A new superhero has arrived in town. Dog Man is the newest animated cinematic adaptation of Dav Pilkey’s graphic novels after Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie in 2017. Peter Hastings writes, directs, and stars in this spin-off of sorts about a police officer and his dog injured on the job. A life-saving surgery fuses them together into Dog Man, with the head of a dog and the body of a man. Together, they must stop the evil Petey the Cat from taking over the world. This is a decently entertaining movie that the whole family can enjoy, particularly longtime fans of Pilkey’s writing.
It’s always wonderful whenever an animated movie embraces its style. This movie is a wonderfully accurate adaptation that evokes the look and feel of the illustrations you’d find in a graphic novel. From the get-go, Dog Man overwhelms you with energy and a fast pace. The film starts off with an action sequence that quickly culminates in the creation of our canine hero. From here, he must readjust to his new life, discovering that his girlfriend left him once the surgery happened.
This is the type of movie that never stops. It’s always giving you a new visual gag or something new to look at. It never slows down, which can be both an asset and a detriment. I can’t imagine children watching this movie and being bored for a second. Particularly in the final act, we have some story developments that are out of this world and quite fun to watch. The issue is that the story moves at such a fast pace that there are many important moments that do not get the chance to breathe and, therefore, don’t land as well as they should.
Dog Man is filled with admirable traits. The voice acting is stellar, particularly from Lil Rel Howery as the classic angry police chief. He’s an energetic performer who brings his all to this role. Pete Davidson provides excellent work as the villainous feline, Petey the Cat. But newcomer Lucas Hopkins Calderon is sure to be a fan favorite as Li’l Petey, a kind-hearted kitten clone of Petey with a positive outlook on the world. Everything Li’l Petey says is absolutely adorable, and I loved every second this character was on screen. Ricky Gervais is also a fun presence in this movie as Flippy the Fish, although his voice work here sounds quite similar to his work in the 2022 animated film Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank.
The writing manages to be genuinely funny. There are tons of small gags, and it’s hilarious to see Petey, a villain dedicated to world domination, being forced to take care of Li’l Petey. The way their world view is so vastly different leads to an interesting dynamic. Petey is jaded and angry at the world because his father left him at a very young age. Li’l Petey is new to the world, so he sees the best in everyone. It’s wonderful that Petey has a reason to believe what he believes and that he’s a victim of his childhood.
Dog Man is a movie bursting with creative ideas and a heartwarming center, especially as Dog Man builds a strong bond with Li’l Petey. This film exists in an insane reality where virtually anything is possible. But the issue remains in the pace and how it doesn’t slow down enough to make us feel for the characters, particularly with the protagonist. After the first few minutes, Dog Man stops evolving as a character. It becomes a little harder to connect with him because he’s the only character who doesn’t speak verbally, and at some point, the movie becomes less and less about him and his growth, adjusting to and embracing his new life as this human-canine hybrid.
If the movie had delved more into what’s happening in his head, that would have led to a more interesting dynamic. He gets to build a relationship with Li’l Petey, but this payoff would only reach its full emotional potential if fatherhood was something he desired before his transformation. But the pace is so fast that we don’t spend enough time there. At some point, the film becomes more focused on Petey and his relationship with Li’l Petey and his father. Petey is a far more interesting character than Dog Man, and he ends up overshadowing our protagonist.
One story beat in the final act is genuinely tragic, and it speaks to a cruel reality of the world that few other children’s movies depict. But the movie moves on from it too fast. Dog Man remains a gorgeously animated film, but I found myself far more interested in the antagonist than the protagonist, who gets left to the side at some point. Dog Man doesn’t have an arc; Petey does. And most of the film’s main events don’t get driven forward by Dog Man. Regardless, this is a film that entertains when it wants to and keeps up a rare vibrance for 90 consecutive minutes.
SCORE: 6/10
As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 6 equates to “Decent.” It fails to reach its full potential and is a run-of-the-mill experience.
Disclosure: ComingSoon attended a press screening for our Dog Man review.
