants; Kevin Hart as George Beard; Thomas Middleditch as Harold Hutchins; Nick Kroll as the insidious villain, Professor Poopypants; and Jordan Peele as Melvin, the nerdy nemesis of George and Harold.[1] On June 12, 2014, the film was scheduled for release on January 13, 2017.[22] Following DreamWorks Animation's reorganization in early 2015, the studio announced that the film would be produced outside of the studio's pipeline at a significantly lower cost.[23] It would be instead animated at Mikros Image in Montreal, Canada, and it would look differently than most of DWA's films.[24] A month later, Deadline reported that Letterman had left the project, and that David Soren, the director of Turbo, was in talks to direct the film,[25] but Letterman returned to the project and served as an executive producer with Dav Pilkey.[26] The film was expected to be released on March 10, 2017,[25] but in September 2015, DreamWorks Animation's The Boss Baby took over its date.[27] The film was released on June 2, 2017.[28][29]

CGI-animated spin-off film

[edit]
Main article: Dog Man (film)

On December 9, 2020, it was announced that a feature film based on the Dog Man spin-off series is in development at DreamWorks Animation with Peter Hastings directing at the helm after his experience with Dav Pilkey's works from The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants.[30] On October 6, 2023, the movie was confirmed to be released in 2025.[31] On January 29, 2024, it was announced that the film will be released on January 31, 2025.[32]

Television series

[edit]
Main article: The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants

Dav Pilkey had looked to turn the books into a possible TV series, and he had imagined Chris Farley in the titular role. Around the same year the first book debuted to the public, Farley died of a drug overdose.[33] Defunct animation studio Soup2Nuts also attempted to produce an animated series based on the books in the early 2000s.[34]

DreamWorks Animation Television produced a television series based on the film that was streamed to Netflix. It was released on July 13, 2018.[35][36]

Interactive special

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In 2020, an interactive special called Captain Underpants Epic Choice-o-Rama was released on Netflix. The special involves Harold and George stopping Mr. Krupp from destroying their beloved treehouse.[37]

Reception

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Censors in the United States have been targeting the Captain Underpants series after the first book was released in 1997.[38] The Office of Intellectual Freedom of the American Library Association reported that Captain Underpants is the book series with the most complaints from libraries due to offensive content in the United States in 2012 and 2013.[39] Several parents accused the book of having language inappropriate for the book's target audience, children enrolled in elementary schools.[40]

Jessica Roake, in an article published in Slate, argued that the books are well suited for young readers. She wrote that "They're drawn to them because for the first time in their reading lives they are understood, entertained, and catered to all at once. It is theirs, not ours, and that feeling of exclusive ownership forges the kind of connection everyone should have with at least one book in their life. For that, most every English teacher of my acquaintance will be more than happy to take the shot to the ego the Captain provides."[38]

The series has frequently been compared with the Horace Splattly series,[41][42][43][44][45] but not always positively.[46]

The Captain Underpants spin-off series Dog Man received positive reviews from book critics. Darienne Stewart of Common Sense Media rated the first two books four stars out of five, saying that the first book Dog Man was "riotous, silly fun with soft touch by Underpants creator",[47] and the second book, Dog Man: Unleashed has "half-man, half-dog, all-heart hero delights in silly sequel."[48]

