Kids Meet Captain Underpants

A McKinley student in attendance shared, "I'm most excited about getting to meet Ed Helms and to see the movie before it even comes out. I want to be Captain Underpants when I grow up!" Providencia Principal Jennifer Culbertson added, "We rallied our entire community to get behind us [for the contest]. This was a great way to end the last week of school!"

The children oozed with excitement upon meeting Helms who, off-screen, plays another kind of superhero role to these children as an Advisory Board Member for Education Through Music-LA and dedicated champion for the cause. A musician himself, Helms takes the time to visit low-income area schools and music classrooms, recently performing banjo at Normandie Elementary in South Central Los Angeles.

Moderated by ETM-LA Executive Director Victoria Lanier, the Q&A provided a lighthearted look into Helms' experience in bringing the beloved superhero to life. Helms drew chuckles from the crowd as he remarked, "I was so excited to get to be Captain Underpants…at the end of the day, it's just a very large guy running around in his underwear and there's nothing better!" Helms further joked, "I connected with [Captain Underpants] on two levels. Number one, he's really dumb. So am I. And number two, he loves to run around in his underwear, and so do I."

The children had numerous questions for Helms including what it was like to collaborate with Kevin Hart. Helms praised Hart, saying, "You know, Kevin Hart is one of the funniest human beings on planet earth. He is a superhero of comedy. What's really interesting is [that when] we record all these voices, most of the time we're separate; so we don't actually hear the other person recording their parts. So the first time I saw the movie was the first time I got to see a lot of the lines that Kevin Hart did (and other guys like Thomas Middleditch) and yeah - I laughed real hard!"

ETM-LA honored Helms with a Shining Star Award at their recent annual gala with help from artists and actors including Moby, Andy Richter, Lisa Loeb, Christina Applegate, Angela Kinsey, Michael Giacchino, and Dustbowl Revival. "The gap in education opportunities in different communities is one of the great social injustices, and Education Through Music-LA plugs right into that in a very smart and critical way," said Helms. "Music has impact. And ETM-LA is a force-multiplier for that impact. [They] put teachers back in the schools, provide a curriculum, [and] provide resources."

Based on the worldwide sensation and bestselling book series by Dav Pilkey and boasting an A-list cast of comedy superstars headed by Kevin Hart and Ed Helms, DreamWorks Animation brings audiences the long-awaited global movie event, Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie. This raucously subversive comedy for the entire family tells the story of two overly imaginative pranksters named George and Harold, who hypnotize their principal into thinking he's a ridiculously enthusiastic, incredibly dimwitted superhero named Captain Underpants. Directed by David Soren and produced by Mireille Soria, p.g.a. and Mark Swift, p.g.a., Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie features the voice talents of Kevin Hart, Ed Helms, Nick Kroll, Thomas Middleditch, Jordan Peele, and Kristen Schaal.

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie opens in theaters nationwide June 2, 2017.

Education Through Music-Los Angeles (www.etmla.org) is an independent non-profit organization with the mission to provide and promote quality music education in disadvantaged schools as part of the core curriculum in order to enhance students' academic achievement and creative and overall development.

Getty Images/WireImage Photos Link: http://www.wireimage.com/search/#events?q=Greg%20Doherty/%5B700052182%5D&ep=1/90/1&s=3

SOURCE Education Through Music-Los Angeles

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http://etmla.org