Captain Underpants facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Captain Underpants

The Adventures of Captain Underpants (1997) The Attack of the Talking Toilets (1999) The Invasion of the Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies from Outer Space (and the Subsequent Assault of the Equally Evil Lunchroom Zombie Nerds) (1999) The Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants (2000) The Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman (2001) The Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy Part 1: The Night of the Nasty Nostril Nuggets (2003) The Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy Part 2: The Revenge of the Ridiculous Robo-Boogers (2003) The Preposterous Plight of the Purple Potty People (2006) The Terrifying Re-Turn of Tippy Tinkletrousers (2012) The Revolting Revenge of the Radioactive Robo-Boxers (2013) The Tyrannical Retaliation of the Turbo Toilet 2000 (2014) The Sensational Saga of Sir Stinks-A-Lot (2015)
Author	Dav Pilkey
Illustrator	Dav Pilkey
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Children's literature Superhero fiction Comedy
Publisher	Scholastic
Published	1997 – 2015 (main series) 2002 – present (spin-offs)
Media type	Print (hardback and paperback)
No. of books	12

Captain Underpants is a popular American book series and media franchise. It was created by author and illustrator Dav Pilkey. The stories are about two fourth-grade best friends, George Beard and Harold Hutchins. They live in Piqua, Ohio.

The series features Captain Underpants, a superhero from the boys' own comic books. He accidentally comes to life when George and Harold hypnotize their strict school principal, Mr. Krupp. From the third book on, Mr. Krupp also gains superpowers like super strength, toughness, and the ability to fly. This happens after he drinks a special alien "Extra-Strength Super Power Juice."

The main series has 12 books. There are also activity books and 15 spin-off books. By 2014, the series was translated into over 20 languages. More than 80 million books have been sold worldwide. Over 50 million of these were sold in the United States.

DreamWorks Animation made an animated movie based on the series. Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie came out on June 2, 2017. It received good reviews. A TV series, The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants, followed on Netflix. It aired from July 13, 2018, to December 4, 2020, and also got positive reviews.

The main book series ended in 2015 with the twelfth novel, Captain Underpants and the Sensational Saga of Sir Stinks-A-Lot. A spin-off series called Dog Man began in 2016. The Dog Man series currently has 13 books. A movie based on Dog Man was released on January 31, 2025.

Captain Underpants Novels

The main Captain Underpants book series often uses alliteration in its titles. This started from the fourth book. The very long title of the third book became a funny running joke in later books.

Books 6 through 12 in the main series tell one continuous story. Each book, except the last one, ends with a cliffhanger. The next book then picks up right where the previous one left off.

Main Book Series

• The Adventures of Captain Underpants (1997)
• Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets (1999)
• Captain Underpants and the Invasion of the Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies from Outer Space (and the Subsequent Assault of the Equally Evil Lunchroom Zombie Nerds) (1999)
• Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants (2000)
• Captain Underpants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman (2001)
• Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy, Part 1: The Night of the Nasty Nostril Nuggets (2003)
• Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy, Part 2: The Revenge of the Ridiculous Robo-Boogers (2003)
• Captain Underpants and the Preposterous Plight of the Purple Potty People (2006)
• Captain Underpants and the Terrifying Return of Tippy Tinkletrousers (2012)
• Captain Underpants and the Revolting Revenge of the Radioactive Robo-Boxers (2013)
• Captain Underpants and the Tyrannical Retaliation of the Turbo Toilet 2000 (2014)
• Captain Underpants and the Sensational Saga of Sir Stinks-A-Lot (2015)

Spin-off Books

• The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby (2002)
• The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future (2010 – 2021)
• Super Diaper Baby 2: The Invasion of the Potty Snatchers (2011)

Characters

Overview of Characters

This table shows which characters appear in the Captain Underpants books, movie, and TV series.

