Captain Underpants and the Preposterous Plight of the Purple Potty People facts for kids
First edition cover
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| Author | Dav Pilkey |
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| Illustrator | Dav Pilkey |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Captain Underpants series |
| Genre | Children's novel, comic science fiction |
| Publisher | Blue Sky (US), Scholastic (US) |
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Publication date
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August 15, 2006 (black-and-white) August 13, 2019 (full color) |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 176 |
| ISBN | 9780545385749 |
| Preceded by | Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy |
| Followed by | Captain Underpants and the Terrifying Re-Turn of Tippy Tinkletrousers |
Captain Underpants and the Preposterous Plight of the Purple Potty People is the eighth exciting book in the Captain Underpants series. It was written by Dav Pilkey. This book came out on August 15, 2006. It was published almost three years after the last book. This was also the last Captain Underpants book for six years. The next one, Captain Underpants and the Terrifying Re-Turn of Tippy Tinkletrousers, came out in 2012.
Contents
What Happens in the Story?
George Beard, Harold Hutchins, their pet hamster Sulu, and their pterodactyl Crackers find themselves in a strange, opposite universe. In this world, everything is backwards! Good things are bad, smart people act dumb, and heroes are actually villains. For example, Melvin Sneedly is not smart here. Mr. Krupp, their principal, is kind and funny, just like Captain Underpants.
The boys soon meet evil versions of themselves. They learn from a comic book that these evil twins turned their principal into a supervillain. This villain is called Captain Blunderpants. Soon, Evil George and Evil Harold kidnap Sulu and Crackers. Sulu gets hypnotized to be evil, but Crackers does not. Sulu then attacks Good George and Good Harold. But Crackers saves them, which surprises the boys.
The heroes finally return to their own world. But they accidentally bring Nice Mr. Krupp, Sulu, and the evil twins with them. Evil George and Evil Harold quickly turn Nice Mr. Krupp into Captain Blunderpants. They do this by getting his head wet. The four villains then start causing trouble in Piqua. Good George and Good Harold grab their 3D Hypno-Ring. They also take some Extra-Strength Super Power Juice. They plan to de-hypnotize Sulu and use the juice if needed.
However, George's dad stops them from leaving the house. It's Grandparent's Day, and they must have dinner with their grandparents. While the boys try to explain, their grandparents find the Super Power Juice. They drink it all!
Meanwhile, Evil George and Evil Harold find the boys' treehouse. They search through it and find the "Goosy-Grow 4000." They use it to turn Sulu into a giant monster called Hamsterzilla. Hamsterzilla charges at George and Harold. Crackers flies in, and the boys escape on her back. Evil Harold, Evil George, and Captain Blunderpants chase them. The boys decide they need the Super Power Juice to fight back. But they realize it's empty! George says they only have one plan left.
The duo and Crackers escape the evil villains. They go to their own Mr. Krupp's house. They had covered it in toilet paper earlier. When Mr. Krupp answers, George and Harold snap their fingers. This turns him into Captain Underpants! Captain Underpants quickly defeats Hamsterzilla. The evil trio sees this after robbing a bank. Now, Captain Underpants must fight his evil copy, Blunderpants. But before the big fight, Blunderpants turns back into Nice Mr. Krupp. This happens when Good George snaps his fingers. The boys explain they remembered how Blunderpants and Nice Mr. Krupp switch identities.
Captain Underpants ties up the alternate versions. But Harold says nothing else can go wrong, which means something always does. A rain storm begins. This turns Nice Mr. Krupp back into Captain Blunderpants. It also turns Captain Underpants back into their own Mr. Krupp. George and Harold try snapping their fingers, but it doesn't work. The rain is too heavy. Their Mr. Krupp is confused about being outside. He goes back to his soggy house to sleep.
With Captain Underpants gone, George and Harold escape on Crackers. Captain Blunderpants flies after them, holding Evil George and Evil Harold. George finds the Shrinky-Pig 2000 in the treehouse. They could use it to shrink the evil twins. But it's too late! Blunderpants grabs the boys by their shirts. The device falls into the hands of Evil George and Evil Harold. Just when it seems hopeless, a voice stops Blunderpants.
