Underdogs

Underdogs (also known as its original title, Metegol, and The Unbeatables in the United Kingdom) is a 2013 Argetine, computer-animated film created by Juan José Campanella. This film is based on the short film by Argentine writer Roberto Fontanarrosa, Memorias de un wing derecho (Memoirs of a Right Wing).

It was released on July 18, 2013, surpassing its 21 million dollar box office, claiming to be the most expensive Latin-American animated film to be produced.

The movie is an Argentine-Spanish co-production by Campanella, producing it with the filming company 100 Bares, in society with Catmandú and Spanish Atresmedia Cine. The film's theme is a mixture of sports, fantasy, comedy, and adventure. The protagonists of the story are foosball figures, if it's fine to direct public childhood. This film is also known as Foosball, but it is rarely used outside of Argentina, and has three different Spanish-speaking versions: the original Argentine Spanish, Castilian Spanish, and neutral Latin-American Spanish.

The American dub, titled as Underdogs, was supposed to be released in 2014, where the Weinstein Company acclaimed the rights to release Metegol. There are manmy delays from 2014 to 2015, until it was confirmed that Underdogs is set to release on direct-to-video and Netflix instead in theaters on July 19, 2016.

Plot
The film begins with the narrator telling his son, Matías (Maty for short), a story, one where he has to use his imagination.

Many years ago, Amadeo, a shy but skillful foosball player, works in a bar at a village. Not only his introverted personality weakens him, but Laura, a girl who he have a love interest on. While Amadeo is showing Laura the foosball table, a mean-spirited kid came to the bar and challenged him to a foosball match. Amadeo's shyness let the gang of bullies, including the mean kid, win initially; but with Laura encouraging him, Amadeo becomes victorious, and everyone at the bar cheer at him. Outside the bar, the hateful boy, who's willingly wants to take revenge on Amadeo, encounters a manager.

Years later, Laura annouced to Amadeo that she will be travelling to Europe to study abroad, but an interruption is created by the Manager, and the superstar football player, Grosso, arrives at the village. It's revealed that Grosso is the kid who lost the foosball match by Amadeo years ago. He announces that he have bought the enitre city and is going to construct a gigantic football stadium, although he is interested in destroying the bar, he creates his affection on Laura and conquers her. With the bar destroyed, Amadeo tearfully sulks, as his teardrop brings the captain of the Stripes foosball team, Capi, to life, much to Amadeo's shock. Capi convinces that his team are located at the garbage dump, before rescuing Laura.

Amadeo and Capi encounter Loco and Beto, and much later, Liso, captain of the Garnets team. The rest of the members of two teams are located at the fair, thanks to Beto leaving his trail by accidentally igniting his wig, when catching a truck after riding a rat. At the fair, Amadeo rescued five Stripes players, and Capi rescued the Malparitti Brothers, while the rest of the Garnets and Pulpo Benítez, the Stripes' goalie, are found by the Manager to give it to Grosso, who has Laura at his mansion. Nevertheless, Amadeo and the foosball players sneak to the Manager's limosuine to track Laura.

Grosso, in the meantime, tries to seduce Laura by giving her a "tour" of his mansion, which contains a laboratory that have transgenetic animals that developed to "improve" football industry. While Amadeo and the foosball players attempt to secretly barge inside the laboratory, Grosso attempted to discard the rest of the foosball figures by merging them into bits, but the figures survived. Amadeo escaped with Laura from Grosso, and the last of the players are saved, as one of the Garnets player's screw on his head touched the activated machine, exploding the factory as a result. Much later, Amadeo challenged Grosso to a re-match of foosball, but Grosso decided to make a football match against him. Hestitatingly, Amadeo accepts, with the additional bet made by Laura; if Amadeo wins the match, the village will be normally reverted.

Amadeo and Laura start to recruit men to form a team, reuniting elders Armando and Eusebio, the Priest of the village, the robber Laucha, Carmiño, Emo, Deputy Pisano (because he is atheletic, and is responsible for the custody of Laucha), Dual Axis, the Scab, and the only female to be recruited in the village, Hormona Domínguez.

