Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie

Some peril/action violence, but much of it is lightened by humor and animation style. An imaginary sequence featuring sock puppets includes laser weapons, smoke, and destruction. The villain travels with lots of weapons (axe, mace, dynamite, etc.) and ultimately attacks the school with a gigantic robotic monster -- but just when the climactic battle gets tense, it switches to flip-book animation style. A gun that can make things bigger and smaller wreaks havoc. Carnival rides go AWOL, a school is upended. Lots of slapstick: Captain Underpants jumps out of windows, nearly falls to his death, punches "bad guys" (a mime, in one case), etc.; a villain is hit by vehicles three times in quick succession. Krupp always seems to be angry and yells a lot. Tension when the boys sneak into Krupp's office. George and Harold are terrified by the idea of being put in separate classes. Kids are sad in their prison-like school. Joke about turning a flame thrower on kittens. George and Harold's pranks sometimes lead to chaos/damage.

Krupp and Edith (a cafeteria worker) flirt and eventually go on a date. The boys talk about how the two adults "like like" each other.

Frequent use of potty words including "poop," "poopypants," "diarrhea," "butt," "fanny," and "fart" (the name of the planet Uranus is also played for laughs). Some insult language, including "weirdo," "idiotic," "suck up," "stupid," and "dumb." Tons of bodily function humor (burps, boogers, farting noises, all of the poop references, etc.).

Kids run rampant when they eat pure sugar.

Parents need to know that as long as you don't have a problem with potty humor, Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie is a fun pick for elementary schoolers and up. But you really need to be OK with the potty humor, because it's constant. Based on the hugely popular book series by Dav Pilkey, the story follows two prank-loving best friends who hypnotize their angry principal into believing he's Captain Underpants, the hero of the boys' many comic books. In addition to all the jokes about poop, Uranus, and other bodily functions, there's some superhero/action violence -- particularly when the villain (Professor Poopypants) attacks the school. But many of the tense/perilous moments are lightened via humor (there's lots of slapstick) and animation choices (for instance, switching to a flip-book style at the height of a big battle). Some kids might be upset by the principal's constant yelling or his threat to separate the boys and end their friendship, but things generally stay pretty upbeat. Language includes frequent potty/body words, as well as insults like "weirdo," "stupid," and "suck up," and there's some stereotyping (particularly the nerdy character, Melvin). Two adults flirt with each other and go on a date. While the boys don't show much respect for authority, they do learn important lessons about what makes a friendship/team really strong and the importance of having empathy for others.

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