Dog Man Featurette - Fun In The Booth with Ricky Gervais (2025)

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US Release Date: January 31, 2025
Starring: Pete Davidson, Lil Rel Howery, Isla Fisher
Director: Peter Hastings
Synopsis: When a faithful police dog and his human police officer owner are injured together on the job, a harebrained but life-saving surgery fuses the two of them together and Dog Man is born. Dog Man is sworn to protect and serve--and fetch, sit and roll over. As Dog Man embraces his new identity and strives to impress his Chief (Lil Rel Howery, Get Out, Free Guy), he must stop the pretty evil plots of feline supervillain Petey the Cat (Pete Davidson; Saturday Night Live, The King of Staten Island). Petey's latest plan is to clone himself, creating the kitten Lil Petey, to double his ability to do crime stuff. Things get complicated, though, when Lil Petey forges an unexpected bond with Dog Man. When Lil Petey falls into the clutches of a common enemy, Dog Man and Petey reluctantly join forces in an action-packed race against time to rescue the young kitten. In the process, they discover the power of family (and kittens!) to bring even the most hostile foes together.
The new adaptation of Dav Pilkey's Dog Man attempts to capitalize on the momentum and popularity of its parent series, Captain Underpants, but something is missing in Dog Man​​. While it's hard to argue with the inherent appeal of a crime-fighting super-dog, Dog Man consistently bites off more than it can chew. It stars Pete Davidson, Isla Fisher, Lil Rel Howery, and Ricky Gervais, to mention a few of the big names who populate the cast. The film was clearly made with love, but it packs in so many conflicting storylines that it gets difficult to keep track.

Animation
Comedy
Release Date
January 31, 2025
Director
Peter Hastings
Cast
Headshot Of Pete Davidson
Pete Davidson
Petey the Cat
Cast Placeholder Image
Lil Rel Howery
Cheif
Headshot Of Isla Fisher
Isla Fisher
Sarah Hatoff
Cast Placeholder Image
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Dog Man, a fusion of a police dog and his human partner, battles Petey the Cat and his clone, Lil Petey. When Lil Petey befriends Dog Man and is captured by a common enemy, Dog Man and Petey join forces, discovering that family can turn enemies into friends.

Character(s)
Petey the Cat, Cheif, Sarah Hatoff, Butler, Grampa, Seamus, Flippy
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Due to the recent influx of enormously popular and high-quality children's animated movies, a high bar has been set for films like Dog Man. Unfortunately, I can't help but feel the movie is talking down even to its target audience. I went into Dog Man intending to meet the movie where it's at and not unjustly judge a story not made for me. However, I've seen the best of what kid's animation has to offer. I know there's a more emotionally compelling and universal story inside Dog Man​​​​, not to mention a better-crafted one.

Dog Man Can't Decide What Kind Of Movie It Wants To Be
The Story & Themes Of Dog Man Lack Cohesion & Balance

Visually, the animation style of Dog Man is imaginative, but it's nothing we haven't seen before. Standing out is difficult in the contemporary landscape of animation, especially when you have to adhere to the source material. The animators and production team, led by director Peter Hastings, were having a lot of fun, and the movie is at its best when it's trying to make you laugh. Of course, the jokes are silly and immature, but that's part of the joy of watching a film like Dog Man​​​​​​. The narrative gets bogged down in its attempts to be serious.

Dog Man's biggest issue is a lack of tonal balance. The story is almost shockingly dark at times, grappling with death, loss of identity, and the cycles of abuse and abandonment in childhood. However, just as we're sitting with an objectively heavy scene, the tension is broken or completely undercut. Additionally, the amount of story threads Dog Man tries to reconcile is absurd for a children's movie. If the narrative had been pared down and focused, the humor and sensitivity of the project could've shone.

Since Dog Man doesn't have any lines, just a few barks, and many whimpers, it's the supporting characters who make the world real.

Despite this, Dog Man's voice cast does their best to grapple with the script's whiplash, giving the darker elements as much weight as possible. The real star isn't the titular character, but Petey the Cat, voiced by a surprisingly sensitive Davidson. Since Dog Man doesn't have any lines, just a few barks, and many whimpers, it's the supporting characters who make the world real. Unfortunately, Dog Man spreads itself too thin at every turn, cutting away from Petey and his emotional development just as it's becoming truthful.