Amadeo's team face off "The Absolutes", Grosso's team. Although during the first minutes, the Absolutes made goals. However, the Manager communicates with Grosso not to go too hard on the opposite team by himself, but to make them lose by "dancing with a rat", because of the superiority of the business.

Capi and the rest of the foosball figures decide to help Amadeo's team by secretly sabotaging the other Absolutes, which creates Amadeo's accidental goal. With a tie, Amadeo finds Capi that the figures were cheating for them, and protests that the team have to do their opportunity on their own. Looking at the team's encouraging behaviors, Capi and the rest return from the field. Without Capi's help, the team continues fighting the Absolutes in the football match. With little time left, Grosso selfishly injured Amadeo's leg; nevertheless, Amadeo continues to go after him, but Grosso made his thrid goal, winning the game. Despite his victory, the audience applaud to Amadeo's team, outraging Grosso for his egocentrism and the Manager happily retiring. Amadeo, although he lost, wins Laura for his affection. With the village rebuilt to its rightful position and a new monument created, Amadeo and Laura have a son.

Ending the story, Maty is in enthusiasm by meeting the foosball figures, but only if he believes. Much later in the night, Maty discovers the figures by hearing their voices, especially he founds his father, who reveals to be Amadeo from the story.

Original Cast

 * David Masajnik as Amadeo
 * Luciana Falcón as Young Amadeo
 * Lucía Maciel as Laura
 * Diego Ramos as Grosso
 * Mariana Otero as Young Grosso
 * Pablo Rago as Capi
 * Fabián Gianola as Beto
 * Horacio Fontova as Loco
 * Miguel Ángel Rodríguez as Captain Liso
 * Coco Sily as The Manager
 * Natalia Rosminati as Maty
 * Ernesto Claudio as The Priest
 * Lucila Gómez as Carmiño
 * Diego Mesaglio as Central Liso
 * Axel Kuschevatzky as The Mayor
 * Juan José Campanella as Armando/Eusebio/Lechuga/Clark
 * Marcos Mundstock as The Scab
 * Sebastián Mogordoy as Pulpo (Uncredited)
 * Roberto Kim as Park-Lee
 * Igor Samoilov as himself (El Bieloruso)
 * Ezequiel Cipols as Malparitti I/Bootlicker
 * Gabriel Almirón as Malparitti II
 * Federico Cecere as Cordovan Melena
 * Alejandro Piar as Milton
 * Jorge Troiani as Aristides/Tenuta
 * Diego Gatto as Pulpo Benítez (Stripes goalie)

UK Cast

 * Rupert Grint as Amadeo
 * Oscar Leonard as Young Amadeo
 * Darren Boyd as Amadeo (Dad)
 * Eve Ponsonby as Lara (Laura)
 * Fern Deacon as Young Lara
 * Anthony Head as Flash (Grosso)
 * Jack Maison-Hayman as Young Flash
 * Ralf Little as Captain Skip (Capi)
 * Rob Brydon as Rico (Beto)
 * Peter Serafinowicz as Loco
 * Alex Norton as Captain Gregor (Captain Liso)
 * Stanley Townsend as The Agent (The Manager)
 * Alistair McGowan as Commentator Ray
 * Jonathon Pearce as Commentator Bob
 * Andrew Knott as The Beville Twins (Malparitti Brothers)
 * David Schneider as Chester (Carmiño)/TV Producer/Fairground Attendant
 * Zec Lester as Matty (Maty)
 * Lewis Macleod as Sawnoffski (Igor Samoilov)/Moxey (Eusebio)/Gill Etter (Hormona Domínguez)
 * Adam Longworth as Psy Kick (Park-Lee)/The Hermit (The Scab)/Flash's Trainer/The Guv'nor (Dual Axis)
 * Geronimo Rauch as Adriano (Corovan Melena)
 * Matt Wilkinson as Stevie
 * Malcolm Boyden as Stadium Announcer
 * Simon Greenall as Spencer (Armando)/The Policeman (Deputy Pisano)
 * Nigel Hastings as Mac "The Keeper" (Pulpo)/TV Technician
 * Simon Purdey as Fast Fingers Flynn (Laucha)/Claret Player
 * Jon Glover as the Mayor/the Priest/Thug
 * Nick Angell, Lorrainne Pilkington, Dominic Thomas, Jamie Staveley, and Damian Bakris as Flash's Gang

