- Released: January 16 2019
- Directed by: Chun-Baek Lee, Seong-yun Oh
- Running time: 1 h 42 min
- Rating 4/5
Synopsis
A dog named Moongchi joins up with a pack of stray dogs and hopes to find the promised land for dogkind.
My Thoughts
I remember first seeing the teaser art for this movie quite a while back, and getting really excited. I really liked the character designs, color use, and the idea of a movie about wild dogs in general sounded really appealing to me. A long time later the first previews and WIP shots came around, and I did feel some slight disappointment after finding out that most of the characters in this were 3D-animated (I was really hoping for more beautiful 2D like Leafie: A Hen into the Wild, done by some of the same people as Underdog), but nonetheless the previews were quite promising. Then I just heard very little of it for the longest time, aside from some occasional WIP shots posted to a YouTube channel. To this day, this movie doesn’t have an official English (subbed) release, and I feared I had to miss out on watching this movie and understanding it, but then fan-subbed version came along and here we are now.
The plot was pretty great. It kept meandering and you didn’t have a real idea what was going to happen for quite a while. Some things are a bit predictable, but overall the story was really great! Things are set up well and it pays off greatly. It’s in general a heartwarming tale about family and friendship.
The characters were pretty good, too, though they did vary. Moongchi as our protagonist did work. We really do get to see that some of his early mistakes when adjusting to living as a stray dog pay off, but he eventually grows up into a stronger character. Bami is his main love interest, but she’s much more than that. She has a sad backstory, and has a really strong personality. I really loved her big-sister attitude towards Tori (who is also a fun character). I also enjoyed Bongji, for however briefly he was in the movie. The other characters, like I said before, very. The Shih Tzu character really annoyed me more than anything, so when he left behind the main team for some new owners I was glad more than anything. The others don’t really get too much to do. There’s a married couple of two Chihuahuas, an elderly German Shepherd, plus the parents of Bami and Tori. They do have their moments, but it’s nothing major, and they don’t really change or do much vital things as characters.
The villain was all right. While he was mainly just a standard dog-hating dog catcher the fact that he relented at the end after almost being killed by the dog he once abused was kinda nice, since I really expected him to keep his hatred going until the end.
The animation is (for the most part) really good! While I did mention that I was initially disappointed it wasn’t fully/almost fully 2D-animated (because, let’s face it, I love 2D animation beyond belief), the animation is still quite good! Characters move well, the models allow for enough movements (though I do feel some actions feel maybe a tiny bit too stilted) and it feels lively. There’s also 2D animation, mostly on characters that aren’t major. While the 2D is good as well, the problem I have with this is more that it looks kinda jarring and doesn’t always mesh too well. You’ll end up looking at a scene where one person is a 3D model, and the other characters are 2D. It just doesn’t really look like it takes place in the same dimension. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against movies merging 2D and 3D animation! It can be done very well even (example: Treasure Planet). But when you have a movie where character animation is done both 2D and 3D-wise it just feels like the characters don’t really mesh too well together. I guess that if you want to merge 2D and 3D, go ahead, but maybe don’t do it for your characters. It just ends up looking weird.
The backgrounds were actually really pretty. I loved the use of colors (mostly natural ones) and just how beautiful they looked.
Though I don’t speak Korean, so I really cannot judge too much for the voice acting, from what I could tell, it was good! Just figured I’d mention it, haha.
The character designs were good, too, especially the main characters. You can see what they’re about and they are pleasing to look at. I liked the use of color on them, too.
One of my main gripes with the movie (other than the kinda badly blending 2D/3D) would be the gross out joke. From what I can tell there’s only one (and it also happens to be with the worst character, the stupid Shih Tzu), but it’s still pretty disgusting and also recalled later. One of the dogs eats deer shit. That’s the joke. It’s not funny, it’s just immature and disgusting.
