DreamWorks Animation is on quite the roll. From ‘The Bad Guys’, the last ‘Puss in Boots’ sequel, and especially last year’s epic ‘The Wild Robot’, their offerings are not only visually brilliant, but the content is spunky enough to attract both pint sized audiences and the big kids lucky enough to accompany them. And DreamWorks’ latest? It’s a real dog. In a good way.
Admittedly, I hadn’t ever heard of ‘Dog Man’ before this film was released. Based on a popular series of graphic novels for children by Dav Pilkey, this concept is very cute, very, VERY absurd and sports an animated style that I’d have to categorize somewhere between ‘The Lego Movie’ and those chaotic cartoons that used to adorn the corner pages of ‘Mad’ magazine….y’know, the ones where the pace is red lined and all craziness is erupting? Yep, you get the picture.
The story…and yes, it IS for kids…has courageous K-9 Officer Knight and his trusty dog Greg attempting to thwart fiendish feline Petey the Cat (‘Saturday Night Live’ alum Pete Davidson) from taking over Ohkay City. After getting gruesomely thwarted during a chase, a medical procedure is undergone by both Knight and Greg in which the mutt’s head is surgically stitched to Knight’s body. And thus you have…..’Dog Man’.
There’s a host of cuddly and curiously odd supporting characters, but the canine/hooman IS the big star of this feature, one that bubbles with so much energy and fun, it’s tough to not envision all ages having an absolute blast. It’s a good movie. And a very good boy.