“Dog Man” is a comic series spinoff of Captain Underpants. Canonly, a comic series made by two boys, George and Harold, who make comics of their own original characters. One of these characters being a policeman, but with the head of a dog. This character being called “Dog Man”, for obvious reason. Following a classic hero and villain storyline, with Dog Man as the main hero of the franchise. Dreamwork Animation worked with the creator of the comics Dav Pilkey, to make the comics into its own movie. “Dog Man”, the animated movie adaptation of the comics was released on January 31st, 2025.
One thing people really liked about this movie was how accurate the movie was to the comics. Which isn’t seen in a lot of book to movie adaptations. In this movie they kept the simple drawing-like style even while making it a 3D animation with texture. Also keeping the characters true to their origin. Especially, with keeping Dog Man’s trait of being mostly mute, which again doesn’t happen much with main characters. Incorporating Petey, the beginning antagonist, and Dog Man’s complex emotions based on their situations and past. While also showing how Petey and Dog Man’s actions affect li’l Petey. Who is a character pulled from Dog Man’s third comic, “A Tale of Two Kitties”. A young clone of the antagonist Petey, who is made to act like an assistant. But in the end the true antagonist of the movie is Flippy. Who is a fish that plays as the final antagonist that was revived and tries to take revenge on everyone. Causing Dog Man and Petey to have to put their differences aside to defeat Flippy.
Even with all the emotional moments, the movie itself keeps a wacky and cartoonish vibe with a heartwarming ending. Really solidifying how it was meant to be a story made by kids. Dog Man’s movie is a creative adaptation of the comics. Doing justice to its original source with its animation style and accuracy of the characters. Giving people who watch it a gist of all the lore, even if they haven’t read the comics. Honestly, worth watching for nostalgia of the comics people may have read as a child, or just for a younger sibling.