Dog Man (U)
Cast: Peter Hastings, Billy Boyd, Pete Davidson, Poppy Liu, Lil Rey Howery, Isla FisherGenre: Comedy
Author(s): Peter Hastings
Director: Peter Hastings
Release Date: 07/02/2025
Running Time: 9mins
Country: US
Year: 2025
Dim-witted police officer Knight and fiercely intelligent pet dog Greg are victims of a ticking time bomb set by cat master criminal Petey at the conveniently signposted Abandoned Expendable Warehouse. Hospital staff enact a hare-brained idea to save the badly injured heroes by stitching Greg's head onto Officer Knight's body and Dog Man is born.
LondonNet Film Review
Dog Man (U) Film Review from LondonNet
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s the body of a fallen police officer surgically attached to the head of his trusty four-legged friend. Based on a series of graphic novels by Captain Underpants creator Dav Pilkey, Dog Man is a rumbustious animated caper set within the same fantastical universe as underwear-clad elementary school headteacher Benjamin Krupp, who is hypnotised into herodom by pupils George Beard and Harold Hutchins…
The mischievous tykes make cameos in writer-director Peter Hastings’ good-natured film, which draws inspiration from the first three instalments of the written franchise, most notably A Tale Of Two Kitties and the introduction of “the world’s most evilest cat” as a worthy-ish adversary for the hybrid supa hero. Young fans of the books will be delighted by a briskly paced page-to-screen adaptation (children in my screening were visibly bouncing as if spring-loaded in their seats) and a non-threatening comedic tone that begins with the life-saving medical procedure that heralds a crime-biting canine in Ohkay City.
Parents and older children don’t have many narrative bones to gnaw besides an occasional droll visual gag (the illuminated “Now Serving” sign inside the operating theatre of The Major Hospital In Town) and delightful references to Die Hard and Aliens that will soar above the heads of the target audience. Hastings’ script relies on toilet humour for puerile giggles: one of the cat antagonist’s Machiavellian creations is a nose-shaped monstrosity called The Butt Sniffer 2000. “Don’t show that one!” a self-censoring character gasps.
At the centre of the madness is dim-witted police officer Knight (voiced by Hastings) and fiercely intelligent pet dog Greg, who are victims of a ticking time bomb set by cat master criminal Petey (Pete Davidson) at the conveniently signposted Abandoned Expendable Warehouse. Hospital staff enact a hare-brained idea to save the badly injured heroes and Dog Man is born, to the chagrin of the mayor (Cheri Oteri) and the long-suffering police chief (Lil Rel Howery), and the delight of Live! Breaking News Live! reporter Sarah Hatoff (Isla Fisher) and her swarthy Scottish cameraman, Seamus (Billy Boyd).
Petey’s chaotic attempts at world domination with his despairing assistant (Poppy Liu) give birth to adorable kitten clone Li’l Petey (Lucas Hopkins Calderon) and resuscitate telekinetic supervillain Flippy the Fish (Ricky Gervais) with predictably cat-aclysmic consequences.
Dog Man is a low-stakes, high-energy romp rendered in colourful animation that honours the whimsical, childlike aesthetic of Pilkey’s graphic novels. The plot unfolds “like a lawn chair in a hurricane”, as one character so aptly puts it, barrelling excitedly between set pieces including a Godzilla-like rampage of anthropomorphised multi-storey buildings brought to life by a ruptured pipe at the Living Spray factory. Heart-tugging sentiment is laid on thickly with a trowel.
– Kim Hu
Popular on LondonNet
London Cinemas Showing Dog Man
From: Friday 6th June
To: Thursday 12th June
Sat/Sun 10:20
Sat 10:15
Sat 10:40
Sat/Sun 10:10
Sat 10:40
Sat/Sun 10:30
From: Friday 13th June
To: Thursday 19th June
No cinema infomation at the moment
UK and Irish Cinemas Showing Dog Man
From: Friday 6th June
To: Thursday 12th June
Sun 10:15
Sat/Sun 10:00
Sat/Sun 10:00
Sat/Sun 10:00
Sat/Sun 10:30
Sat 10:20; Sun 10:00
Sat 10:15
Sat/Sun 10:00
Sat 10:00; Sun 10:20
Sat/Sun 10:00
Sat 10:20
Sat/Sun 10:00
Cineworld Glasgow – Silverburn
Sat/Sun 10:20
Sat/Sun 10:15
Fri-Sun 10:10
Sat/Sun 10:00
Sat/Sun 10:00
Sat 10:30
Sat/Sun 10:00
Sun 10:00
Sat/Sun 10:15
Sat/Sun 10:20
Sat 10:00
Sat/Sun 10:00
Sat/Sun 10:20
Sat/Sun 10:20
Sat 10:10
Sat/Sun 10:00
Sun 10:00
Sat/Sun 10:00
Sat/Sun 10:15
Sat/Sun 10:00
Sat 10:00
Sat/Sun 10:30
Sat/Sun 09:00
Odeon Luxe Glasgow Springfield Quay
Sat 10:30
Odeon Luxe Liverpool Switch Island
Sat/Sun 09:00
From: Friday 13th June
To: Thursday 19th June
No cinema infomation at the moment