Main Characters

• George Beard and Harold Hutchins – These two fourth-grade boys are best friends and neighbors. They are the main heroes of the series. They created their own comic book company called "Treehouse Comix, Inc." They often get into trouble with Mr. Krupp. In the ninth book, George had a huge afro when he was younger. After some time travel adventures, two copies of them, called Yesterday George and Yesterday Harold, appear. The original George and Harold later travel to the future. They find their future selves have become graphic novel creators. Future Yesterday George married Lisa and had two children. Future Yesterday Harold married Billy and adopted twin children. George's parents are Moses and Barbara. Harold's mother is Grace. In the movies and TV shows, their personalities are similar. They often prank to entertain their schoolmates. They treat Captain Underpants more like a friend.
• Mr. Benjamin "Benny" Krupp – He is the strict and unfriendly principal of Jerome Horwitz Elementary School. He is often shown as an overweight man. Mr. Krupp dislikes children and tries to stop George and Harold's pranks. He has a younger brother named Jasper. His parents are John and Bernice. When he was a child, he had a bad experience at a talent show. This made him become "mean" and "cold-hearted." His last name, Krupp, sounds like "corrupt." In the movie, he secretly enjoys George and Harold's comics. This helps him know how Captain Underpants acts when hypnotized.
• Captain Underpants – This is Mr. Krupp's superhero side. He wears only white briefs and a red cape with black polka dots. When Mr. Krupp hears fingers snap, he turns into Captain Underpants. Water poured on his head turns him back into Mr. Krupp. Captain Underpants gains superpowers in the third book. He gets super strength, toughness, flight, and "wedgie power." He can pull endless underwear from his waistband. As the books continued, Captain Underpants had smaller roles. In the 12th book, he lost his powers and disappeared. Captain Underpants is seen as Mr. Krupp's friendly side. He is very protective of children, especially George and Harold.
• Melvin Richard Sneedly – Melvin is George and Harold's nerdy rival. He is a "genius inventor" and the smartest student at school. His parents, Cindy and Gaylord, are scientists. In the Netflix series, he has been inventing since he was a baby. In the movie, he lacks a sense of humor. He only focuses on studies. In the eleventh book, he becomes a superhero called Big Melvin. He travels back in time to bring Captain Underpants to the present.
• Sulu and Crackers – These are George and Harold's pets. Sulu was Melvin's abandoned bionic hamster. George and Harold adopted him. Crackers is their pet Quetzalcoatlus. They got Crackers when they traveled back in time. Sulu and Crackers later had three children: Tony, Orlando, and Dawn.

Villains

• Doctor Diaper – A mad scientist who wears a diaper. He was the first villain Captain Underpants fought.
• The Talking Toilets – An army of living toilets. George and Harold accidentally created them. They could only say, "Yum, yum, eat 'em up!"
• The Turbo Toilet 2000 – A giant toilet created by George and Harold. He was brought to life by a special photocopier. After being defeated, he was sent to Uranus. He later returned to Earth. In the movie, he was Melvin's invention.
• Zorx, Klax, and Jennifer – Three aliens who planned to take over Piqua, Ohio. They were the main villains in the third book. They pretended to be lunch ladies. They tried to turn students into Zombie Nerds.
• The Dandelion of Doom – A giant dandelion monster. It grew huge after absorbing alien super evil juice.
• Tippy Tinkletrousers (formerly Professor Pippy Pee-Pee Poopypants) – A scientist from a country where everyone has funny names. In book 4, he tried to make everyone on Earth change their names. After his defeat, he changed his name to Tippy Tinkletrousers.
• Wedgie Woman (Ms. Ribble) – A villain based on George and Harold's teacher, Ms. Ribble. She was hypnotized into becoming Wedgie Woman. She gained superpowers and super-intelligence after drinking superpower juice.
• Robo-George and The Harold 2000 – Two giant robots built by Wedgie Woman. They looked like George and Harold. They were programmed to destroy Captain Underpants.
• The Bionic Booger Boy (Melvin Sneedly) – A mix of Melvin Sneedly, boogers, and a super-powered robot. He grew huge during a field trip to a tissue factory.
• Carl, Trixie and Frankenbooger (The Three Robo-Boogers) – These boogers came from the Bionic Booger Boy. They were weak against oranges. When they ate, they became bigger and more evil.
• Evil George and Evil Harold – Bad versions of George and Harold from another dimension. They are smart and evil. They were main villains in the 8th book. They helped Captain Blunderpants.
• Captain Blunderpants – The evil version of Captain Underpants from another dimension. He looks and acts more like Mr. Krupp. His transformation is opposite to Captain Underpants'.
• Kipper Krupp – A sixth-grade bully. He is Benjamin Krupp's nephew. He used to bully George, Harold, and other kids. He later became nicer due to George and Harold's pranks.
• Sir Stinks-A-Lot (Mr. Meaner) – Mr. Meaner becomes an evil hypnotist named Sir Stinks-A-Lot. He later removes Captain Underpants's superpowers.