US Cast

 * Matthew Morrison as Jake (Amadeo)
 * Shawn Mendes as Young Jake
 * Arianna Grande as Laura
 * Bella Thorne as Young Laura
 * Katie Holmes as Laura (Mom)
 * Nicholas Hoult as Ace Remancho (Grosso)
 * Brooklyn Beckham as Young Ace
 * Taran Killam as Captain Skip (Capi)/Rufus (Carmiño)
 * Eugenio Derbez as Rico (Beto)
 * John Leguizamo as Ziggy (Loco)
 * Bobby Moynihan as Captain Rip (Captain Liso)/Mustachio Twins (Malparitti Brothers)/Dr. Gregory Chan (Park-Lee)
 * Mel Brooks as The Agent
 * Chazz Palminteri as Stinky (The Scab)
 * Jay Pharoah as Announcer CJ
 * Dan Patrick as Announcer Ted
 * Nolan Lyons as Matty (Maty)
 * Tony Daniels as Father Fitzpatrick (The Preist)/The Carnie
 * Jason Griffith as Jerry in the Blimp/Ace's Friend #1
 * Dan McCabe as Bruno (Pulpo)/Ace's Friend #2
 * Dann Fink as Cordoba/Fingers
 * Bruce Winant as The Mayor

Production
The film was announced on November 27, 2009. Campanella announced the voice actors for the characters as Pablo Rago, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, Fabian Gianola, Horacio Fontova and David Masajnik.

Sergio Pablos, executive producer and creator of the original idea and story for Despicable Me, acted as animation director for 20 minutes of the film, and advised Campanella on direction. The rest of the film was animated under the directions of Federico Radero and Mario Serie.

Puerto Rican band Calle 13 composed and performed the original song for the movie, which is titled "Me vieron cruzar" (They saw me crossing).

Release
An English-language version of the film was produced in the United Kingdom by 369 Productions with Vertigo Films handling the distribution rights and was released under the name The Unbeatables on 15 August 2014. The UK dub features stars such as Rupert Grint, Rob Brydon, Anthony Head, Ralf Little, Alistair McGowan, Peter Serafinowicz, and Eve Ponsonby.

On 17 March 2014, The Weinstein Company acquired distribution rights for the film in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and France, and has plans to release their own English-language version of the film under the title Underdogs. The US dub features stars such as Ariana Grande, Nicholas Hoult, Matthew Morrison, Katie Holmes, John Leguizamo, Eugenio Derbez, Taran Killam, Bobby Moynihan, Chazz Palminteri, and Mel Brooks. The film was originally going to be released on 27 August 2014 but was pushed to 16 January 2015. It was pushed again to 10 April 2015 before settling to 14 August 2015. However, a week before its planned release, the film was pulled from the schedule. As a result, it went unreleased in the United States, until it was revelaed that it was released on direct-to-video on July 19, 2016.

List of International Release
Besides Argetina, the United Kingdom, and the United States, here are a list of countries that have their official release dates.

UK

 * The victory song that Skip (Capi), Ziggy (Loco), and Rico (Beto) were singing was replaced by "Olé! Olé! Olé!".
 * The UK dub cuts out the scene where Loco begins meditating, and Beto imitates an ambulance in front of Capi.
 * The scenes with Skip rescuing the Mustachio Twins (Malparitti Brothers) and Rico on the puppet show are arranged differently from the original version. Each were cut in probably three parts to interrupt one or another.
 * There are two announcers instead of one in The Unbeatables, known as commentators Ray and Bob. This makes it similar to a Premier League soccer match in real life.
 * There are a few scenes of the original version that are translated in English, take for instance, Amadeo holding a sign that says "Elsie's Lingerie-supporting the team".
 * The credits has a short instrumental version of "Me vieron cruzar", and an original, lengthy version of "Olé! Olé! Olé!".
 * There is an additional scene of Rico and Loco having passionate gay sex.

