After seeing what Hollywood did with one of the finest cartoons ever made (The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle, ugh!) I was more than a little skeptical when I learned that Disney was turning one of my very favorite animated characters into a live-action movie. The cartoon is Underdog, the movie version comes from the guy who did Racing Stripes, and the very first teaser trailer is right here.

It's basically one of those "misdirection" trailers in which we're expected to think we're watching a "serious" promotional piece ... and then it's all fun and giggles when we get a flying dog thrown at the screen. Plus, and I know it's a major piece of geeky nit-pickery, but this cute little pup doesn't look a thing like Underdog! Someone get me the canine casting directors on the phone! Opening August 3 (against the teen comedy Charlie Bartlett and the spy thriller The Bourne Ultimatum), Underdog looks to have been a fairly "collaborative" production, what with its three screenwriters and ten (yes, ten) producers.

The title pup is voiced by Jason Lee; the supporting cast includes Peter Dinklage, Jim Belushi, Patrick Warburton and (the voice of) Amy Adams; and the tagline "One Nation Under Dog" is sure to cause some complaints across the bible belt. Bet on it.

AMC Theatres is continuing its lead in exhibitor promotions by giving out more free movies this summer. Perhaps you remember last summer when the cinema chain offered a money-back guarantee for Cinderella Man. Then last month it gave out free Akeelah and the Bee tickets to teachers. This time, the deal includes 12 different movies, is open to anyone and goes through the season.

In select cities (listed after the jump), G- and PG-rated films will be shown for free on Wednesday mornings. The films are not new, of course, but they are all popular family fare that are undeniably good deals. They include Shark Tale, Shrek, Shrek 2, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Racing Stripes, Because of Winn-Dixie, Ice Age, Dreamer, Madagascar, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, March of the Penguins, and, the movie I will go see free any time, Wallace and Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit. In addition, The Cartoon Network is producing the pre-show entertainment, which will include bonus cartoon shorts.

It doesn't get any better than free movies, and the only catch is that the program's sponsors will likely be showing commercials during the pre-show. Like that is any different than when we pay, right? AMC's plan is brilliant, especially if they have their concession stands open at 9am. Since the movies aren't first-run, the theatres don't have to pay a lot to the studios to show them. In fact, the program's sponsors might be paying for the titles by themselves. And as packed as any of these shows is likely to be, seeing as they're free, they should be guaranteed to sell out on any rainy wednesday morning. If they sell popcorn to a good percentage of the audience, AMC will be making a ton of money (If they would sell better popcorn, they'd get some of the money from me, as well).