SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
There is a new "Superman" in theaters this weekend, and though you might be thinking - more Superman? - this latest version feels a little different. Among other things, it features a very cute dog.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "SUPERMAN")
DAVID CORENSWET: (As Superman) Krypto.
(SOUNDBITE OF DOG BARKING)
CORENSWET: (As Superman) Home - take me home.
DETROW: We here at NPR are lucky to have a veritable "Superman" expert on staff. He even wrote a book on the guy. It's Glen Weldon, host of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast. Hey, Glen.
GLEN WELDON, BYLINE: Hey, Scott. What's this veritable nonsense? I've spent years researching that book.
DETROW: (Laughter) Listen, I cannot stress to you how anxious I am to ask this first question because I feel like for nearly 20 years now, I have eagerly anticipated new "Superman" movies. I have gone to the theater. It's been like Charlie Brown and Lucy and the football...
WELDON: (Laughter).
DETROW: ...And I've been horribly disappointed. So OK, Glen, how is the new "Superman" movie?
WELDON: All right, I'm going to put it this way. All I want out of a "Superman" movie is, you know, make me cheer. That's it.
DETROW: Yes.
WELDON: Make me feel that kind of a welling up of joy and excitement at something I see on screen because when you're in a crowded theater - you know this - and everyone goes nuts around you, that's a great feeling. And that is exactly what's been missing from superhero movies for a very long time because Hollywood tried to make them, I don't know, more adult and nuanced, which always translates to dark and gloomy.
DETROW: Which is not "Superman."
WELDON: It's not "Superman." And I'm here to tell you, Scott, you're going to cheer. You're going to find yourself swept up in excitement several times in this movie. Now, to be fair, you're not always going to be cheering "Superman." Sometimes you're going to be cheering other characters. Mostly, though, you're going to be cheering for the dog.
DETROW: OK, so this is Krypto, the Superdog we're talking about. Krypto with a K.
WELDON: Yeah (laughter).
DETROW: He is a super-powered dog in a red cape. You know, he's been in the comic books for a while, but I think, like, he's not really movie-level pop culture known.
WELDON: Right.
DETROW: Tell us about Krypto and why he is in this movie.
WELDON: Well, I mean, when I was writing my book about Superman over the years, I came to love Krypto. This is a dog that debuted in the comics back in the '50s, during what we call the Silver Age of comics, which is when things got goofy because that was a time when comics creators realized that the comic book page doesn't have a special effects budget. You can do anything. I never thought I'd see Krypto, of all things, on screen, but here we are, and he's fantastic.
DETROW: That is great. You wrote in a review that we published on npr.org this morning that the new "Superman" movie is, in your words - I'm going to read them to you - (reading) corny, hokey, cheesy, achingly sincere, cringe even.
I don't know - like, maybe that's not an insult when we're talking about the Man of Steel, right?
WELDON: Yeah, you get it. I mean, Superman is corny. He has to be to work. And I was very worried when they tapped writer-director James Gunn for this. He did the "Guardians Of The Galaxy" movies for Marvel. I didn't think he was the right guy for this character because his trademark in the past has been kind of glib and snarky. And snarky is kryptonite. You get snarky anywhere near Superman and he dies. But you can tell right away that Gunn gets it because - you know, so David Corenswet plays Superman in this movie. The film opens. He's just had his big, red butt handed to him in a fight. The very first word we see him say on screen is, golly.
DETROW: (Laughter).
WELDON: And Scott, when that happened, I let out a sigh of relief. My shoulders dropped. I'm like, we're in good hands, because Superman isn't cool. He's an ideal. He represents the best we can aspire to be. And that's why this movie could not have come at a better time.
DETROW: You say in your review that every era gets the "Superman" it needs. Why did you say that?
WELDON: Well, when I was a kid, the '78 Christopher Reeve "Superman" movie came out just as Vietnam and Watergate had us all feeling, you know, justifiably cynical, I would say. And that movie gave us something, someone to believe in again. Gunn's "Superman" arrives at another time in American history when everything that we stand for - right? - bedrock American principles like justice for all and defending the defenseless and helping those in need - those feel farther away than they should right now. And you watch this movie, and you're reminded what those ideals look like, even if they're packaged in, you know, bold primary colors and little red boots.
But at the end of the day, what is Superman for? He is there to represent the idea that if you're gifted with power, and privileged, an indestructible body, in his case - right? - you could choose to do anything. What he chooses to do - the only thing he chooses to do - is to be of service to others, to take action, to place that indestructible body in harm's way between innocent people and anyone who wants to hurt them. That is goofy. That is corny. That is hokey, but it is also something that superhero movies haven't been for a very long time - it is legitimately inspiring.
DETROW: That is Glen Weldon, host of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast. Thank you for the news you brought me, and thank you...
(LAUGHTER)
DETROW: ...For doing this conversation.
WELDON: Take me home, Krypto.
(SOUNDBITE OF JOHN WILLIAMS' "MAIN TITLE (FROM SUPERMAN)") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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