Dog Man is the latest animated feature from DreamWorks Animation, and is based on Dav Pilkey’s series of graphic novels of the same name. Dog Man is a spin-off from the author’s Captain Underpants series, where these Dog Man stories are the comics created by 10-year-old characters George Beard and Harold Hutchins. This helps to shape the innocent, imaginative, and humorous tone of the movie.

As the film opens, we learn the origin story of Dog Man. Officer Knight is a tough human cop with kung fu skills, but he’s not the brightest. His pet Greg the Dog is smart, but his body is his weakness. The two are in pursuit of Petey the Cat (Pete Davidson)—the world’s most evilest cat who is trying to take over the world—when a bomb goes off at an abandoned warehouse, and they are badly injured in the explosion. The only way for the doctor to save them is to sew the dog’s head onto the man’s body, combining the best of both of them into one “supa cop”, Dog Man! Now half-dog, half-man, and without a family, Dog Man throws himself into his work, repeatedly catching Petey each time he manages to escape from cat jail. The Chief (Lil Rel Howery) is actually a bit jealous of all the attention Dog Man is getting from the local paper, and TV reporter Sarah Hatoff (Isla Fisher) and her camera man Seamus (Billy Boyd). The Mayor (Cheri Oteri) gets fed up with Petey’s constant escapes, and blames Dog Man, taking him off the case.

However, Petey is determined to take down his new nemesis, Dog Man, and even tries to clone himself in hopes of having twice the ideas to stop him. However, he ends up with a kind-hearted kitten, Li’l Petey (Lucas Hopkins Calderon), instead, who treats him like a father. Now Petey has this family he never wanted, while Dog Man no longer has a family and wants one. And when Petey discovers that Dog Man and Li’l Petey have bonded, he is even more determined to take down his nemesis. He sets a plan in motion to resurrect evil psychokinetic fish Flippy (Ricky Gervais) to carry this out, but when things get out of hand, he realizes he may actually need to team up with Dog Man to save the city, and his son.

I have never read any of the Dog Man books, so this story was new to me, but the filmmakers do a great job of quickly getting viewers up to speed with Dog Man’s origin story, and introducing all of the various quirky characters that live in Ohkay City. The crux of this film’s story is actually based on the third book from the series, 2017’s “Dog Man: A Tale of Two Kitties”, and Dog Man’s previous encounters with Flippy take place in the second novel, “Dog Man: Unleashed”, so we get a quick montage recapping those events. The film never takes things too seriously, having a lot of fun breaking the fourth wall and playing with comic book conventions. The film is actioned-packed with so much going on in every scene that it may take multiple viewings to catch it all. It’s kind of fitting that one of Petey’s inventions is labeled “80-HD”! The film has a very comic-book feel, with giant words popping up on screen, or things labeled for comedic effect, such as the “Abandoned Expendable Warehouse” and Petey’s secret lair covered in many big identifying signs.

At the surface, Dog Man may appear to just be a classic tale of cat versus dog, but with more of Tom & Jerry, Itchy & Scratchy or Wile E. Coyote & Roadrunner type slant. Petey hangs out in his secret lair, constantly coming up with these elaborate inventions to stop Dog Man—from a giant vacuum cleaner, to a squirrel-shaped bomb shooter, and so on. However, underneath the surface of this story, there’s a lot of heart. Dog Man lost his family in the accident, and has been searching for a new one, and finding this in Li’l Petey. Meanwhile, Petey never wanted a family after having his own issues in the past, and while he initially tries to push Li’l Petey away, he can’t help but be drawn to this kitten that calls him “papa”. So even amongst all the action and silliness, there’s this heartwarming tale.

The film has a very unique animation style, which the director refers to as “high-end handmade”. I absolutely loved the visual look and feel of this movie, which had me constantly smiling. The artwork is simple enough to look like it could have been drawn by 10-year-olds George and Harold, while still allowing for the characters to be able to express emotion, and the action to feel epic. The film also makes use of a wonderful piano-based score as well as a few recognizable needle drops to help convey the emotions of the characters, especially Dog Man, who can’t speak.

While some may write this off as a kid’s movie since it is animated and based off a series of graphic novels for a younger demographic, the themes and humor are universal for all ages to enjoy. These jokes range from witty writing, to snappy dialogue, and more, and even some lowbrow sight gags such as the characters exiting a robot through its butt cheeks. There’s also some fun movie references in there specifically for the older audience, such as Petey yelling “Get away from him, you fish!” (Alien), or Flippy chanting “Oh, Robo-Cat. Come out and play.” (The Warriors) or the characters going through some air vents followed by L’il Petey saying “Flippy-ki-yay, Flippy flipper.” (Die Hard).

The film features an amazing voice cast. While Dog Man only barks (voiced by writer/director Peter Hastings), he’s still able to convey so much. Pete Davidson is great as the villain with a heart Petey, with Poppy Liu adding some humor as Petey’s purple-haired emo assistant, Butler. Ricky Gervais is also perfectly cast as the villainous fish Flippy. Lil Rel Howery and Luenell are hilarious as Dog Man’s law enforcement co-workers Chief and Milly. And Isla Fisher and Billy Boyd also bring a lot of humor as “world’s greatest reporter” Sarah Hatoff and her Scottish cameraman Seamus. The guest cast also includes so many wonderful SNL and TV vets making cameos, such as Laraine Newman, Cheri Oteri, Melissa Villaseñor, Maggie Wheeler, Rahnuma Panthaky, Kate Micucci & Stephen Root.