International publishing

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  • Argentina: Scholastic
  • Australia: Scholastic
  • Austria: Ueberreuter (books 1–5, first translation), Panini (books 1–12)
  • Brazil: Cosac Naify (published all 12 books before going defunct in 2015), Companhia das Letras (re-releases, 2017–present)
  • Canada: Scholastic
  • Catalan: Editorial Cruilla
  • China: Nanhai Publishing Company
  • Croatia: Mozaik Knjiga
  • Czech Republic: Egmont, Baronet
  • Denmark: Forlaget Sesam, Carlsen
  • Egypt: Scholastic
  • Finland: Tammi
  • France: Le Petit Musc (books 1–4, first translation), Bayard Presse (books 1–6)
  • Germany: Ueberreuter (books 1–5, first translation), Panini (books 1–12)
  • Greece: Psichogios Publications, Modern Times S.A.
  • Hong Kong: Scholastic, Thinkingdom Children's Books, New Buds Publishing House
  • Hungary: Ulpius-Haz
  • Iceland: JPV Forlag (Captain Underpants), Bókafélagið (Dog Man)
  • India: Scholastic
  • Indonesia: Kompas Gramedia Group
  • Ireland: Scholastic
  • Israel: Kinneret Zmora-Bitan Dvir
  • Italy: Edizioni Piemme (Captain Underpants), Salani (Super Diaper Baby)
  • Japan: Tokuma Shoten
    • Ryō Kisaka [ja] (木坂涼, Kisaka Ryō) is the Japanese translator of the book series.[49]
  • Latvia: Zvaigzne ABC
  • Lithuania: Alma littera
  • Mexico: Scholastic
  • New Zealand: Scholastic
  • Norway: Cappelen Damm (books 1-2, first translation), Schibsted Forlag (books 1-8), Vigmostad & Bjørke (from book 9 onwards)
  • Poland: Egmont, Jaguar
  • Portugal: Gradiva (Captain Underpants), Marcador (Dog Man)
  • Romania: Editura National, Art Grup Editorial
  • Russia: Machiny Tvoreniya Publishing
  • Saudi Arabia: Scholastic (not including the 12th novel due to an LGBTQ reference)
  • Slovenia: Založba Mladinska Knjiga
  • South Korea: Gimm-Young Publishers, Inc.
  • Spain: Ediciones SM
  • Sweden: Egmont Richters (books 1–6, first translation); Bonnier Carlsen (books 1–12)
  • Taiwan: Commonwealth, Thinkingdom Children's Books
  • Thailand: Pearl Publishing
  • Turkey: A.I. Iletisim/Altin Kitaplar
  • Ukraine: Krajina Mriy (Країна Мрій)
  • United Kingdom: Scholastic
  • Vietnam: Nha Nam Publishing

