DreamWorks Animation’s Dog Man has an all too familiar vibe which fans of Captain Underpants can easily recognize. The silliness is the same. When author Dav Pilkey created the former as a spinoff, I believe the studio is considering the possibility. And when executive producer Peter Hastings is directing, I say there’s a good chance for a crossover to happen! He worked on various televised Underpants series and to be that intimate with this creator’s works can mean good things.
This movie is a hilarious and curious twist to the Frankenstein story. Officer Knight (voiced by Hastings) never died. He gave a muffled response and a thumb up to approve the decision to cut off his head. Afterwards, the medics attached his dog’s to his body, and I wonder if they performed a brain transplant at the same time? Apparently not, because the character is more canine than anything else. I can only hope that someone put Knight’s head into suspended animation.
Going forward, this new hero is out to finish what the crime fighting duo started, and that’s catching the anthropomorphic cat, Petey (Pete Davidson)! This big bad is not slowing down after nearly killing them, and after a series of smaller capers where the feline always gets caught, what’s presented is like reading a Snoopy graphic novel. Every segment is about how the feline is just as slippery as Lex Luthor from Superman. He escapes prison, gets captured again, and when he realizes he needs help, a website named stuffalot (this world’s version of ACME) comes to the rescue!
Even the news reporter Sarah (Isla Fisher) gets involved in the antics as the new team tries to navigate life in Ohkay City. Anyone who has read the first book, “Tale of Two Kitties,” will know what’s going to happen since the film draws mostly from this volume instead of picking from all thirteen.
And when Li’l Petey (Lucas Hopkins) gets created, he’s nothing like his dad! This build up leads to other complications since it’s possible to turn a bad guy good, and as for who the true villain is, I won’t spoil it. Even though the first half of the film had to move in hyper-speed, all the fun Roger Moore’s James Bond style craziness kicks into gear by the third, and there’s better character development to help wrap this film up.
I imagine this studio is out to find their next hit, and if I was to score this work based on the previously adapted children’s books they’ve done, Dog Man doesn’t make the top five. It’s certainly within reach for ten.
3 Stars out of 5
Dog Man Movie Trailer
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