Universal has released Dog Man on Blu-ray and DVD, and it is also available in 4K on digital. We received the Blu-ray release for review, and it looks and sounds great. The picture is crisp and clean, with a solid level of detail, and beautiful, bright, rich colors. I love the look and style of this movie! Dialogue is clear throughout, and the stereo and surround sound are well-utilized to put the view in the middle of all of the action, as well as to showcase the film’s emotional score.

The Blu-ray release includes a single disc, which resides in standard HD keepcase, along with a glossy carboard slipcover, and an insert containing a code to redeem for an HD Movies Anywhere-compatible digital copy of the film. The disc contains over 35 minutes of bonus material in addition to a writer/director commentary track. The other bonus material includes 10 minutes of deleted/extended scenes, two behind-the-scenes featurettes, and some tutorials.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:29:15)

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / 16×9 1.66:1 Side Matted
• Audio: English 7.1 Dolby Audio, English DVS (Descriptive Video Service), Spanish 7.1 Dolby Audio, French 7.1 Dolby Audio
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

Digital (code may not be valid after 3/31/2026):

• HD Digital Copy (Movies Anywhere compatible)

Extras:
Play All, or select from:

• Deleted and Extended Scenes (10:35)
  Screenwriter/Director Peter Hastings is joined by his dogs Dave and Steve as he discuses each of these 8 deleted/extended scenes. Scenes are primarily presented in rough black and white sketches with touches of color. Play All, or select from:
  • Sewer Ball Chase (1:42)
    In this extended scene, Dog Man runs out of his old house, chasing after his ball before meeting up with Milly.
  • Petey Robs Bank of Jim (1:17)
    Cut from the “I Don’t Care If It Takes a Montage” montage, Petey uses a big can opener to try to rob the Bank of Jim.
  • Li’l Petey Adoption People (1:04)
    Dog Man crosses paths with several people who want to adopt Li’l Petey, none of whom seem right.
  • Petey Puppet Time (1:13)
    After bringing Li’l Petey home, Petey uses puppets to try to show him how dumb Dog Man is, but it backfires.
  • Dog Man Chopper Hang Glider (:50)
    Dog Man gets a Chopper Hang Glider to save Petey from the Volcano.
  • Revenge of the Bank of Jim (2:33)
    Extended version of the showdown with the Bank of Jim, where Dog Man must sacrifice his ball to save the day.
  • Butler Business (:57)
    At the end of the movie, Petey finally gives Butler (a character who’s not in the book) her money.
  • Flippy in Jail Epilogue (:56)
    Flippy is in fish jail, writing to his pen pal Li’l Petey (uses temp voices).
• Meet the Pack (5:15)
  The cast and crew talk about the characters, cast, and more. Includes recording booth footage, and interviews with director/screenwriter Peter Hastings (“Dog Man”), editor Hoppy Hopkins, producer Karen Foster, and stars Pete Davidson (“Petey”), Lil Rel Howery (“Chief”), Luenell (“Milly”), Isla Fisher (“Sarah Hatoff”), Lucas Hopkins Calderon (“Li’l Petey”) & Ricky Gervais (“Flippy”).
• The Making of Dog Man: A Sarah Hatoff Exclusive (5:43)
  The cast and crew discuss expanding on the story in the books, the cast and comedic voice performances, the storyboarding process and the various departments involved, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, concept artwork, and interviews with screenwriter/director Peter Hastings, head of story Anthony Zierhut, art director Christopher Zibach, head of character animation John Hill, production designer Nate Wragg, and stars Pete Davidson, Isla Fisher, Lil Rel Howery & Ricky Gervais.
• Howl to Draw Flip-O-Rama Style (12:24)
  Head of Story Anthony Zierhut teaches viewers how to draw several characters from the film. Then learn how to make these drawings come to life in a mini animation, with the characters on a teeter-totter. Play All, or select from:
  • Dog Man (2:03)
  • Petey (1:26)
  • Li’l Petey (1:22)
  • Flip-O-Rama (7:29)
• Howl to Make Doughnuts for Dogs (5:24)
  In this narrated tutorial, learn how to bake dog-friendly doughnuts for your four-legged pals.
• Feature Commentary With Screenwriter/Director Peter Hastings (1:29:15)
  Screenwriter/Director/voice of “Dog Man” Peter Hastings provides an informative commentary throughout the film, giving listeners a lot of insider information about the making of the film. He starts off by discussing the look and “high-end handmade” style of the animation, the stages of the development process, and how he pulled things from various books. He also delves into the cast, the score, points out some Easter eggs and references, and more.

Final Thoughts:

Dog Man is fun, wild ride that fans of Dav Pilkey’s original novels are sure to enjoy. Than animation has a really unique style that captures the same look and feel of the books. The story has a lot of humor, action and heart, with lovable, humorous characters, voiced by a talented group of actors. There is so much going on in every scene that you’re going to want t watch this again and again just to try to catch it all. Universal’s Blu-ray release looks and sounds great, and also includes a solid selection of bonus material. This is an easy recommendation for fans of the books, or those just looking for a fun and beautiful-looking animated film.