Outside the narrative structure, there are plenty of strong elements, like the final mecha-style battle that rounds out the final act and the way the world is designed. Fans of the books will have no trouble recognizing some of the strongest elements of Pilkey's work and easily give in to being transported to Dog Man​​​​​​'s whacky reality. The internal logic of the world is sound and consistent, creating an anchor for when the story gets swept away by its lofty ambitions.

Dog Man Talks About A Lot Without Saying Anything
Despite Its Many Plot Threads & Happily Ever After, You Don't Leave Dog Man Feeling Satisfied

Dog Man is trying to tackle too many themes and morals at once, creating a mess instead of a cohesive and accessible lesson. Even though the movie supplies the expected beat of the final battle and sees the villains learn the error of their ways, the narrative ends with a whimper, not a howl. Slowly petering out while making sure to pave the way for a sequel, Dog Man's ending goes on for a little too long and doesn't get a handle on its pacing. It's painfully reflective of the problems that haunt every moment of the film.

Children will appreciate the humor and visual gags of Dog Man, but the adults accompanying them might be a little unsettled by the end of the story. While it's a mistake to underestimate what children can handle and think that kid's movies can't be nuanced, these stories still have to be good. Dog Man somehow manages to over and underestimate its audience throughout the narrative, leaving even the least critical viewer confused. If Dog Man was trying to set itself up for a franchise and the kind of blockbuster success animated movies found in 2024, it would take a miracle.

Movie
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5/10
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Dog Man
Release Date
January 31, 2025
Director
Peter Hastings
Cast
Headshot Of Pete Davidson
Pete Davidson
Petey the Cat
Cast Placeholder Image
Lil Rel Howery
Cheif
Headshot Of Isla Fisher
Isla Fisher
Sarah Hatoff
Cast Placeholder Image
See All Cast & Crew
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Pros & Cons
The animation style is visually appealing.
The voice actors give strong performances.
There?s a poignant emotional message in the film.
The tone is all over the place.
The pacing and structure are messy.
Dog Man tries to teach too many lessons.
Movies
Movies
Dog Man
Dog Man
Is it just me, or is the premise of the new DreamWorks Animation film kind of creepy? The central character of Dog Man, based on the best-selling children’s graphic novel series by Dav Pilkey, is a creature with a man’s body and a dog’s head. After Officer Knight and his canine companion Greg are injured together on the job and wind up in an emergency room together, a nurse, surveying the damage to the former’s head and the latter’s body, helpfully suggests, “What if we sew the dog’s head onto the man’s body?”

Thus Dog Man is born, just as determined to pursue criminals as Knight was but also displaying Greg’s strong tendency to lick people’s faces, including his irascible — is there any other kind? — police chief (Lil Rel Howery). Since the dog has provided the head, the character doesn’t speak but rather emits canine sounds. It sure sounds like body horror to me, and it makes you wonder why David Cronenberg didn’t grab this for his next project.

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Dog Man
The Bottom Line
Two paws up.
Release date: Friday, Jan. 30
Cast: Pete Davidson, Lil Rel Howery, Isla Fisher, Poppy Liu, Stephen Root, Billy Boyd, Ricky Gervais
Director-screenwriter: Peter Hastings
Rated PG, 1 hour 29 minutes
Pilkey must be doing something right, though, since the series — started in 2016 as a spinoff of his similarly successful Captain Underpants — has sold some 60 million copies of its 13 books so far. One of 2024’s entries, Dog Man: The Scarlet Shedder, was the number one bestselling children’s book of the year. So it’s not surprising that the character has reached the big screen, and parents should adjust this weekend’s plans accordingly.

Dog Man’s archrival is Petey, an orange cat who revels in his malevolence and is voiced by Pete Davidson with such bravura gusto it’s as if he was born to it. Petey’s latest plan is to clone himself so as to double his criminal potential, but his plan runs into a snag when he fails to read the cloning machine’s directions in advance. Though he’s able to create a double, it turns out that he has to wait 18 years for it to grow up. What Petey gets in the meantime is the adorable Li’l Petey (child actor Lucas Hopkins Calderon), who immediately starts calling him “Papa” and, like all children of a certain age, responds to everything he’s told with the question, “Why?”

