
I find myself now placed in the spot where an adult critic must critique an animation squarely aimed at the young kids who consume the easy/fun-to-read books of Dog Man. I never thought I’d end up like this, not because I avoid reviewing such media but because it always seemed easy when considering what these films are aiming for. I never aim to write off mindless cartoons with not-for-me passivity, nor do I reduce such pictures to childish toys. The last thing I want is to deliver a condescending assessment akin to Richard Roeper condemning the adults who enjoyed The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie as being on drugs.
This is not to say that Dog Man is a bad film, but after the absurdly hilarious animated adaptation that DreamWorks delivered for Captain Underpants, it’s not as clever in visuals or writing. Part of the problem is that this film slams hard on the manic accelerator from the start. In a blazing blur of flat illustrations coming to life in 3D, we’re quickly introduced to the police duo of Knight and his dog Greg, aiming to protect their city from the evil schemes of the cat Petey (Pete Davidson). When a bomb removal goes awry, the man and dog fuse into the Dog Man cop. However, the dog seems to assume a more anthropomorphic role, removing any weird body-horror identity issues for this fusion.
I suppose the quick pacing removes any of those darker thoughts about this scenario. Whereas Captain Underpants felt like a progressive stream of all-ages gags, this film plays more like a machine of harmlessly juvenile gags, complete with ridiculous contraptions given misspelled names. So much speed is pumped into this silly scenario that Dog Man’s hot-headed police chief (Lil Rel Howery) has little time to form a bond or confess his love for the reporter, Sarah Hatoff (Isla Fisher). This film doesn’t have time for chemistry or coy, where the chief will outright declare his secret crush on the reporter multiple times in the loudest of voices. Don’t worry, kids; there are no cootie catchers required for this barely-there romance.
Thankfully, the film does ground itself a bit more in the second act when Petey creates a pint-sized clone of himself. The mini Petey innocently questions the evil cat’s evil intentions, revealing a generational belief that the world is terrible and nobody can be trusted. While this does give the antagonist feline more depth, it does seem to arrive as inexplicably as the chief-reporter relationship. Petey tries to teach his kid that people can’t be trusted, but outside of Petey’s cranky pop (Stephen Root), there’s not much turmoil to this vibrant city of quirky citizens. If anything, there’s an abundance of indifference in how nurses think little of the moral implications for Dog Man’s creation or the casual quitting of Petey’s reluctant assistant (Poppy Liu).
The film’s drama is quickly replaced by fast-paced and frenetically-framed action by tossing a more simplistic villain into the mix. Flippy the Fish (Ricky Gervais) is a resurrected fish that uses his newfound powers to terrorize the city, turning the skyline into literal monsters that stomp around and speak in gibberish. The kinetic comedy prevents the picture from being boring, but it does reduce the action to a safe route, ticking just enough boxes to appease the kids and maybe crack a smile from the parents. How big of a smile will depend on how many times you can laugh at a squirrel-launching tank or how far a throw-away Apocalypse Now joke will land.
Dog Man is good enough for kids despite being loaded with more exuberance than cleverness. It’s a playfully childish animated film that has plenty of creative energy and a colorful style that I’m sure will inspire just as many kids to pick up some crayons and make their own comic. After all, if a film can get made that can’t correctly spell “super cop,” maybe there’s hope for kids still mastering spelling. I’m sure the avid young readers will have a more articulate critique of the film’s accuracy to the books and part of me wants to stand back from that discussion to let the developing minds keep doing their thing. This isn’t to say the film is mindless fluff that kids deserve, but I think it does test how willing I am to endure the antics of monster buildings and cackling fish villains, which is to say, “a little bit.”