Underdogs (2013 animated film)

Underdogs

Original Argentine release poster
Directed by Juan José Campanella
Produced by
  • Juan José Campanella
  • Mercedes Gamero
  • Gastón Gorali
  • Mikel Lejarza
  • Jorge Estrada Mora
  • Manuel Polanco
Written by
  • Juan José Campanella
  • Gastón Gorali
  • Eduardo Sacheri
Based on Memoirs of a Right Winger 
by Roberto Fontanarrosa
Starring
Music by Emilio Kauderer
Cinematography Félix Monti
Edited by
  • Juan José Campanella
  • Abel Goldfarb
Production
companies
  • 100 Bares
  • Antena 3 Films
  • Catmandu Branded Entertainment
  • JEMPSA
  • Prana Studios
Distributed by Universal Pictures International[1]
Release dates
  • 18 July 2013 (2013-07-18)
Running time
 97 minutes[2]
Country Argentina
Language Spanish
Budget $21 million[3]
Box office $25.1 million[4]

Underdogs (known as Metegol in Argentina and The Unbeatables in the United Kingdom) is a 2013 Argentine 3D computer-animated fantasy sports comedy adventure film co-written and directed by Juan J. Campanella. The film is inspired on the short story Memorias de un wing derecho (Memoirs of a Right Wing) by the Argentine writer Roberto Fontanarrosa.[5] Gaston Gorali, co-writer and producer of the film, and Eduardo Sacheri, who worked on the script of Campanella's The Secret in Their Eyes, developed the screenplay with Campanella.

The film is an Argentine production, and was released in Argentina on 18 July 2013, setting an all-time record for an Argentine film opening at the box-office.[3] Costing $21 million, the film is the most expensive Argentine film of all time, and the most expensive Latin American animated feature ever.[3] In March 2014, The Weinstein Company acquired the rights to distribute the film in North America. After numerous delays, the film was set to release on August 14, 2015 but was pulled from the schedule with no new release date revealed. [6]

The film received indecisive and mixed reviews, with it having a 64% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 14 reviews, but a 38 out of 100 based on 5 reviews on Metacritic, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".

Plot

The film begins with the narrator telling his son, Matías, a story before going to sleep, one where he will have to use his imagination.

Many years ago, Amadeo, a timid boy, and the best foosball player around, was working in a bar in a small and quiet town. He loved Laura, a girl he met in the bar. But, she did not know.

While showing Laura the foosball table, a kid named Grosso arrives and challenges Amadeo to a game of foosball in front of Laura. Although initially the kid beats him, Amadeo becomes victorious, and everyone at the bar applauds. Outside of the bar, the boy encounters a manager who offers him to take him on.

Years later, Amadeo's simple routine falls apart when Grosso becomes the best football player in the world, and returns to the small town to avenge the only defeat in his life, and win the affection of Laura.

Now that he is famous, Grosso announces that he has purchased the whole village and builds a gigantic football stadium, although he is more interested in owning the foosball table where he lost to Amadeo and destroying the bar where he was defeated. He also wants to win the affection of Laura.

With foosball, the bar and even his soul destroyed, Amadeo discovers something magical: in the face of adversity, the town's foosball players talk and plan. Together they embark on a journey full of adventures to save Laura. Along the way, they become a real team. But in football, there is no place for miracles.

Cast

Character Original dub UK dub US dub
Amadeo (Jake in the US) David Masajnik (adult)
Luciana Falcón (young)		 Rupert Grint Matthew Morrison (adult)
Scott Menville (young)
Capi (Captain Skip in the US and UK) Pablo Rago Ralf Little Taran Killam
Loco (Ziggy in the US) Horacio Fontova Peter Serafinowicz John Leguizamo
Beto (Rico in the US and UK) Fabián Gianola Rob Brydon Eugenio Derbez
Capitán Liso (Captain Rip in the US and Gregor in the UK) Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Alex Norton Bobby Moynihan
Laura (Lara in the UK) Lucía Maciel Eve Ponsonby (adult)
Fern Deacon (young)		 Ariana Grande (adult)
Bella Thorne (young)
Grosso (Ace in the US and Flash in the UK) Diego Ramos (adult)
Mariana Otero (young)		 Anthony Head (adult)
Jack Maison-Hayman (young)		 Nicholas Hoult (adult)
Piers Stubbs (young)

