NYT bestselling author Dav Pilkey’s newest kids’ book series gets its first big screen treatment; a dog becomes much more than a police officer’s ‘best friend’ after they are both hurt on the job; the 3DCG feature stars Pete Davidson, Isla Fisher, Lil Rel Howery, and Ricky Gervais, hitting theaters January 31, 2025.
DreamWorks Animation has shared a trailer and poster for its soon to be unleased 3DCG animated feature Dog Man, based on the bestselling tremendously popular book series by Dav Pilkey. The star studded voice cast includes Pete Davidson, Isla Fisher, Lil Rel Howery, and Ricky Gervais. Coming to theaters January 31, 2025
In the movie, when a faithful police dog and his human police officer owner are both 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), he must stop the pretty evil plots of feline supervillain Petey the Cat (Davidson). 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.
Dog Man stars Davidson, Fisher, Lil Rel Howery, Gervais alongside Poppy Liu, Stephen Root, Billy Boyd. Emmy-winning Peter Hastings (The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants, Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness) is director and Karen Foster (Spirit Untamed) is the film’s producer.
Launched in 2016 by Dav Pilkey, the #1 global bestselling author and award-winning illustrator of the “Captain Underpants” books—the “Dog Man” Scholastic series includes 12 books. The book series is translated into 47 languages and has over 60 million copies. “Cat Kid Comic Club,” a spin-off of “Dog Man,” launched in 2020, and has also topped bestseller lists around the world.
The most recent “Dog Man book, Dog Man: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea,” was overall the #1 bestselling children’s book in the U.S. in 2023, across all children’s formats and ages. Pilkey’s newest book in the “Dog Man Series,” “Dog Man: Big Jim Begins,” is set to release on December 3, 2024.
Universal Pictures will distribute DreamWorks Animation’s Dog Man.
Source: DreamWorks Animation
Debbie Diamond Sarto is news editor at Animation World Network.
