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neilreviewsbooks 's review for:
Captain Underpants was an essential book series to my childhood. I strongly believe I have it to thank for my love of graphic novels and my sense of humor.
Recently there’s been a lot of talk about Dog Man, a popular book series by the same author that's sort of a spin-off of Captain Underpants. The release of its movie trailer was a reminder that I never actually finished the Captain Underpants series so I decided, with all the knowledge I have acquired since, it was time to go back and face the Terrifying Return of Tippy Tinkletrousers!
My initial impression of this book is that that Pilkey's still got it. The first few chapters had me laughing a lot. These books that many parents would consider lowbrow are self-aware enough to know they can’t rely on toilet humor alone. A lot of the humor of Captain Underpants would fit right in with a modern children’s cartoon.
As the book progressed it took a sharp turn into a different narrative, examining George and Harold’s origin. I can tell that Dav Pilkey must have struggled with knowing what to do with the 9th book in the series, hence the long hiatus between this one and book 8 (Six years! That’s how long it took, which is essentially an eternity if you’re a child). I like that Pilkey uses this book to tell a story about standing up to bullies. It’s a story I’m sure was cathartic to many young readers who may have been victims of bullying growing up.
Does some of the content come off as homophobic (namely using dresses and bracelets to insult the bullies)? Yes. A bit. But it’s clear to see Pilkey had good intentions that were just misguided.
This may be one of the lesser Captain Underpants books, it’s certainly not as funny as some of those earlier books, but it’s a fun read, and one I’m sure plenty of kids will still enjoy.
Recently there’s been a lot of talk about Dog Man, a popular book series by the same author that's sort of a spin-off of Captain Underpants. The release of its movie trailer was a reminder that I never actually finished the Captain Underpants series so I decided, with all the knowledge I have acquired since, it was time to go back and face the Terrifying Return of Tippy Tinkletrousers!
My initial impression of this book is that that Pilkey's still got it. The first few chapters had me laughing a lot. These books that many parents would consider lowbrow are self-aware enough to know they can’t rely on toilet humor alone. A lot of the humor of Captain Underpants would fit right in with a modern children’s cartoon.
As the book progressed it took a sharp turn into a different narrative, examining George and Harold’s origin. I can tell that Dav Pilkey must have struggled with knowing what to do with the 9th book in the series, hence the long hiatus between this one and book 8 (Six years! That’s how long it took, which is essentially an eternity if you’re a child). I like that Pilkey uses this book to tell a story about standing up to bullies. It’s a story I’m sure was cathartic to many young readers who may have been victims of bullying growing up.
Does some of the content come off as homophobic (namely using dresses and bracelets to insult the bullies)? Yes. A bit. But it’s clear to see Pilkey had good intentions that were just misguided.
This may be one of the lesser Captain Underpants books, it’s certainly not as funny as some of those earlier books, but it’s a fun read, and one I’m sure plenty of kids will still enjoy.