Despite being evil, Petey soon finds himself warming up to his cute little clone. So when Li’l Petey falls into the clutches of Flippy (Ricky Gervais), an even more diabolical, mechanically enhanced and formerly dead fish (read the books if you require further details), he’s forced to join forces with Dog Man, who has formed an attachment to Li’l Petey himself.

Writer-director Hastings, who also provides the voice, or rather the sounds, of Dog Man — including, naturally, “ruff,” and howling along to the song “I’m So Lonely I Could Cry” — infuses the film with clever touches, such as the fake commercial for a buddy crime-fighting show after Petey and Dog Man become unlikely allies. While the humor is obviously geared toward young sensibilities, there are amusing throwaway gags for adults, including Li’l Petey uttering a G-rated version of Bruce Willis’ famous “Yippee ki-yay” line from Die Hard. More surprisingly, the film reaches genuine levels of emotion with its depiction of Petey gradually coming to love his cloned son.

The animation, too, is consistently delightful, densely crammed with visual gags and imaginative flourishes, like a gang of marauding buildings, that well merit the film being seen on the big screen. Among the notable voice talents are Isla Fisher as an intrepid TV reporter, Stephen Root as Petey’s cranky father, and, in smaller roles, Laraine Newman, Cheri Oteri, Melissa Villaseñor, and Kate Micucci. The vocal performances are entertainingly pitched to such an energetic level that the recording booth must have been well stocked with energy drinks.

Full credits
Production companies: DreamWorks Animation, Treehouse Comix, Universal Pictures
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Cast: Pete Davidson, Lil Rel Howery, Isla Fisher, Poppy Liu, Stephen Root, Billy Boyd, Ricky Gervais
Director-screenwriter: Peter Hastings
Producer: Karen Foster
Executive producers: Dav Pilkey, Deborah Forte, Caitlin Friedman, Iole Lucchese, David Soren, Nicholas Stoller
Production designer: Nate Wragg
Editor: Brian Hoppy Hopkins
Composer: Tom Howe
Casting: Phoebe Scholfield, Georgia Simon
The official Universal Pictures YouTube channel just dropped a new behind the scenes look at an animated movie by one of the most popular animation studios of late, that being DreamWorks Animation. The animated movie is called 'Dog Man' and the behind the scenes video features comedian Rickey Gervais showing off his voice acting skills. The BTS video can be watched below.

For those of you that want to learn more about the movie and what it's all about, here are some of the things you should know about 'Dog Man'.

Plot Details Of The Animated Comedy Film 'Dog Man'

'Dog Man' has been described by Universal Pictures in the following manner, "When a faithful police dog and his human police officer owner are injured together on the job, a harebrained but life-saving surgery fuses the two of them together and Dog Man is born. Dog Man is sworn to protect and serve-and fetch, sit and roll over. As Dog Man embraces his new identity and strives to impress his Chief, he must stop the pretty evil plots of feline supervillain Petey the Cat. Petey's latest plan is to clone himself, creating the kitten Lil Petey, to double his ability to do crime stuff. Things get complicated, though, when Lil Petey forges an unexpected bond with Dog Man. When Lil Petey falls into the clutches of a common enemy, Dog Man and Petey reluctantly join forces in an action-packed race against time to rescue the young kitten. In the process, they discover the power of family (and kittens!) to bring even the most hostile foes together."

Cast And Crew Behind The Animated Film 'Dog Man'

'Dog Man' is directed by Peter Hastings who also acts as the voice of the titular character and protagonist, Dog Man. The film is also produced by Karen Foster, who previously worked on movies such as 'How To Train Your Dragon'. The film is based on the book series of the same name by author 'Dav Pilkey'.

The cast list for the series includes names such as Pete Davidson, Lucas Hopkins, Lil Rel Howery, Isla Fisher, Billy Boyd, Ricky Gervais, and more.

