Hold on to your underpants, here comes Dog Man!

The story of Dog Man begins when a human police officer and a dog are injured on the job. They are saved by groundbreaking technology that combines their anatomies. While this might sound graphic, director Peter Hastings assures us it's handled lightheartedly.

Sitting down to chat with STACK, he explains how the movie follows the graphic novel's lead.

“The origin story of Dog Man is at the front of every single Dog Man book. So, any kid who has read them knows the story, which is in the trailer, about the officer and the dog, the explosion, the operation, and them coming together. And that sounds so crazy when you tell people what that is, but when you see it in the movie, it's all so playful and carries that innocence that the books have as well.”

The production of Dog Man has been kept mostly secret over the past couple of years, with little about the film being revealed beyond Hastings's involvement. But now that the popular character is ready for his big screen debut, the director is breathing a sigh of relief.

“It's an exciting time, and it's turning out really well. Every adult should take their kids to see it,” he says with a smile. “Its going to have a broad appeal. I run into kids all the time and they freak out when they know there's a Dog Man movie coming. The fans are just nuts. So I'm excited for them to see it.

“I think it's really important to not just think that this a movie for kids, or for adults. This is for people, and I want other adults to like it. I have this idea,” he adds, describing an imagined scenario. “There's two parents at a kid's birthday party and one of them says [begrudgingly], 'Oh, did you see the Dog Man movie?' and the other one says [enthusiastically] 'Didn't you love it!?'”.

Readers of both Dog Man and Captain Underpants will be familiar with their distinct style of illustration, and they can rest assured that the new movie remains very true to the source material thematically, while using the animation medium to push its look further.

“The thing that was really important was keeping the feel of what the books are like. It wasn't about copying the style of the books, but looking at how buildings are done [for example], well, they're outlines and some windows. And we thought, 'Let's do that, but it will be a whole city. And 'Oh, those lines are crooked, let's do that', because that's part of the charm and innocence as well.

“So, that was the main thing, making sure we were true to the feeling and the tone of it, and then expanding upon that. Our character design is pretty simple, but the animation and the performances they do are pretty sophisticated. We really go to some places with the characters emotionally and in action that are very broad and big and extreme.”

The cast of Dog Man is a who's-who of familiar faces or, more specifically, voices. Lending their talent are Pete Davidson, Lil Rel Howrey, Ricky Gervais, and Aussie favourite Isla Fisher.

“Isla Fisher is Australian and the character she plays, Sarah Hatoff, is Australian. We were looking at different actors and we heard from Dav, who said, 'We have a lot of fans in Australia and Sarah has to be Australian. And it was really fun to work with her.

“And Pete Davidson was great. He hasn't done a tonne of animation, and I'll tell you what happens typically,” he reveals with amusement. “The actor comes in and they're sort of like, 'Oh, what have I signed up for?' and then they realise that it's kind of fun. And then, once we have some animation with their voice, then they get excited.”

Excitement is the operative word because die-hard fans of the books and newcomers alike have every reason to be stoked about Dog Man. It's a labour of love and a movie made for all ages.

Dog Man is in cinemas April 3.