‘Dogman’ is Half Dog, Half Man and All Fun

Dogman

★ ★ ★ ½

‘Dogman’ is based on the series of books by Dav Pilkey, who also wrote the popular ‘Captain Underpants’ series. When the movie opens, Officer Knight and his dog Greg (both voiced by Peter Hastings) are pursuing Ohkay City’s notorious villain, Petey the Cat (Pete Davidson). Petey is a mad scientist of sorts, who invents all kinds of vehicles and contraptions to wreak havoc on the city and challenge Officer Knight.

Petey gets the best of Knight and Greg when he traps them on the top of a building with a bomb. It explodes, landing Knight and Greg in the hospital where the only choice doctors have to save both their lives is to combine them into one body. Yes, it’s very weird, but this is an animated film where this kind of thing is normal.

Doctors creating Dogman
© 2025 Universal Pictures

What emerges is a new cop-hero in Dogman, also voiced by Pete Davidson. Dogman is the hero the city needs, also dubbed ‘Supa Cop’, and is even more adept at catching Petey and throwing him in cat jail. Repeatedly.

Petey also repeatedly escapes from cat jail on a regular basis. Even the youngest of viewers will likely note the crack in Ohkay City’s justice system is the inability of cat jail to contain its prisoners. Petey’s escapes are humorously frequent and effortless.

Pete Davidson as Petey
© 2025 Universal Pictures

Petey realizes he’s not able to defeat Dogman on his own, so he orders a cloning machine online. When it arrives, he successfully clones himself, though his clone is a kitten. Petey names him Lil’ Petey (Lucas Hopkins Calderon) and intends to involve him in his nefarious schemes, but discovers he’s an innocent, kindhearted kitten. He turns his back on Lil’ Petey, leaving him in the streets where Dogman finds him and takes care of him.

Meanwhile, Petey’s next plan is to resurrect a former Ohkay City villain, an evil fish named Flippy (Ricky Gervais). In this movie, it’s best not to question things like this and just let them unfold in front of you. It works very well within Dogman’s wacky, whimsical world.

Isla Fisher as Sarah Hatoff
© 2025 Universal Pictures

Dogman is also aided by the police chief, “Chief” (Lil Rel Howery), who’s stereotypically high-strung, and Ohkay City news reporter Sarah Hatoff (Isla Fisher). Chief has a crush on Sarah and is just a little jealous of the press time she gives Dogman over himself.

The movie is completely bonkers, and at times, the animation and fast-paced story can be a shock to the senses. But it works well, and it’s a great deal of fun. The filmmakers know well the type of movie they’re making and keep the off-the-wall storytelling within its madhouse sandbox.

It’s a film that parents and kids will equally enjoy with a heartwarming message about friendship and family baked into its premise. I enjoyed this move a lot more than I expected to. I bet you will too.