Dog Man
A true underdog story, Dog Man is the heartwarming tale of a man and his best friend combining forces (literally) to do good and save the world from undead psychic fish and eccentric cat villains. It’s full of puns and fourth-wall breaks, all in the name of wacky misadventures. At the heart of it is a deeper exploration of loneliness, the divide between optimism and pessimism, and the unrelenting search for the good in everyone. While not entirely perfect, Dog Man’s unique premise and stylistic art highlight how not all animated films need a big budget to create endearing stories and visually engage an audience.
The combination of Dav Pilkey’s characters, alongside director Peter Hastings’s animation expertise, makes for an interesting product, one that’s a little bit different from Captain Underpants but still operates in a similar vein. Embracing the ridicule, Dog Man is meta in its humour, constantly naming buildings and objects for their intended purposes, such as the “Abandoned Expendable Building” or the “Living Spray”. All that is mixed with modern slang and brief moments of wisdom that teach lessons of found families and heroism. The fast pace keeps the action tight and ongoing, using montages for exposition and transitions in time. But the focus on character relationships solidifies that there’s more to the picture than just flashy bright colours and exciting chase sequences between cat and dog.
Not every joke lands gracefully in Dog Man, but the talented cast ensures that there are still plenty of laughs to be had. This includes Pete Davidson as the Petey, Lil Rel Howery as the Chief and Isla Fisher as journalist Sarah Hatoff. Lucas Hopkins Calderon as Little Petey is an adorable addition, with his too-kind heart and Dog Man’s exuberant personality a charming combination to watch unfold on the big screen. In general, the various relationship dynamics are the true highlight of the piece, specifically Petey and Little Petey’s father and son connection. It helps that the actors bring to life these very different characters and their lively interactions with each other. The production is topped off with an interesting animation style, one that uses 2D backdrops against 3D character models with Claymation-like movements. This produces a mix of interesting textures that complements Dog Man’s kung-fu style fighting and the anthropomorphising of the animals and buildings.
Dog Man follows the path of animation innovation alongside other Dreamworks projects like Bad Guys and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, as well as other successful animated film franchises like Sony’s Spider-Verse. While it’s not as soulful or visually stunning as the previous releases by the studio, it has its attractive qualities. The jokes do err on the side of childish and silly, but adults will find some of the meta digs amusing to watch. Not every joke is going to endear the audience, and Dog Man as the titular character reigns as one of the less entertaining aspects of the film. That being said, Dog Man is an overall enjoyable experience with a marvellously funny cast and an animation style visually faithful to its comic book roots.
Mae Trumata
Dog Man is released nationwide on 7th February and available digitally on demand on 10th March 2025.
Watch the trailer for Dog Man here:
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