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Captain Underpants Saves The Day By Recruiting Top Comedy Talent To Voice New DreamWorks Animation Film". PR Newswire. January 21, 2014. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  2. ^ a b Kit, Borys (October 25, 2013). "Rob Letterman to Direct 'Captain Underpants' for DWA (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  3. ^ Lee Yandoli, Krystie (March 2, 2016). "Here's A Look Inside The New "Captain Underpants" Spin-Off Story". BuzzFeed. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  4. ^ a b "'Captain Underpants' author goes digital". Yahoo!. January 12, 2012. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
  5. ^ a b Captain Underpants and the Revolting Revenge of the Radioactive Robo-Boxers. Scholastic. January 2013. ISBN 978-0545175364.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Scholastic To Publish Two New Captain Underpants Books By Worldwide Bestselling Author Dav Pilkey, Plus Newly Re-Illustrated Editions Of Pilkey's Ricky Ricotta Series, With All New Full-Color Art By Bestselling Artist Dan Santat". PR Newswire. October 8, 2013. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
  7. ^ Gelt, Jessica (November 28, 2023). "'Dog Man' musical brings joy — and toned-down potty humor — to Kirk Douglas Theatre". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  8. ^ Charles, Ron (July 31, 2018). "Dav Pilkey's new 'Dog Man' book to get 3 million first printing". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  9. ^ "Graphic Books and Manga – Best Sellers – Books – July 30, 2023 – The New York Times". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  10. ^ Hibbs, Brian (August 18, 2021). "Tilting at Windmills #285: Looking at NPD BookScan: 2020". The Beat. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  11. ^ "Captain Underpants and the Invasion of the Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies From Outer Space: Color Edition". Barnes & Noble. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
  12. ^ American Library Association (March 26, 2013). "Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009". Archived from the original on September 24, 2020. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  13. ^ American Library Association (September 9, 2020). "Top 100 Most Banned and Challenged Books: 2010-2019". Advocacy, Legislation & Issues. Archived from the original on September 27, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  14. ^ a b American Library Association (March 26, 2013). "Top 10 Most Challenged Books Lists". Advocacy, Legislation & Issues. Archived from the original on July 28, 2017. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
  15. ^ "STATE OF CENSORSHIP: UNABRIDGED CONTRIBUTIONS FROM OUR PARTICIPANTS". National Coalition Against Censorship.
  16. ^ "Elementary parents notified of gay character in children's book". Monica Scott. November 11, 2015.
  17. ^ Schaub, Michael (October 27, 2015). "'Captain Underpants' banned from school book fair". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
  18. ^ "'Captain Underpants' book pulled for 'passive racism'". AP News. March 29, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  19. ^ Italie, Hillel (March 18, 2010). "'Captain Underpants' Is Back: Author Dav Pilkey Signs On For Four More Books". The Huffington Post. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  20. ^ "What's Up with the Next Book, Bub". Dav Pilkey official site. Archived from the original on May 21, 2011. Retrieved February 27, 2011.
  21. ^ Fleming, Mike (October 19, 2011). "DreamWorks Animation Wins Auction For 'Captain Underpants' Feature Film Rights". Deadline. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
  22. ^ "DreamWorks Animation Release Dates Include Madagascar 4". Collider.com. November 20, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
  23. ^ Lieberman, David (January 22, 2015). "DreamWorks Animation Restructuring To Cut 500 Jobs With $290M Charge". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
  24. ^ Graser, Marc (January 22, 2015). "Jeffrey Katzenberg on DWA's Cutbacks: '3 Films a Year Was Too Ambitious". Variety. Retrieved September 20, 2015. "Trolls," set for a 2016 release, will be the first film to be made with the $120 million budget.
  25. ^ a b Fleming, Mike Jr. (February 26, 2015). "Rob Letterman Doffs 'Captain Underpants'; 'Turbo's David Soren Being Fitted For DWA Pic". Deadline. Archived from the original on March 1, 2015. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
  26. ^ Wolfe, Jennifer (December 2, 2016). "Rob Letterman Helming Legendary's 'Detective Pikachu' Pokémon Movie". Animation World Network. Retrieved December 25, 2016.
  27. ^ McClintock, Pamela (September 18, 2015). "Hugh Jackman's 'Greatest Showman on Earth' Pushed a Year to Christmas 2017". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  28. ^ "Theatrical Movie Schedule Changes and Additions". Box Office Mojo. March 27, 2016. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  29. ^ Coggan, Devan (December 24, 2016). "Captain Underpants leaps to the big screen in exclusive first look". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 25, 2016.
  30. ^ "DreamWorks Developing Dav Pilkey's 'Dog Man' as Animated Feature". December 9, 2020.
  31. ^ Amidi, Amid (October 6, 2023). "Dreamworks Shifting Away From In-House Production In Los Angeles; Sony Imageworks Is A New Production Partner". Cartoon Brew. Archived from the original on November 20, 2023. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  32. ^ 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.
  33. ^ Heller, Karen (April 26, 2000). "His Books Let Him Stay Class Clown, Even At 34". Philly.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2013. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
  34. ^ "Stephen Rogan's Demo Reel from Soup2Nuts". YouTube. November 29, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  35. ^ Kofi Outlaw. "Netflix and Dreamworks Announce She-Ra, Trolls, Captain Underpants and More". ComicBook.com. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  36. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (June 20, 2018). "DreamWorks 'Epic Tales of Captain Underpants' Opener Undressed". Animation Magazine.
  37. ^ "Captain Underpants Epic Choice-o-Rama | Netflix Official Site". Netflix. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  38. ^ a b Roake, Jessica. "One Nation, Underpants." (also "Dav Pilkey's Captain Underpants books: Why kids love them, and parents should make peace with them.") Slate. September 7, 2012. Retrieved on October 25, 2013.
  39. ^ "[1]." American Library Association. Retrieved on October 25, 2013.
  40. ^ Engel, Pamela. "Why 'Captain Underpants' Is The Most Banned Book In America." Business Insider. September 26, 2013. Retrieved on October 25, 2013.
  41. ^ School Library journal review #1 of "Horace Splattly: The Cupcaked Crusader"
  42. ^ School Library Journal review #2 of "Horace Splattly: The Cupcaked Crusader", archived at Amazon.com
  43. ^ School Library Journal review of "When Second Graders Attack", archived at Amazon.com
  44. ^ Kirkus review of "The Terror Of The Pink Dodo Balloons", archived at AllBusiness.com
  45. ^ Kirkus review of "Horace Splattly: The Cupcaked Crusader", archived at AllBusiness.com
  46. ^ School Library Journal review of "The Terror of the Pink Dodo Balloons", archived at Amazon.com
  47. ^ Stewart, Darienne. "Dog Man: Dog Man, Book 1". Common Sense Media. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  48. ^ Stewart, Darienne. "Dog Man Unleashed: Dog Man, Book 2". Common Sense Media. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  49. ^ "木坂涼さんのまき Archived July 22, 2011, at the Wayback Machine." (Archive) Tokuma Shoten. Retrieved on December 5, 2013.
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