This animation film is based on Dav Pilkey’s best-selling kids’ books.

For those unfamiliar with any of the 12 titles in Pilkey’s popular series, the story is about the misadventures* of George (voiced by Kevin Hart) and Harold (Thomas Middleditch), a pair of trouble-making fourth-graders at Jerome Horwitz Elementary who prefer hanging out* in their treehouse creating “Captain Underpants” comic books.

When their principal, Mr. Krupp (Ed Helms), finally catches the serial pranksters* in the act and threatens to put the lifelong pals into two separate classes, George hypnotizes* Krupp into believing he is the real-life incarnation* of the tighty-whitey-wearing superhero. His dim but enthusiastic alter ego* has his work cut out for him with the arrival of Professor Pee-Pee Diarrheastein Poopypants (Nick Kroll), the incoming school history teacher hailing from New Swissland, who actually happens to be a vengeful* mad scientist with a secret evil agenda.

Mixing together aspects from several books in the series, the screenplay by Nicholas Stoller makes for a zippy origin story, while DreamWorks veteran David Soren, who previously directed the studio’s “Turbo,” propels the action into overdrive, gleefully breaking down the fourth wall by goosing the CGI with 2-D animation, Flip-O-Rama flip-book sequences and even sock puppet renderings.

Despite being the main attraction, George and Harold frequently get lost in all the commotion*, leaving Hart and Middleditch with little around which to work their voices.

Faring better are Kroll and on-a-roll* Jordan Peele, who plays the nerdy* part of red-headed brainiac Melvin Sneedly. Keeping in the goofy groove is the soundtrack, which includes a suitably anthemic “Weird Al” Yankovic-performed theme song and energetic covers* of Aretha Franklin’s “Think” and Yello’s “Oh Yeah,” by Adam Lambert and Lil Yachty, respectively.

(SD-Agencies)