The director and producer discuss DreamWorks’ latest cinematic gem, adapted from NYT bestselling author Dav Pilkey’s kids’ book series about a dog who becomes much more than a police officer’s ‘best friend’ after they are both hurt on the job and fused together in a harebrained but live-saving surgery; hits theaters January 31.
Opening this Friday, January 31, DreamWorks Animation’s tells the funny, heartfelt story of a dog who becomes more than a police officer’s ‘best friend’ after they are both hurt on the job.After a harebrained but life-saving surgery fuses the two together, Dog Man is born.
Together in the literal sense, they exemplify how police work can be quite “ruff.” Yes, we said it.Dog Man is sworn to protect and serve… and fetch, sit, and roll over.Yes, we said that too.
The gem of a film stars Pete Davidson, Isla Fisher, Lil Rel Howery, Lucas Hopkins, and Ricky Gervais alongside Poppy Liu, Stephen Root, Billy Boyd, Melissa Villaseñor, and Cheri Oteri. It’s based on New York Times bestselling author Dav Pilkey’s “Dog Man” 13-volume book series that has sold 60 million copies worldwide, born out of his “juggernaut” “Captain Underpants” book franchise.The canine capers of “Dog Man” have likewise captivated young readers with a balance of relatable humor and emotion along with a playful, hand-drawn aesthetic.Adapting it into a feature film required a careful balance - preserving the book’s charm and illustrative design while expanding it for a cinematic experience.
Director Peter Hastings, producer Karen Foster, and their teams, both at DreamWorks and Jellyfish Pictures - where the picture was animated - took on this challenge, bringing Pilkey’s work to life with a “high-end handmade” approach.In this conversation, Hastings and Foster discuss their creative process, the film’s unique visual style, and how they balanced humor, action, and emotion.But first, enjoy the trailer: AWN: Dog Man Peter Hastings: There wasn’t a mandate to adapt a specific book exactly as it was.
One book wasn’t quite enough for a full movie, but two books felt like too much.has so many great emotional and funny moments, so the challenge was figuring out what a movie version needed versus what works in a book.It’s tricky on adaptations – you have to consider what the story really is.
Do you make it shorter, or longer? Why do people even like the material? The biggest thing was capturing why people love these stories.So much of it is about tone, sensibility, and humor.That became our focus - not reimagining but expanding on what was already there.
One key decision was adding more material for Dog Man himself because, in the books, the focus shifts between different characters.But the movie is called , so we needed more from him in the story.I was talking to Karen about this just recently.
There are some moments that are laughs, and some that are just smiles.They tend to be charming.They pull you in.
There were sometimes where I intentionally kind of underplayed a joke.The thought was this one's a smile.If we go for a laugh, it will be too much.
AWN: Karen Foster: We were really lucky to have Nate Wragg as our production designer.He has such a deep appreciation for 2D animation and really connected with Dav’s material.From the start, we aimed for a high-end handmade aesthetic.
We wanted to take what Dav had given us - keeping the characters that everyone fell in love with recognizable - and elevate it to the level of a feature film without losing its charm.We had an incredibly talented team of artists, and Peter is the kind of director who provides a clear vision while giving people room to play.That was key in achieving the right look.
There was a moment when we were deep into production, seeing scenes lit and coming together, and we realized… we did it.We actually pulled off what we set out to do.PH: Early on, we did some tests to pitch the film to Dav.
We played around with how to handle fur, textures, and surfaces, but the intent was always clear - we needed to maintain the simple, tactile, hand-drawn feel.We didn’t do much exploration in redesigning characters because we didn’t want to lose the charm and simplicity of the original.Most of our experiments focused on textures and surfaces - how to make them feel right while keeping that high-end handmade quality.
KF: When we were casting the film, Nate said, ‘If I only get one other artist, it has to be Chris Zibach.He’s inside my brain.’ They both have this 2D sensibility.They both did the film’s character designs.
They basically took Dav’s work as the template and just brought his characters to life.AWN: Dog Man PH: A lot of times, I’ll tell the team to break it - go too far first, then we pull it back.You don’t know the limit until you cross it.
But at the same time, a movie needs tension and release.It has to breathe.If everything is at level 11 all the time, it loses meaning.
You have to temper the insanity.And most of us on the production, we’re not 18, so we can only handle so much of that anyway.KF: We also wanted the audience to feel something.
If you’re constantly frenetic, people might be laughing the whole time, but they don’t have space to connect emotionally.We made sure there were quiet moments where the audience could really get inside the characters’ hearts.PH: Exactly.
You can have an action-packed scene, but if there’s an emotional reason behind it, it has a whole different weight.For example, if someone has to cross a battlefield, it could be a crazy action scene.But if they have to cross a battlefield to save someone, it has an entirely different feel when you watch it.
That emotional core carries you through the action, and that’s what keeps the film from being just noise.AWN: Dog Man PH: It all starts with Dav Pilkey’s books.When you read them, you sometimes stop and go, ‘Wait, what just happened?’ He makes these choices that are unexpected but very real.
We fought to keep that depth in the movie because it makes everything richer.Sometimes, we expect animated films to follow a predictable emotional arc.But when you take the story to a place that’s real and logical but not predictable, it surprises people - and that makes it feel genuine.
KF: Peter had already built a strong emotional foundation in the script before I came on board.My job was making sure we protected that.We needed to make the movie super funny so that we could afford those deeper emotional beats.
The humor lets you weave in themes without punching the audience in the face.AWN: Pinky and the BrainAnimaniacs Peter Hastings: Running a TV show and directing a feature - it’s the same job, but in a feature, I get to fix things.In TV, you make decisions fast, move on, and if something doesn’t work, you apply the lesson to the next episode.
But in a feature, you can actually go back and refine.Go more in-depth, more polished.It’s like if you have a conversation and later think, ‘Ugh, I should’ve said this instead,’ that’s TV.
In TV, that moment’s gone.In a feature, you get to go back and say it the way you want.That’s the biggest difference - the time and space to polish everything.
AWN: KF: Peter’s experience in TV was a huge asset.It’s his superpower because he could recognize what was important and what wasn’t.He knew when to move forward and when to go back, but he never overworked something just because he could.
That decisiveness kept things moving.As for me, I started as an actor, so I understand artists.My dad was an artist.
I love the collaborative nature of animation.I also think I’m a good storyteller, which helped me guide the film in the right direction.And I’m good at smiling and waving at outside forces - making sure they feel confident in us without necessarily obeying every single note.
AWN: PH: For me, the best part was having a team - led by Karen - that handled everything so I could just walk into a room and focus on being creative.That’s an incredible gift.KF: And for me, the best part was watching it all come together and realizing we really made something special - something that feels true to and Dav’s vision.
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
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