When And Where Can I Watch The Film 'Dog Man'

'Dog Man' will be available to watch in theatres from January 31st, 2025 onwards.
Dog Man

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Peter Hastings
Written by Peter Hastings[1]
Based on Dog Man
by Dav Pilkey
Produced by Karen Foster
Starring
Pete Davidson
Lil Rel Howery
Isla Fisher
Poppy Liu
Stephen Root
Billy Boyd
Ricky Gervais
Edited by Brian Hopkins
Music by Tom Howe
Production
company
DreamWorks Animation
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release dates
January 15, 2025 (Festival de l'Alpe d'Huez[2])
January 31, 2025 (United States)
Running time 89 minutes[3]
Country United States
Language English
Dog Man is an upcoming American animated superhero comedy film based on Dav Pilkey's children's graphic novel series Dog Man. Produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures, it is a spin-off and story within a story of Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (2017) and the second film in the Captain Underpants franchise. The film was written and directed by Peter Hastings, and stars the voices of Pete Davidson, Lil Rel Howery, Isla Fisher, Poppy Liu, Stephen Root, Billy Boyd and Ricky Gervais, with Hastings providing vocal effects for the titular character.

DreamWorks Animation announced a film adaptation of Dog Man in December 2020, with Hastings set to direct after his experience with Pilkey's works from The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants (2018–20). Karen Foster joined as a producer in January 2024, and the cast was announced that September.

Dog Man premiered at the 2025 edition of the Festival de l'Alpe d'Huez in Alpe d'Huez, France on January 15, 2025, and is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on January 31.

Premise
When a human police officer named Knight and his dog Greg are injured together on the job, a life-saving surgery changes the course of history when Dog Man is born. Dog Man must protect and serve as he doggedly pursues the feline Petey the Cat, but the unexpected arrival of Li'l Petey changes their dynamic.[4][5]

Voice cast
Peter Hastings as the vocal effects of Dog Man, a hybrid between a dog and a police officer who was created as a result of a medical operation that fused an injured Officer Knight together with his pet dog, Greg. Keeping in line with the source material, Dog Man does not speak, although Hastings still provides his barks and expressions.[6]
Hastings also provides the vocal effects of Greg, Officer Knight's dog whose head is used to create Dog Man.
Pete Davidson as Petey, a quick-witted and arrogant orange cat who is Dog Man's archenemy and the self-proclaimed "world's most evilest cat".[7][8]
Lucas Hopkins as Li'l Petey, a kind-hearted kitten clone of Petey and Dog Man's adopted son and sidekick.[6]
Lil Rel Howery as Chief, the short-tempered police chief of the station Dog Man works at.[7][8]
Isla Fisher as Sarah Hatoff, a news reporter.[8]
Billy Boyd as Seamus, Sarah's cameraman.[8]
Ricky Gervais as Flippy the Fish, a fish with telekinesis.[8]
Stephen Root as Grampa, Petey's father.[8]
Poppy Liu as Butler, Petey's assistant.[8]
Additionally, Laraine Newman, Melissa Villaseñor, Cheri Oteri, Kate Micucci, Maggie Wheeler, Pearce Bunting, Max Koch, and Rahnuma Panthaky have been cast in undisclosed roles.[9]

Production
Development
On December 9, 2020, DreamWorks Animation announced that a film based on the Captain Underpants spin-off graphic novel series Dog Man was in development, with Peter Hastings attached to direct after his experience with Dav Pilkey's works from The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants (2018–20).[10] On January 29, 2024, following the release date announcement, DreamWorks announced that Karen Foster would serve as producer.[5]

On September 17, 2024, with the release of the first trailer, Pete Davidson, Lil Rel Howery, Isla Fisher, Poppy Liu, Stephen Root, Billy Boyd, and Ricky Gervais were revealed to be part of the film's voice cast.[7][8]

Animation
On October 6, 2023, the film was confirmed to be released in 2025, while it was also confirmed that Dog Man and Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie would be animated entirely at partner studios (excluding Sony Pictures Imageworks who was named as the animation partner for The Bad Guys 2).[11]

Unlike Captain Underpants, which was animated by Mikros Image and Technicolor Animation Productions, the film's animation is handled by Jellyfish Pictures, who previously did the animation for DreamWorks' How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming (2019) and Spirit Untamed (2021), along with marketing custom animation for Trolls World Tour (2020) and providing additional production assets for The Boss Baby: Family Business (2021), The Bad Guys (2022), and Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024). Nate Wragg serves as production designer.[12]

Music
The film's score was composed by Tom Howe.[13]

