Podcast: House-breaking UNDERDOG

Writing for kids ain’t kid’s play. Scripting family flicks is more difficult than it appears. Most animated movies spend years in development, each character being carefully crafted, each line being honed either to best effect or for broadest appeal.

Joe Piscatella and his writing partner, Craig A. Williams — who also did production re-writes on KUNG FU PANDA — gamely assumed the challenge of re-imagining UNDERDOG — the old cartoon series — for Spyglass Entertainment in just eight weeks. Adam Rifkin (MOUSEHUNT, SMALL SOLDIERS) had already prepared a draft, but its tone was too adult for the story’s live-action adaptation that, eventually, would be released by Disney. So, Piscatella & Williams cleverly reworked the material, taming the pup of steel without neutering it. Indeed, even after producers’ (dastardly!) decisions to gear the movie specifically to wee ones rather than to broader family audiences, UNDERDOG retains enough witty remarks and good-spirited innuendo to maintain parental amusement while kids track the simple silliness. Do not underestimate the degree of difficulty of this feat. Even the Russian judges would be impressed.

Last week, I had the good fortune to host Joe Piscatella for The Warren Report‘s special screening of UNDERDOG at The Grand Illusion, Seattle’s loveliest, little independent theater. During our post-show q&a, Joe revealed secret identities — his brief career as a Memphis Mad Dog! — and explained his own experimental procedures for “paper-training” studio executives. All this without ever resorting too popping a little blue pill; that’s super-heroic if you ask me. But don’t take my work for it, listen in on my interview with this far-from-average Joe right here on today’s edition of The Warren Report podcast.