Running Time: 89 minutes
This animated feature from Universal Pictures will be released exclusively in theaters on January 31st.
For those who aren’t familiar with kid’s graphic novels and comic book series, the title Dog Man may not ring a bell. It certainly wasn’t familiar to me. Upon doing a little bit of background research, the part-man, part-dog crimefighter is a spin-off from the Captain Underpants illustrated novel series. In fact, Dog Man is a fictional character within the Captain Underpants world created by the latter title’s two young protagonists. This adaptation doesn’t clarify the title figure’s true origins. Or perhaps the movie assumes that everyone is extremely familiar with the source material. And that’s too bad, as Dog Man comes across as a bit of a frantic jumble to the uninitiated (like myself) and is unlikely to win over new converts.
The film opens with Officer Knight (Peter Hastings) and his dog Greg (also Peter Hastings) being introduced as crime fighters in Ohkay City. When the two get into a horrible on-the-job accident, surgeons sew the pooch’s head onto the body of the cop. Despite being a potential handicap, this “Dog Man” earns praise from his Chief (Lil Rel Howery) for repeatedly taking down feline criminal mastermind Petey (Pete Davidson). Desperate to kill off his nemesis for good, the cat hatches several flawed plans. One involves an unexpectedly sweet young clone of himself named L’il Petey (Lucas Hopkins) who befriends Dog Man. However, the cat resurrects a dead fish with telekinesis named Flippy (Ricky Gervais) that threatens to wipe the entire city out.
As mentioned, the first act jumps around a great deal, introducing the characters saving the city from various foes before meeting with tragedy. If it was clearer that this was all occurring in the mind of two youths and was even sillier and more surreal, then the conceit may have worked. But as delivered, the accident and forced decapitation comes across as more unsettling than funny. Dog Man doesn’t talk either. That means viewers don’t get the opportunity to understand the strangeness being experienced, or potential connection to his owner through his new body. Yes, this is a children’s film, but one can’t help but wonder about this strange scenario in more detail.
Additionally, Petey and other villains in the piece are also frequently calling for the violent death of Dog Man, and the tone feels a bit nasty and violent as a result. The subplot involving Petey, L’il Petey and Dog Man is a little sweeter, though still grim. Petey harbors feelings of abandonment after being left and forgotten by dad (Stephen Root). Despite this, he essentially treats L’il Petey the same way, forcing the youngster to find a surrogate parent in Dog Man. There are some amusing moments as the pooch protagonist attempts to help the kitten as best he can, however it’s very hit-and-miss. It does seem as if the movie is trying to address grief, loss and forming new bonds to a degree, but is too frenetic in its approach to make an impression.
In fact, whenever Petey invents an amusing and exaggerated villainous contraption to threaten the city and Dog Man, the movie quickly wraps the bit up, throws in another sinister course of action and veers in another different direction. Perhaps all these big beasts and mechanizations will be familiar to avid readers of the series, but to this outsider the movie jumps around too much.
Admittedly, there are a couple of elements that can be commended. The film has a unique look. I enjoyed the blocky character design and the visuals are quite striking. A lot of depth is visible on the screen in several shots and there are plenty of interesting camera angles and movement helping to add some energy to the proceedings.
Still, Dog Man isn’t particularly engaging and the rapid pace eventually becomes tiring. While the odd joke here and there is amusing, the majority of gags don’t land. There’s nothing here to grip or engage viewers who are new to the character. And based on the muted reaction at the screening I attended, even fans may find that it lacks bite.