In his commentary on the film Dogma, Kevin Smith said that working with Linda Fiorentino was so difficult that he wishes he had cast this actress for the role of Bethany.

There’s no need to fear. Jason Lee is here.

Well, on some days. Lee, who will provide the voice of the crime-fighting beagle in the film Underdog, concedes he’s still getting used to the schedule of being a canine superhero.

“Every two or three months, I’ll get a call to come in and read a few hours of script,” says Lee, the star of My Name Is Earl. “I’m pretty clueless what the movie is going to be, which is kind of intriguing. I’ll be like the audience, seeing it for the first time.”

Such are the rigors of perfecting the special effects that will go into the movie, seen here for the first time. Unlike the popular cartoon of the mid-1960s, the film version will eschew animation in favor of Babe-like computer effects.

Lee, who says he was a cartoon junkie as a child, plays Shoeshine, a hound who gets superpowers after a lab accident. The film is due Aug. 3.

It’s the third film for which Lee has provided a voice: He was Bones in Monster House and Buddy Pine in The Incredibles. He’s also provided the voice to video games and an American Dad episode.

“I love doing voices and cartoon,” he says. “My 3-year-old son has seen The Incredibles like 20 times. It feels good to be part of something you can watch with your kid.”