George and Harold's grandparents arrive! They tell Blunderpants to put down their grandchildren. But Blunderpants holds them tighter. So, the grandparents transform into Great Granny Girdle and Boxer Boy! They put on curtains as capes. Then they defeat Captain Blunderpants and save the boys. George realizes their grandparents drank the Super Power Juice earlier.
However, Evil George and Evil Harold are ready to use the Shrinky-Pig 2000. They plan to shrink the good twins. But Harold tricks them. He says they are holding the device backwards. The evil twins believe him and turn it around. They activate it, and they shrink themselves! After the evil twins get what they deserve, the grandparents fly off for a romantic dinner. George and Harold de-hypnotize Sulu and shrink him back to normal. They then take Evil George, Evil Harold, and Captain Blunderpants. They put them back into the Purple Potty and send them to their own universe.
Harold says everything worked out perfectly. But then policemen arrest them! The police think they are the evil George and Harold who robbed a bank. Harold says things can't get any worse, as they are going to jail. But then Tippy Tinkletrousers appears. He was Professor Poopypants, but he changed his name. He freezes the police solid. Then he starts chasing George, Harold, Crackers, and Sulu. The book ends with George yelling "Oh no!" and Harold yelling "Here we go again!"
Comics
Comic 1: The Preposterous Plight of Captain Blunderpants
This comic was made by Evil Harold and George. In it, the evil boys hypnotize Mr. Krupp. He becomes Captain Blunderpants to steal things for them. One day, a cop chases him for stealing pizza. He accidentally eats a mix of foods that give him superpowers. He flies to the evil twins with their pizza. This comic also shows that Nice Mr. Krupp turns into Captain Blunderpants when his head gets wet. He turns back when a finger is snapped.
Comic 2: Adventures of Boxer Boy and Great Granny Girdle
This comic was made by the real George and Harold. In this story, a UFO lands on Earth. It opens a store that trades improved Robo-Grandparents for real grandparents. Everyone but George and Harold trades their grandparents. One day, the boys' grandparents find the others in a "slaves room." They also find superpower candies there. They eat the candies and become Boxer Boy and Great Granny Girdle. They chase the bad guys into the UFO. Boxer Boy turns the UFO into the shape of the candy. This makes a robot bite the fuel line, causing an explosion. All the bad guys are defeated. The boys' grandparents fly back and free the kidnapped grandparents.
Main Characters
- George Beard - A student at the funny Jerome Horwitz Elementary School. He is Harold's best friend.
- Harold Hutchins - A student at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School. He is George's best friend.
- Evil George Beard - A bad version of George from another universe. He wears Harold's T-shirt.
- Evil Harold Hutchins - A bad version of Harold from another universe. He wears George's uniform.
- Mr. Krupp - The strict principal of Jerome Horwitz Elementary School.
- Captain Underpants - Mr. Krupp's secret superhero identity.
- Nice Mr. Krupp - The kind principal from the alternate Jerome Horwitz Elementary School.
- Captain Blunderpants - The rude supervillain version of Nice Mr. Krupp.
- Boxer Boy - Harold's grandfather. He is one of the two Arthritic Avengers.
- Great Granny Girdle - George's great-grandmother. She is the other Arthritic Avenger.
- Sulu - George and Harold's pet hamster.
- Crackers - A friendly pterodactyl from prehistoric times.
Supporting Characters
- Melvin Sneedly - George and Harold's smart rival.
- Miss Anthrope - The secretary at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School.
- Mr. Meaner - The gym teacher at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School.
- Mr. Rected - The guidance counselor at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School.
- Ms. Guided - A staff member at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School.
- Miss Singerbrains - The school librarian at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School.
The following characters appear on pages 46-47:
- Tippy Tinkletrousers - A tricky villain from the Piqua State Penitentiary. In the alternate universe, he is a fireman.
- Dr. Diaper - A villain from the first Captain Underpants book. In the alternate universe, he is a police officer.
- The Turbo Toilet 2000 - A villain from other Captain Underpants books. In the alternate universe, he is a crossing guard.
- Zorx, Klax and Jennifer - Three rude aliens from the third Captain Underpants book. In the alternate universe, they are firemen.
- The Robo-Boogers - Three gross booger monsters (Carl, Trixie, and Frankenbooger) from the seventh book. In the alternate universe, Carl is a postman, and Trixie and Frankenbooger are construction workers.
