There's no need to fear...

...there's a movie coming out later this summer that will teach a whole new generation of fans why.

Wow! That didn't sound right, did it? OK, how about this:

Underdog is here!

And he will be in theaters this summer thanks to the folks at Disney, who are bringing us an updated Underdog.

Ironically, the movie studio that's done such amazing work in animation, from "Snow White" all the way to "Ratatouille," is bringing the '60s cartoon to the big-screen as a live-action feature.

Even though it was made a decade before I was born, I used to love watching "Underdog" re-runs when I was a little kid; they were usually on alongside "Rocky & Bullwinkle" re-runs.

For those not old enough to remember, "Underdog" is really the alter-ego of Shoeshine Boy, a mild-mannered, well, shoeshine boy ... though he's really a dog. When he sees something going afoul, he'd turn into "Underdog."

Oh, and he also had a cute GF: Sweet Polly Purebred.

Having only seen the preview for "Underdog" when we saw "Ratatouille" a couple weeks ago — and btw, have you seen "Ratatouille?" What a flick! — I didn't see much of the story coming to the big screen.

I did, though, notice that Jason Lee (you might know him from "My Name is Earl") plays the voice of "Underdog." What's the irony there?

Jason Lee also played the main villain in a recent Disney animated movie ... can anyone name that villain and in what movie he was so devious???