Dog Man has a simple yet morbidly absurd premise: what do you get when you combine the body of a policeman with the head of a dog? Answer: A loyal enthusiastic crime-fighting hero, Dog Man.
Based on the wildly popular Dav Pilkey children’s graphic novel series at the same name, Dog Man tells the story of police officer, Knight (Peter Hastings), and his trusty canine sidekick, Greg (Peter Hastings). One day while on duty, they both tragically get in a critical accident and the only way to save their lives is to fuse the two together. Hence, the frankenstein creature of Dog Man is born: head of a dog, body of a man, double the heart and courage.
Dog Man continues his duty to protect and save the city from his feline arch enemy, Petey (Pete Davidson), an orange-stripped criminal cat. The two fall into a pattern: Petey has a nefarious plot; Dog Man thwarts him and saves the day; Petey escapes. Rinse and repeat. Until, one day Petey clones himself, creating Lil’ Petey (Lucas Hopkins), who throws a wrench in both of their plans.
DreamWorks Animation has continued to impress by pushing the envelope of animation art style and aesthetic, which they’ve continually delivered with every movie since Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. Dog Man is no exception. The adorable, stop-motion inspired style to its characters and world is new and appealing. The design and charm of the characters from the book is maintained while simultaneously being enhanced and brought to life in vivid three dimensions.
While the animation feels fresh, don’t expect much else from the plot: the characters are one-note and the plot is simple. Dog Man, Petey and police chief, Chief (Lil Rel Howery), have basic motivations and desires and the themes mirror that simplicity. Dog Man struggles initially as he’s lost his best friend and his best friend‘s girlfriend abandoned him, leaving him homeless; however, he finds purpose in his work and in capturing Petey the cat. In the end, Dog Man is a good boy.
Petey is hilarious and a lot of fun, though Pete Davidson’s voice acting is generic. Petey is bad for the sake of being bad. He creates ruckus everywhere he goes and that’s all he’s meant to do. He tries to up his game by creating a clone of himself, but accidentally creates a mini version of himself, which won’t be fully formed for 18 years. Yep, Petey is now unexpectedly and reluctantly a father. The baby cat instantly clings on to Petey, calling him Papa. Petey abandons him and Lil Petey is taken in by Dog Man, who finds a new sense of purpose in looking after the little tyke.
Children absolutely adore the Dog Man books and likewise the DreamWorks adaption to the big screen is nearly flawless and will continue to delight young audiences. While the movie moves along a a brisk pace, it feels as though the plots of a few of the Dog Man books were crammed together in one film. However, kids won’t notice and they will be having a great time along the way.
Dog Man is a cute harmless submission to the 2025 animation platter. Yes, the story is straightforward and surface level, but this film isn’t trying to be something that it’s not. It’s simply an absurd, hilarious, fun time for the kids. Visually the animation looks fantastic, the kids will giggle and love it, and the family will have a great time at the theater, but ultimately the adults will probably never think about this movie ever again.
Dog Man hits theaters in the US on January 31, 2025.
★★★
