In the United States, the stories, which were published between 1997 and 2015, have long since cult. The congenially implemented, full -bodied canvas adaptation “Captain Underpants – The Supertolle first film” also developed into a veritable cinema in the USA. In Germany, on the other hand, only 120,000 visitors solved a ticket in 2017. Probably the local (primary school) audience was simply not yet ready for two fourth graders who transform their headmaster in the title-giving underwear superheroes so that he can then record it with a king-kong-sized turbo toilet.
Eight years later, the similarly crazy spin-off follows “Dog Man: Wau against Miau“-And after the film has cut even more successfully on the US cash registers, there is a legitimate hope that this time it will also run better in Germany. And not because“ Captain Underpants ”would now have become popular in Germany too. Instead, animation adventures with cute dogs and cats generally have much easier than those with a half-naked superhero in the white grandpa panties, who proudly stretches out his bare chat on the poster. But the appearance is deceptive (luckily!): “Dog Man” is animated, but the anarchic core of the predecessor remains absolutely intact even in the spin-off.
Dog you are popular with everyone. Only his boss is jealous of his success.
Officer Knight (original voice: Director Peter Hastings, who also contributes the growling noise for Dog), can karate, but is not exactly the brightest candle on the cake. Quite different his loyal police dog Greg, who is surprisingly intelligent for a four -legged friend, even if his owner does not always really interpret his clues. So also when it comes to defusing a bomb with cutting the right cable. The explosion meets Knights head and Greg's body, whereupon a nurse has a brilliant idea: in the hospital, the dog head is sewn onto the policeman body-the birth of the super-cop man!
On behalf of the jealous police chief (Lil Rel Howery), Dog is immediately accepted by the notorious criminal property Petey (Pete Davidson). But whenever the villain ends up in the cat prison, it doesn't take long for it to break out again. Petey works on two ingenious plans in his secret hide: First, the telecinetically talented fish Flippy (Ricky Gervais) is to be brought back to life in order to abuse his strength to win the rule over the city of Ohkay City. Petey also wants to clone himself. But he didn't read the small print-and so he suddenly has to take care of his super-sweet baby-ego Li'l Petey (Lucas Hopkins Calderon) …
Great animations for (comparatively) little money
With a sum of $ 40 million, the makers around director and author Peter Hastings (“The Country Bears – here the bear”) was available compared to Disney, Pixar & Co. rather low budget. But it doesn't always have to be photo-realism-instead, “Dog Man” scores with an equally cute and cheeky style that looks as if animation professionals have taken child scribbles as a direct model. The result is a wonderfully unperfect cartoon chaos, incredibly charming and with bright colors that pull a directly into the energetic world of Ohkay City.
Speaking of Ohkay City: While the young cinema seekers keep rapid animation action with a cute baby cat, the cartoon metropolis is crammed with a wonderfully simple and therefore so amusing meta humor: The locations are named after all of their pure function, as if someone had then forgotten the placeholders in the screenplay with fiking names. The bomb defusing takes place in a remote, unnecessary warehouse with the name “Remedy Empire Storage House” – and the clinic, where DOG is sewn together, is simply called “the big hospital in the city”.
No matter how often you died the rogue cat Petey Dingproof, he keeps breaking out of the cat prison.
If the chief of police orders his best man to capture Petey again, he gives him permission to really use all means-if necessary even an investigation! In the best sense, you feel reminded of the Saturday morning with the Cartoon Network program. After all, not only greets “Dexter's laboratory” when Petey ordered a clone machine on the Internet (where he first has to click past hundreds of hot air fryers offered to get to the good stuff).
This time the grand finale is more reminiscent of Godzilla than King Kong, after a monsters to be wandering around only for a small fish had to mutate the houses of the city. Finally, “Dog Man” goes out a little. But that only shows that it is not the huge bombast that makes fun. Instead, the many clever details and the incredibly sweet -designed protagonists will remain in a loving memory.
Conclusion: Cute as clever animation comedy, where cartoon fans of all ages should have fun.