Product Info

Studio

Dreamworks Animation

Director

Peter Hastings

Genre

Animation, Comedy, Family

Rated

PG

Theatrical Release Date (NA)

Jan 31, 2025

Film Length

1hr 29min

Purchase From

Amazon

Dog Man, based on the popular children’s graphic novels by Dav Pilkey, receives its own animated movie courtesy of DreamWorks Animation. It’s a fast-paced film that kids will enjoy with a unique visual style that fits the source material.

Operation Successful

© 2024 DreamWorks Animation. All Rights Reserved.

The film revolves around Dog Man, voiced by Peter Hastings (Pinky and the Brain, Animaniacs), half man, half dog. When a police officer and his dog are gravely injured while chasing after a villainous talking humanoid cat named Petey, voiced by Pete Davidson (The Suicide Squad, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts), the hospital takes the officer’s body and the dog’s head to make Dog Man. This new hero gives Petey a run for his money. Needing help, Petey clones himself to help destroy Dog Man so he can continue his evil plots. However, instead of creating an adult clone, he accidentally ends up with a child version of himself, named Li’l Petey. Petey finds his clone too much to handle and abandons him. Li’l Petey’s story doesn’t end there, though: he is later adopted by Dog Man.

The film has plenty of humor, but there are also some surprisingly heart-warming moments as well. For example, the relationship between Petey and Lil’ Petey is like a father and son. In this case, Petey does not want to take care of a child but later realizes he does have emotional attachment to his clone. Li’l Petey is like the strand that connects many of the characters together.

The film covers a handful of the graphic novel series since its initial release in 2016, giving the film plenty of content to work with. However, jamming it all in under two hours feels like a lot. It’s a sugar rush of fast-paced animation and scene jumping. One second you are watching Dog Man talking to the police chief in an office; five seconds later you see Dog Man confronting Petey. The film’s soundtrack amps up the action even further, but with so much going on, most will be too focused on what’s happening than on what they are hearing.

Pulled Right from the Book

© 2024 DreamWorks Animation. All Rights Reserved.

Regardless of the pacing, watching the Dog Man movie is pure movie magic in terms of its visuals. It’s like a true motion comic with a style that takes stop-motion-esque movement and combines it with a vibrant and animated city. In addition, some of the dialogue is animated on screen, and the quick scene cuts gives it more of that graphic novel feel. The voice acting is also very well done. While Dog Man himself doesn’t actually talk and instead barks and growls like any other dog, the other characters more than make up for it. Petey’s snarky and comeback lines are funny, and Lucas Hopkins Calderon, a newcomer voice actor who voices Li’l Petey, makes a great first impression. Finally, Chief, voiced by Lil Rel Howery (Get Out, Free Guy), and Flippy, voiced by Ricky Gervais (The Office, Extras) add additional flavor to the cast.

The Final Capture

Dog Man does what it’s supposed to do for fans of the books, which is the important thing here. The filmmakers have brought the popular children’s graphic novel to life with a fine story and a ripped-from-the-page animation style. Even if there’s possibly too much happening on the big screen, it’s very much a doggone good time.

An early screening provided for this review. Dog Man hits theaters on January 31, 2025. Tickets are available through the official website.