Underdogs (2013)

A young man named Amadeo sets off on an unexpected adventure with the players of his beloved Foosball game.

Director:

Juan José Campanella (as Juan J. Campanella)

Writers:

Eduardo Sacheri, Gastón Gorali

Stars:

Gabriel Almirón, Federico Cecere, Ezequiel Cipols

8 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gabriel Almirón	...	Malparitti II (voice)
Federico Cecere	...	Cordobés (voice)
Ezequiel Cipols	...	Malparitti I (voice)
Luciana Falcón	...	Joven Amadeo (voice)
Horacio Fontova	...	Loco (voice)
Fabián Gianola	...	Beto (voice)
Roberto Kim	...	Coreano (voice)
David Masajnik	...	Amadeo (voice)
Marcos Mundstock	...	Ermitaño (voice)
Mariana Otero	...	Joven Grosso (voice)
Alejandro Piar	...	Milton (voice)
Pablo Rago	...	Capi (voice)
Diego Ramos	...	Grosso (voice)
Miguel Ángel Rodríguez	...	Capitán Liso (voice)
Natalia Rosminati	...	Matías (voice)

Storyline

In the small village where Amadeo lives there is no one good enough to challenge his skills at Table Football. But, while Amadeo may be a genius as a table football player in real life he's a loser. He's in love with Lara, his childhood friend, but he's so shy that he can't bring himself to confess his love for her. So he just hangs out in his quaint, timeless village. When Amadeo beats the village bully Flash at Table Football. The scene is set for an epic rivalry. Consumed with anger Flash vows to get even and 10 years later he returns as an International Superstar, a Football Icon and Galatico determined to wreak his revenge. He demolishes the village to build a Football Academy. He destroys the table football table and takes away Amadeo's girl friend the lovely Lara in his chopper. Amadeo is distraught and when one of his tears falls on Skip the captain of the Table Football Players he comes to life and together with other key football players, Rico and Loco, they persuade Amadeo ...

---

Plot Keywords:

table football | cgi animation | wig | funfair | luna park | 

---

Taglines:

When the toys come to life, the fun begins!

---

Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Family | Sport

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some rude humor and mild action

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Argentina]

Country:

Argentina Spain

Language:

Spanish English

Release Date:

18 July 2013 (Argentina)

Also Known As:

Underdogs

Box Office

Budget:

$22,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

ARS 4,629,015 (Argentina), 18 July 2013, Limited Release

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$32,768,940, 2 October 2016

Company Credits

Production Co:

100 Bares, 369 Productions, Antena 3 Films

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Surround 7.1 Dolby Digital Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The major ('intendente') leaving the City Hall by helicopter is a reference to former Argentinean president De La Rua, who abandoned the government leaving the Casa Rosada in the same kind of vehicle on December 20, 2001.

---

Goofs

Amadeo, Laura and Grosso apparently are the only characters shown to have aged. Other characters like the old men in the bar or the teenager emo stay the same even after a lot of years have passed.

---

Alternate Versions

Also released in 3D theatrically in some countries.

---

Connections

Referenced in Animation Lookback: Top 5 Best & Worst Animated Films of 2014 (2014)

---

Soundtracks

Me vieron cruzar
Written by Renan Perez
Performed by Calle 13

User Reviews

The first of a new legacy

I think that Metegol is great. It is the first time (along with The Secret in their Eyes) that I go to see an Argentinian movie because it is actually really good, and not because it's only Argentinian. Campanella surely knows how to capture or, in this case, produce moments of excitement and humor very efficiently. It is true also that the plot is really naive, but that's not the point. The point is that for the first time Argentina puts its name right there with mega blockbusters like Despicable Me 2 (EXCELLENT Movie, by the way) or any Disney productions. Like I say on the title, I believe that this is the first step to prove that it is possible to do things really well and really competitive. Campanella needs to keep pushing this forward, and he needs to be replenished of creativity by the newer generations of filmmakers. There are only 2 things that I will criticize about this film, and please let these be taken constructively: -Like I said before, the plot is really naive. Not because it's a movie aimed to a kid audience, has to have a kids plot. -The voice acting should be improved. In Metegol, they aimed to have "recognizable faces" for the roles, but they had no experience in voice acting. Pablo Rago, el Negro Fontova and Coco Sily are OK, but I think that Diego Ramos should have put more emotion into his performance. Basically as an audience you kept disassociating the character from its voice, and that CAN't happen.

Well, that's it, if you still didn't watch it, go watch it. It is a great first step in what I believe will be the first of many great Argentinian productions. To all the production and artistic team of this film, chapeau.