As a 51-year-old, I have never read any of the Dog Man books. But that doesn’t matter, as I am tasked with reviewing a movie based on these stories. That said, I had some fun with this movie, discovering the fun comedy and some of the more bewildering aspects of this highly imaginative world. The film works as a feature-length cartoon, which should appeal to children; however, some comedic gags and jokes will fall flat for the adults taking children to watch it.
In OK City, a villainous orange cat named Petey (Pete Davidson) reigns as the city’s most notorious criminal. Heroic Officer Knight (Peter Hastings) hopes to stop one of Petey’s more horrendous acts of terrorism. With his dog Greg (also Hastings) in tow, the two try to disarm a bomb unsuccessfully, which mortally wounds Knight’s head and Greg’s body. In an oddly approved experimental surgery, Greg’s head is grafted to Knight’s body creating Dog Man.
With nothing to do, Dog Man remains a part of the police force, determined to stop Petey from any future crimes. Dog Man succeeds in stopping him multiple times. Eventually, Petey decides to clone himself in hopes of improving his chances against OK City’s new “superhero.” The result is Li’l Petey (Lucas Hopkins), a sweet, innocent, and more optimistic version of Petey. Still driven to wreak havoc on OK City, Petey uses his clone/son to bait Dog Man to destroy him.
Written and directed by Peter Hastings, Dog Man has some bizarre ideas, but still has some positive messages directed at its target audience–children. As I previously noted, the gags and humor are a mix of genuinely funny humor and jokes that sometimes fall flat. It is a creative film that takes bold steps to deliver its moral. Overall, it is an entertaining film with a genuine heart at its center.
To the movie’s benefit, it features an outstanding voice cast that performs perfectly for this world. The central standout is Pete Davidson, who portrays the tormented, intelligent, and sardonic villain Petey. Davidson’s more cynical sense of humor and personality fit the character perfectly. Writer/director and voice actor Peter Hastings does a solid job as Officer Knight, Greg, and Dog Man. The movie also features some entertaining turns by Lucas Hopkins, Lil Rel Howery, Isla Fisher, Billy Boyd, Ricky Gervais, Stephen Root, and Poppy Liu.
Dog Man is not an extraordinary example of exceptional animated cinema, but it is still a fine example of some fun Saturday morning entertainment for the kids. Therefore, I wouldn’t recommend spending top dollar to watch it in the theater, but it should be a fine choice for families looking for amusing entertainment on a weekend afternoon.