The romance also isn’t handled too well. Between the two Chihuahua’s I really do not feel a connection. They’re just together from the start and that’s it. The Shih Tzu later gets a love interest, but I feel even less chemistry between those two. I guess it’s supposed to be a payoff to what was mentioned earlier, where the Shih Tzu mentioned he wanted a love interest or something along those lines. The only romance I felt was executed better was the one between our mains, Moongchi and Bami. They had a connection, they didn’t instantly fall in love with one another, they slowly bonded over a longer time. But the other ones are just…eh.
I’m also kinda bummed out how one of my other favorite characters, the schnauzer Bonji, is only briefly seen. He appeared to be the stray dog leader prior to being captured. And that’s really it. When he’s taken by the dog catcher, he never appears again. The main strays don’t even set out on a rescue mission He’s just accepted as gone and they move on. That just felt kinda undeserved, since he was shown to be found as a puppy and raised by the strays. Just harsh, man.
Speaking of which, this movie in general is quite harsh. Dogs are left behind and abused, puppy mills are shown, animals die in terrible ways. It’s just quite a dark movie, so be prepared if you’re watching this. I also wouldn’t recommend it to young children. Aside from some juvenile humor, it’s really not that cheerful (in the first few scenes an emaciated, near-dead dog is abandoned, taken in by the stray dog pack and dies a moment later. Dogs get hit by cars and die. It’s not horribly gory or anything (though there is some minor blood shown), it’s just dark.
I’d say this is another good movie by the people behind Leafie: A Hen into the Wild! While dark and having some moments that don’t work as well for it, it’s still a beautiful, heart-warming movie with good main characters that go on an epic journey.
I don’t think I’d put this one on the same level as the uncut Leafie one, but it is pretty damn close! A really good movie I recommend to fans of animation and dogs alike. Just be aware that there’s some animal death and dark elements in it!
One of my main gripes with the movie (other than the kinda badly blending 2D/3D) would be the gross out joke. From what I can tell there’s only one (and it also happens to be with the worst character, the stupid Shih Tzu), but it’s still pretty disgusting and also recalled later. One of the dogs eats deer shit. That’s the joke. It’s not funny, it’s just immature and disgusting.
The romance also isn’t handled too well. Between the two Chihuahua’s I really do not feel a connection. They’re just together from the start and that’s it. The Shih Tzu later gets a love interest, but I feel even less chemistry between those two. I guess it’s supposed to be a payoff to what was mentioned earlier, where the Shih Tzu mentioned he wanted a love interest or something along those lines. The only romance I felt was executed better was the one between our mains, Moongchi and Bami. They had a connection, they didn’t instantly fall in love with one another, they slowly bonded over a longer time. But the other ones are just…eh.
I’m also kinda bummed out how one of my other favorite characters, the schnauzer Bonji, is only briefly seen. He appeared to be the stray dog leader prior to being captured. And that’s really it. When he’s taken by the dog catcher, he never appears again. The main strays don’t even set out on a rescue mission He’s just accepted as gone and they move on. That just felt kinda undeserved, since he was shown to be found as a puppy and raised by the strays. Just harsh, man.
Speaking of which, this movie in general is quite harsh. Dogs are left behind and abused, puppy mills are shown, animals die in terrible ways. It’s just quite a dark movie, so be prepared if you’re watching this. I also wouldn’t recommend it to young children. Aside from some juvenile humor, it’s really not that cheerful (in the first few scenes an emaciated, near-dead dog is abandoned, taken in by the stray dog pack and dies a moment later. Dogs get hit by cars and die. It’s not horribly gory or anything (though there is some minor blood shown), it’s just dark.
I’d say this is another good movie by the people behind Leafie: A Hen into the Wild! While dark and having some moments that don’t work as well for it, it’s still a beautiful, heart-warming movie with good main characters that go on an epic journey.
I don’t think I’d put this one on the same level as the uncut Leafie one, but it is pretty damn close! A really good movie I recommend to fans of animation and dogs alike. Just be aware that there’s some animal death and dark elements in it!
Note: About a year after this review was written, the movie was released in English under the name A Dog's Courage. This is a review of the Korean dub, known under the title Underdog.
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