Marketing
In May 2024, it was announced that Jakks Pacific and its costume division Disguise entered into a partnership with Dav Pilkey to make merchandise based on the Dog Man film along with the comic book series. A book featuring the art of the film was released on December 10, 2024, published by Abrams Books.[14] On September 17, 2024, the film's official trailer was released.[7][8]

Release
Dog Man had its world premiere during the 2025 edition of the Festival de l'Alpe d'Huez in Alpe d'Huez, France on January 15, 2025, and is scheduled to be released theatrically in the United States on January 31.[2][5] On January 24, 2025, a week before release, DreamWorks announced that the short film Little Lies and Alibis, a short connected to DWA's film The Bad Guys, would run before Dog Man in theaters; the film also serves as a promotional feature for DWA's following film, The Bad Guys 2, set to release on August 1 of that year.[citation needed]

As part of Universal's long-term deal with Netflix, the film will stream on Peacock for the first four months of the pay-TV window, before moving to Netflix for the next ten, and returning to Peacock for the remaining four.[15][16]

References
Dog Man | A Look Inside. YouTube. Universal Pictures. January 7, 2025. Event occurs at 00:14. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
"Programme - Festival de l'Alpe de Huez" (in French). Retrieved January 8, 2025.
"Dog Man (U)". British Board of Film Classification. December 24, 2024. Retrieved December 26, 2024.
"DreamWorks' Dog Man Animated Movie Fetches 2025 Release Date". Animation Magazine. January 29, 2024. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
Grobar, Matt (January 29, 2024). "'Dog Man' Movie Based On Books From 'Captain Underpants' Creator Set For 2025 Release From Universal And DWA". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
@Dreamworks (December 4, 2024). "RINGGG! 📞 This SUPA SQUAD answered the call! Watch this paw-some 🐾 cast ROOOMBA into theaters January 31! 🎟️🔥" (Tweet). Retrieved December 5, 2024 – via Twitter.[non-primary source needed]
Maison, Jordan (September 17, 2024). "Meet Dog Man in First Trailer for Animated Film". Cinelinx. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
Weiss, Josh (September 17, 2024). "Dog Man: Captain Underpants Spinoff Starring Pete Davidson Fetches First Tail-Wagging Trailer". SYFY Official Site. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
"Instagram".[non-primary source needed]
Milligan, Mercedes (December 9, 2020). "DreamWorks Developing Dav Pilkey's 'Dog Man' as Animated Feature". Animation Magazine.
Amidi, Amid (October 6, 2023). "Dreamworks Shifting Away From In-House Production In Los Angeles; Sony Imageworks Is A New Production Partner". Cartoon Brew. Archived from the original on November 20, 2023. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
Taylor, Drew (September 17, 2024). "'Dog Man' Director Explains the 'High-End Handmade' Visual Style of the 'Captain Underpants' Spinoff - Exclusive". TheWrap. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
Reporter, Film Music (October 1, 2024). "Tom Howe Scoring DreamWorks Animation's 'Dog Man'". Film Music Reporter. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
Foster, Elizabeth (May 14, 2024). "JAKKS Pacific Bites Into Upcoming Dog Man Movie From DreamWorks/Universal and Dav Pilkey's Global Bestselling Book Franchise for Toys and Costumes". Markets Insider. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
Hayes, Dade (December 9, 2021). "NBCUniversal's New Theatrical Window Scheme To Bring Films To Peacock After As Few As 45 Days Of Release". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
Moon, Mariella (July 14, 2021). "Netflix extends exclusive rights to Universal's animated films in the US". Engadget. Archived from the original on July 10, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
External links
Official website
Dog Man at IMDb
vte
DreamWorks Animation
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Universal Pictures theatrical animated features
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The Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey
Categories: 2025 films2025 3D films2025 American animated films2025 computer-animated films2020s children's adventure films2020s superhero comedy films3D animated filmsAmerican 3D filmsAmerican superhero comedy filmsAmerican children's animated adventure filmsAnimated films about talking animalsAnimated films based on American novelsAnimated films based on children's booksAnimated superhero comedy filmsDreamWorks Animation animated filmsFilms scored by Tom Howe (musician)Film spin-offsUniversal Pictures animated filmsUniversal Pictures films2020s English-language films