Production

The film was announced on 27 November 2009.[7] The voices of the main characters of the cast are Pablo Rago, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, Fabian Gianola, Horacio Fontova and David Masajnik.[8]

Sergio Pablos, executive producer and creator of the original idea and story for Despicable Me, acted as animation director for 20 minutes of the film, and advised Campanella on direction.[9] The rest of the film was animated under the directions of Federico Radero and Mario Serie.[10]

Puerto Rican band Calle 13 composed and performed the original song of the movie.

Release

An English-language version of the film was produced in the United Kingdom by 369 Productions with Vertigo Films handling the distribution rights and was released under the name The Unbeatables on 15 August 2014. The UK dub features stars such as Rupert Grint, Rob Brydon, Anthony Head, Ralf Little, Alistair McGowan, Peter Serafinowicz, and Eve Ponsonby.

On 17 March 2014, The Weinstein Company acquired distribution rights for the film in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and France, and has plans to release their own English-language version of the film under the title Underdogs.[11] The US dub features stars such as Ariana Grande, Nicholas Hoult, Matthew Morrison, Katie Holmes, John Leguizamo, Eugenio Derbez, Taran Killam, Bobby Moynihan, Chazz Palminteri, and Mel Brooks.[12] The film was originally going to be released on 27 August 2014[11] but was pushed to 16 January 2015.[13] It was pushed again to 10 April 2015[12] before settling to 14 August 2015.[14] However, a week before its planned release, the film was pulled from the schedule. As a result, it went unreleased in the United States.[15]

Reception

Critical reception

Based on 14 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a rating of 64%, with an average rating of 5.6/10.[16] On Metacritic, the film currently has a rating of 38 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[17]

Box office

The film opened #1 at the Argentine box-office, earning 16,622,178 pesos on its opening weekend, outperforming other animated blockbusters such as Despicable Me 2 and Monsters University.[18]

References

  1. ↑ "Global Biz Briefs: Google-YouTube, ‘Foosball 3D’, Edinburgh Film Festival". Deadline. May 31, 2012. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  2. ↑ "UNDERDOGS (U)". British Board of Film Classification. 29 July 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Hopewell, John (19 July 2013). "Universal’s ‘Foosball’ Smashes Argentine Records". Variety. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
  4. ↑ "Underdogs (2015) - Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  5. ↑ "FOOSBALL 3D". Film Factory Entertainment. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  6. ↑ Lowe, Kinsey (August 7, 2015). "‘Ice Age 5′ Gets Title, Date Change; Weinstein Co. Adjusts ‘About Ray’". Deadline. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  7. ↑ Newbery, Charles (27 November 2009). "Campanella lines up animated feature". Variety. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  8. ↑ Gallagher, Brian (18 October 2010). "Juan Jose Campanella Directing Metegol". MovieWeb. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  9. ↑ Hopwell, John (December 1, 2012). "Argentine helmer looks to animation". Variety. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Metegol (2013)". British Film Institute. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  11. 1 2 McNary, Dave (17 March 2014). "Weinstein Co. Buys Animated ‘Foosball,’ Re-Titled as ‘Underdogs’". Variety. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  12. 1 2 Gallagher, Brian (14 October 2014). "'Underdogs' Animated Comedy Adds Ariana Grande and Nicholas Hoult". MovieWeb. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  13. ↑ Lang, Brent (10 June 2014). "‘Paddington’ Shifts to Christmas Release, ‘Underdogs’ Decamps for 2015". Variety. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  14. ↑ Fleming Jr., Mike (6 February 2015). "Animated Soccer Pic ‘Underdogs’ Gets August 14 Berth From TWC". Deadline.com. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  15. ↑ Lowe, Kinsey (August 7, 2015). "‘Ice Age 5′ Gets Title, Date Change; Weinstein Co. Adjusts ‘About Ray’". Deadline. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Underdogs". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  17. ↑ "Underdogs Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  18. ↑ "Argentina Box Office July 18–21, 2013". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. Retrieved 19 April 2014.

External links

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