A dude’s head is replaced with the head of his trusty canine in the animated kids movie Dog Man, a sometimes absurdly funny flick that nonetheless strains to fill its 89-minute runtime.
Based on a popular graphic novel series I had never heard of, Dog Man leans heavily on its ridiculous, on-the-nose style of humor to make up for a throw-the-spaghetti-at-the-wall story that somehow manages to simultaneously stick and not stick.
Not that kids will care. Dog Man is silly, funny, and weird, and the kids in the audience—including mine—ate it up.
As for me, I found myself both cracking up—a rarity for a kid’s movie, no matter how good it is—and occasionally checking the time. Dog Man is fast paced and yet its 89 minutes sag at time, dragged down by its tendency to rely too much on its scene-by-scene goofiness than present any semblance of a broader plot. That may sound overly critical for a movie such as this (who cares, right?), but Dog Man, as funny as it is, doesn’t entirely land firmly on four paws.
But Dog Man is funny, and that’s enough. The animation, though it is unlikely to garner awards, is crisp and vibrant. The voice talent is solid. The story, though targeted at kids, at least pieces the funny bits together. Though far from perfect, it is absurd and clever and packs a bite.
Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.
