by Cain Noble-Davies
Worth: $15.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
[voices] Pete Davidson, Poppy Liu, Lil Rel Howery, Isla Fisher, Peter Hastings, Ricky Gervais, Stephen Root, Melissa Villaseñor
Intro:
For kids, it’s exciting and a great adaptation of the books, and for adults, it offers a space to see everything through a kid’s eyes again, and why it’s worth holding onto some of that.
Building on the success of Captain Underpants film and Netflix series, DreamWorks have now adapted what has become the ultimate gateway comic for young fans of the lavishly ludicrous: Dog Man. Once again, this is a story with a perpetual kiddy point-of-view of the world that manages to offer just as much entertainment for parents as their kids.
While it lacks the animation style free-for-all of its older brother, it stays true to Dog Man author/illustrator creator Dav Pilkey’s artistic mannerisms. From the faithfully rendered character designs to the blocky construction of Ohkay City, Dog Man hits a nice balance between the frenetic CGI foundation and its inspiration in hand-drawn and hand-sculpted animation. Add to that the recurring comic book action bubbles and onomatopoeia, and it inhabits a creative zone that is both highly indicative of the kind of work that its young audience should be encouraged to dabble in, and is tailor-made for easy replication by budding artists as a baseline, similar to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.
Dog Man’s premise initially brushes against some kid-friendly body horror with its Frankensteinian lead, but for the most part, it’s well and truly invested in delivering classic comic book-style action. Preposterous mad science contraptions, high-speed chase sequences, big fights between giant robots and sentient buildings; not only does the film’s pace run at a consistently high clip, but with its sheer visual energy, every bit is really fun to look at. With modern superhero cinema going through major retooling, this film just embraces the fun of being silly with a big ol’ bear hug.
It also doesn’t shy away from more serious moments, and excels at those too. In-between the more hyperactive moments for the kiddies, the cozy and quieter moments deal in parental anxieties, wanting to do right by the kids, and the absurdity of cynicism being synonymous with growing up. It’s a solid extension of Pilkey’s ethos as a writer, about acknowledging and nurturing the creativity and compassion that kids are capable of, and as externalised by Dog Man, Petey, and especially Lucas Hopkins Calderon as Li’l Petey (the true superhero here), it can melt hearts like a jury-rigged heat ray to the chest. The animals themselves are all incredibly sweet and adorable, but the drama behind their actions is mesmerizingly human and recognisable. Not even a million miscast Ricky Gervaises (the man is not built for voice-acting kids’ films, why does he keep doing this?!) could get in the way of this film’s infectious optimism.
Dog Man takes the body of a fun and zany action flick and the head of a contemplative and moody parental drama, and fuses them to deliver the best of both worlds. For kids, it’s exciting and a great adaptation of the books, and for adults, it offers a space to see everything through a kid’s eyes again, and why it’s worth holding onto some of that. It’s not as effective as Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie, but as a different direction in the same universe, it can more than hold its own. Good Dog Man; have a biscuit.
[…] Full Review | Original Score: 15/20 | Mar 23, 2025 […]