Over the past few years, Korean animation has shown to have a face of its own. And when comparing the styles of the films released, one could even argue it has many different faces. With “Underdog”, Oh Sung-yoon and Lee Chun-baek certainly add to this list and the films selection for the 2019 Annecy Festival is a testament to its international appeal.
“Underdog” is screening at London Korean Film Festival
“Underdog” is the second collaboration of the two directors. They previously worked together on “Leafie, A Hen into the Wild” (2011) be it in a different setting with Oh Sung-yoon being the director and Lee Chun-baek working as an animator on that film. For “Underdog”, Oh Sung-yoon reprised his role but Lee Chun-baek came on board as a codirector. “Leafie, A Hen into the Wild” was well received by film critics and at festivals, winning amongst others the Best Sitges Family Film Diploma at the 2011 Sitges Film Festival in Spain. At the same time, it surpassed all expectations at the Korean box office, with more than 2.2 million tickets sold. As a result, expectations for “Underdog” were high and when it premiered at the 22nd Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival tickets sold out in 9 seconds.
The film tells the story of stray dogs who, abandoned by their owners, try to survive in the wild. Not all of them react to this in a similar way: some pine for their former masters, others stick close to humans and as such, are still depending on them while still others live away from villages and are living independently. This results in tensions between the different groups and the dogs' reactions to members of another group are a lot like those of humans, suspicious and often not at all inclusive. The main character Moongchi undergoes all of these different phases and as a result of his actions, the groups unite. Slowly but surely, all relearn how to survive on their own, and discover freedom as well as an understanding of the value of each individual for the group and appreciation of their differences.
The story feels a bit overcomplicated as the dogs face hardship after hardship. However, it ends on a positive note and has enough humour to keep the viewer, especially the younger ones, entertained. Animals fending on their own has been a common theme in animation and the memories of these films are never far away, especially with a clear homage to “Lady and The Tramp” (1955) featuring here. Often however, these films, such as “The Aristocats” (1970), “Lady and The Tramp” or in a lesser degree “Rudolf the Black Cat” (2016), end with a happy reunion but with “Underdog” that is not the case. This makes it more realistic and also gives it some educational value, maybe making people think twice when buying a pet.
What does make “Underdog” not just a good but also an interesting film is the animation. 3D is used to build and animate the characters and props, but WHO did not opt for a typical 3D style. The characters have a hand drawn feeling to them, which is accentuated by the use of outlines and the way they are colored. The light design benefits from the underlying 3D, especially for the shading, and on a whole, brings the scene some warmth and naturalness. But what really stands out are the backgrounds. These resemble drawings that are colored in with pencil and the level of detail is astonishing, not just in close ups but even more so in large wide, establishing, shots. This style combined with the soft outlines gives the film an overall warm feel, that contrasts with the harshness of the story
The acting of the characters is at times subtle, like when Moongchi plays with his ball but at other times it can be a bit over the top, for instance the behaviour of Jjangah. What makes this work is that it matches the character of the dogs and, combined with the voice acting and the looks of each animal, it adds to the experience of the film and the understanding of the dogs' personalities.
“Underdog” may not be the best animated movie to have come out of South Korea in recent years, but it is a solid and well-made film that will be liked by dog lovers as well as families. And the quality of the animation makes it a worthwhile experience.
