Dog Man: a treat for young and old (criticism)
An animated film with the script and characters as delusional as its formal inventiveness.
A police officer and his faithful companion of the canine brigade seriously injured in service by the explosion of a bomb. A surgical operation as original as it is bold which links the two inseparable. This is how Dog Man… And that the tone is set immediately for this animated film by Peter Hastings, adapted from the BD series by Dav Pilkey (also known for Captain Superslip) under the banner of the DreamWorks studios. Where we are going to follow Dog Man, a model-dog model trying to impress his superior, jealous of the attention we paid to him, in his duo-duel with Monpetit, the most mean cat in the universe and his young clone Petitmonpetit before both united their strength against a common enemy, a psychokinetic cyborg fish (brilliantly camped by Ricky Gervais in the point of being.
The story goes to 100 an hour, multiplying the gags and the finds in the background Looney Tunes and mixing with virtuosity delusional humor and touching moments around the crunchy character of Petitmonpetit, rejected by his father-creator because too nice before finding refuge at Dog Manin praise mode of the recomposed family. And this hectic rhythm also translates to the screen by an animation mixing styles and genres (drawings with lines, stop motion …) but never ostentatious to marry the sleek style of comics. Result ? Young and old find their happiness over these playful adventures populated by winks in the cinema (Revelation Now…). Strongly a sequel!
From Peter Hastings. Animation. Duration: 1h29. Released April 9, 2025