Teachers and Staff

• Mr. Kenny Brian Meaner – The gym teacher at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School. He is overweight and has a personality similar to Mr. Krupp's. He is often mean to students. In book 12, he becomes Sir Stinks-A-Lot.
• Miss Edith Anthrope – The school secretary. She is often in a bad mood and unkind to children. In the TV series, she is voiced by Patty Mattson.
• Mr. Morty Fyde – The science teacher. He is dorky and a bit silly. He eventually leaves his job. In the TV series, he is released from a mental institution. He later turns into a giant avocado monster.
• Ms. Tara Ribble – George and Harold's fourth-grade homeroom teacher. In book 5, she is hypnotized into becoming Wedgie Woman.
• Miss Singerbrains – The school librarian. She banned almost all books in the library. She eventually closed the library.
• Mr. Riles Rected – The school guidance counselor. He is very mean to students. He often hangs out with Mr. Krupp and other strict teachers.
• Ms. Dayken – A member of the teaching board. In the movie, she was George and Harold's kindergarten teacher.
• Mr. Rustworthy – The music teacher. In the series, he is replaced by Ms. Herd.
• The Lunch Ladies – Three women who run the cafeteria. They are known for cooking terrible food. Two of them are Miss Creant and Mrs. DePoint.

Students

• Jessica Gordon
• Gooch Yamaguchi
• Sophie One
• Other Sophie
• Bo Hweemuth
• Stanley Peet

Series Break

The first few Captain Underpants books came out regularly. However, there was a six-year wait for the ninth book, Captain Underpants and the Terrifying Re-Turn of Tippy Tinkletrousers. During this time, Dav Pilkey was taking care of his father, who was very ill. His father passed away in 2008. In 2009, Pilkey signed a deal for four new books. The third of these was the ninth Captain Underpants book, released in 2012.

Other Media

Movies

Animated Film

In 2011, DreamWorks Animation announced they would make an animated movie based on Captain Underpants. Rob Letterman directed the film, and Nicholas Stoller wrote the script. The voice cast included Ed Helms as Mr. Krupp/Captain Underpants, Kevin Hart as George Beard, Thomas Middleditch as Harold Hutchins, Nick Kroll as Professor Poopypants, and Jordan Peele as Melvin. The movie was released on June 2, 2017.

Spin-off Film

In 2020, it was announced that a movie based on the Dog Man spin-off series was being made by DreamWorks Animation. Peter Hastings directed it. The film was released on January 31, 2025.

Television Series

DreamWorks Animation Television created a TV series based on the movie. It was a sequel to the film and streamed on Netflix. The series premiered on July 13, 2018.

Interactive Special

In 2020, an interactive special called Captain Underpants Epic Choice-O-Rama was released on Netflix. In this special, Harold and George try to stop Mr. Krupp from destroying their treehouse. This special was removed from Netflix on December 1, 2024.

International Publishing

Captain Underpants books are published in many countries around the world. Here are some of the countries and publishers:

• Argentina: Scholastic
• Australia: Scholastic
• Brazil: Cosac Naify, Companhia das Letras
• Canada: Scholastic
• China: Nanhai Publishing Company
• Croatia: Mozaik Knjiga
• Denmark: Forlaget Sesam, Carlsen
• Egypt: Scholastic
• Finland: Tammi
• France: Le Petit Musc, Bayard Presse
• Germany: Ueberreuter, Panini
• Greece: Psichogios Publications, Modern Times S.A.
• Hong Kong: Scholastic, Thinkingdom Children's Books, New Buds Publishing House
• Hungary: Ulpius-Haz
• Iceland: JPV Forlag, Bókafélagið
• India: Scholastic
• Indonesia: Kompas Gramedia Group
• Ireland: Scholastic
• Israel: Kinneret Zmora-Bitan Dvir
• Italy: Edizioni Piemme, Salani
• Japan: Tokuma Shoten
• Latvia: Zvaigzne ABC
• Lithuania: Alma littera
• Mexico: Scholastic
• New Zealand: Scholastic
• Norway: Cappelen Damm, Schibsted Forlag, Vigmostad & Bjørke
• Poland: Egmont, Jaguar
• Portugal: Gradiva, Marcador
• Romania: Editura National, Art Grup Editorial
• Russia: Machiny Tvoreniya Publishing
• Saudi Arabia: Scholastic (did not include the 12th novel)
• Slovenia: Založba Mladinska Knjiga
• South Korea: Gimm-Young Publishers, Inc.
• Spain: Ediciones SM
• Sweden: Egmont Richters, Bonnier Carlsen
• Taiwan: Commonwealth, Thinkingdom Children's Books
• Thailand: Pearl Publishing
• Turkey: A.I. Iletisim/Altin Kitaplar
• Ukraine: Krajina Mriy
• United Kingdom: Scholastic
• Vietnam: Nha Nam Publishing