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I was six years old in the first grade when I walked into the Scholastic Book Fair with eight dollars in my hand. At the corner of my eye, I saw Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey. This changed the trajectory of my academic career in unimaginable ways. Of course this is an exaggeration, but it is still understated how much Pilkey’s works have had a profound impact on me and millions of other young readers around the world. It taught me the importance of unbridled creativity and of just having fun.

When I heard an adaptation of one of the in-universe comics written by George Beard and Harold Hutchins, the inner kid in me was unrelenting with excitement. Dog Man is a New York Times bestselling graphic novel series based on a one-off comic featured in the ninth Captain Underpants novel. It centers around the escapades of the titular Dog Man, created by surgeons after an accident involving an officer and his K9 buddy as he tries to “do-good” in the city. 

As someone who read the original Dog Man books, the film follows the plot of the books pretty faithfully, although kids won’t mind regardless. Directed and written by Peter Hastings (Pinky and the Brain, The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants), the film goes out of its way to recapture the whimsy featured in the graphic novels. The visuals are a strong indicator of this, with the art style reminiscent of the original books, with colorful and eye-popping animation created by the team at DreamWorks Animation to back it. 

For adults and parents watching the movie, they’ll be surprised with the amount of heart the movie carries in the vein of Pixar films, with a simple, but very powerful message about the importance of doing-good by those around you, which is very poignant in the times we live in today. In addition, beautifully woven into the movie are themes of loneliness and found families, the fact that those around you can immensely change you.

Dog Man is a movie that is enjoyable not only for the younger kiddos, but also families and even adults looking for a good time. It is a must see in a consecutive row of DreamWorks movies that go above and beyond the bar for what it is considered family-friendly entertainment. 

DOG MAN stars PETER HASTINGS, PETE DAVISON, LUCAS HOPKINS CALDERON, LIL REY HOWERY, ISLA FISHER, STEPHEN ROOT, POPPY LIU and RICKY GERVAIS.

Dog Man is currently playing in theaters and is also available to rent or own from digital platforms by Universal Pictures.