In theaters now, Dog Man, based on the children's graphic-novel series by Dav Pilkey, is an endearingly odd film that truly feels like a storybook come to life.
Three reasons why this children’s film from DreamWorks Animation is a pleasant co-viewing experience are its wit, heart, and visuals.
Before we get into that, let’s talk a little more about Dog Man’s origins.
What is Dog Man?
Dav Pilkey is known for his books such as the Captain Underpants series (which also has a 2017 movie and a 2018 show on Netflix), which are roughly for ages 7 to 10.
The Dog Man books are a spin-off of Captain Underpants and are about how a man and his dog, who after being injured on the job, must be combined by putting the dog’s head on the man’s body to continue to live (which happens in the film, too).
Is the movie funny?
It might sound like something out of a horror movie, and you may be on the fence due to it being inspired by something called Captain Underpants, but the Dog Man movie is relatively low on gross-out humor.
If there are any jokes that are a little odd, they’re done in such a silly way, it’s hard not to chuckle. There are a few jokes more for parents, too, but they’re not crude.
The fact is the funny moments mostly come from how witty the film is.
The movie has a lot of comedy from the visual gags such as how Sarah Hatoff’s (Isla Fisher), the reporter character, hair always looks like it’s perfectly blowing in the wind.
There's also the irony of Li'l Petey (Lucas Hopkins Calderon), a clone/kid version of the villainous Petey (Pete Davidson), excitedly saying he wishes he was miserable.
It certainly helps that the cast has a lot of talented comedians, too.
There’s a lot of fun for both kids and adults to appreciate, because of the balance of silliness and cleverness, but there is a surprising amount of heart to the story, too.
The heart of the story
At first, I felt the story was hard to emotionally connect to, since it was plot-heavy right off the bat. But that begins to change when we see Dog Man (Peter Hastings, who wrote and directed the film) as being lonely.
Once Li'l Petey enters the story, it quickly develops great warmth. It was sweet to see Dog Man find a friend in Li'l Petey, when they both felt abandoned.
Li'l Petey is also the inspiration for big Petey to have a character arc into a "do-gooder," showing how a little kindness can go a long way to healing someone’s heart ... if he or she lets it.
It ends up being a cute film, and that’s not all that’s beautiful about it.
What makes it visually compelling?
You might take one look at the Dog Man movie and assume the art style will be good, but not remarkable, but that’s far from the case.
This is where the film really feels like a book that’s come to life. The backgrounds look like moving illustrations, and characters are done so well that they pretty much never feel out of place.
At one point, a bunch of the buildings comes to life, and the designs for that are so creative, too.
It might not be jaw-dropping, depending on whom you ask, but it is aesthetically pleasing, and you can tell a lot of work and thought went into it.
Should you watch it?
This film was a breath of fresh air, among the endless money machines that many animated film series have become recently, and it actually kept me engaged.
Will it be one of my favorite animated films ever made? No, but if you want a cute movie for the whole family to enjoy, with tried-and-true laughs, this might be for you.
IMAGE: Universal Pictures
Maggie Orsinger graduated from John Paul the Great Catholic University in 2020 with a degree in Communications Media. She also holds an 2023 MFA from Pepperdine University for Screenwriting.
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