​US

 * The US dub has a lot of unnecessary ad-ibbing, thanks to the Weinstein Company licensing it. Take for instance the narrator was added in the beginning of the movie.
 * Many scenes were cut and/or re-arranged by the Weinstein Company, making the plot squashed in remorse. This also includes the scenes of Hormona Dominguez (or Nanna/"Bob") participating in the soccer field, while her breasts jiggle, and the scene where she takes off her jersey; this avoids slight sexual content, unlike the original and the UK version.
 * Laura tells Jake she'll study in a Art School, instead of go to Europe.
 * The beginning credits has score music, unlike the previous two versions.
 * After the soccer montage of the figures, a subtle crossfading record scratch was heard.
 * This dub spoils Matty's parents' identities as Jake (Amadeo) and Laura at the beginning.
 * The dialogue changes to Matty speaking to his father that his mom needs him, instead of asking "What are you doing?". Another change is instead of harshly saying "No. Go to bed.", he said "Hey, you heard your mother. Off to bed."
 * Instead of the dialogue with the father having to try to be sensitive to Matty, Laura states that Matty quit the soccer, because of the lack of scoring a goal.
 * Lots of the foosball figures were stereotypically altered (minus Capi, Park-Lee, Igor, Cordobas, and the Malparitti Brothers). The Malparitti do have Italian accents, hence their surnames.
 * Ziggy (Loco) has a stereotypical hippie accent, and is written to be from California.
 * Rico (Beto) comes from Spain, because of his voice actor.
 * Captain Rip (Liso) has an Australian accent.
 * One of the Rippers has a southern accent.
 * Bruno (Pulpo) probably has a New York accent.
 * The Pinstripes and Garnets were renamed as Underdogs and Rippers.
 * The Emo character hums at the song, during the destruction of the cafe. The voice actor's identity is unknown.
 * Some scenes include pop songs, instead of the original score music. Take for example, Ace (Grosso) making his fancy entrance.
 * The US dub adds Rufus' relationship with Hormona Dominguez as his Nanna.
 * A song from the radio has been added, when the boss shouted that the employee is fixing the stadium wrong.
 * Like the UK dub, there are two announcers, instead of one.
 * The list of companies parodied by real-life companies were replaced by the anthem of Ace Remancho, additionally the lyrics.
 * The sign Jake holds was rewritten as "Uniforms by Laura #lauragotpizzazz", avoiding inappropriate sexual humor.
 * The sign of the statue has been translated.
 * Only the score version of "Me vieron cruzcar" is shown at the very end of the credits.

Critical Reception
Underdogs receives a fairly good critical reception in Argentina, with an appreciation of 72% and a total of 61 critics in Spanish review site, Todas Las Críticas (All of the Critics). However outside of South America, the film receives unfavorable, mixed reviews, with a 64% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 38/100 on Metacritic.

The US dub receives backlash, because of unfitting ad-libbing and lip-syncing of the characters by the US voice actors; additional sound effects that weren't supposed to be needed from the original version; inappropriate timing of pop culture references; and replacing some scenes' original score music with pop songs. Not only the production was created to be apalling, but the story has been retold in unfitting reasons, and the character revelations becomes muddled.

Box Office
The film opened #1 at the Argentine box-office, earning 16,622,178 pesos on its opening weekend, outperforming other animated blockbusters such as Despicable Me 2 and Monsters University.

Media
The film has it's own official comic and a few novels.

On September 4, 2015, the film was transmitted to Cartoon Network Argentina and Spain.

Campanella announced that there will be a television series that will be transmitted on the Latin American version of Discovery Kids.

Trivia

 * This was Arianna Grande's first role as a voice actor.

Gallery
See Underdogs/Gallery.