It’s hard to believe, but as author and illustrator Dav Pilkey recently told students at Boy’s Prep in the Bronx, he created Dog Man when he was in second grade. “It looks a little different,” he said.
The kids loved hearing that someone with learning difficulties (“I had ADHD, I had dyslexia, I was the class clown, and I couldn’t sit still,” he said) could go on to be a huge hit.
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Each book in Pilkey’s Dog Man series was a best-selling children’s book in the year in which it was released.
As the new film out next week reminds us, it all started when a police officer and his dog were in a terrible accident – and doctors sewed the dog’s head onto the man’s body, creating… Dog Man!
While he is part human, he is part canine. “Oh, yes, yes. The male part doesn’t come up very often,” Pelkey said.
But beyond all the fun, Pilkey tries to add meaning to the Dog Man books, even in their titles, from “The Scarlet Shedder” and “Fetch-22” to “Lord of the Fleas” and “A Tale of.” “Two Cats.” “I was looking at Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, which is a very wonderful book. It talks about sacrifice and self-sacrifice and the value of that.
“And do you hope that children will be drawn to reading these classics?” I asked.
“I hope so, yes,” Pilkey replied. “I hope they don’t think Charles Dickens stole an idea from Dav Pilkey.” That wouldn’t be very good!
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It was Pelkey’s sense of humor that made director Peter Hastings want to direct “Dog Man.” He also directed a television series based on Pilkey’s “Captain Underpants” books. “I just love his sensibility, and the playful chaos of his work,” Hastings said.
Comedian Pete Davidson gets top billing in the film: “I’m a big Dav Pilkey fan,” he said. “I grew up reading all the Captain Underpants books. My mom got them for me. All the little kids in my family, they all read ‘Dog Man,’ and they’re obsessed with ‘Dog Man.’ And right around the time I started to notice that, we got the show.”
It was an offer to play Dog Man’s nemesis, Petey the Cat. Davidson said it was fun to play the villain: “She’s a really fun, loud, multi-layered character.” “I don’t get a lot of opportunities to stretch out like that.”
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In fact, as readers of the “Dog Man” books know, things start to change when Petey tries to clone himself, and instead creates…an adorable kitten!
“His character has a great role in the story,” Hastings said.
“It’s the best bow I’ve ever had,” Davidson laughed. “I’m usually in a movie for about nine minutes, and then I get shot in the face, so it was nice to get a full (arc)!”
Asked if it was difficult for someone else to control his characters, Pelkey said: “No, no. Not at all actually. I’m very honored that they wanted to do something with my characters, so I said, YESSS!!! Jumping up and down.” “
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But Pelkey says what really matters to him is seeing how much kids appreciate all the work he puts into his books.
When asked if he was worried about running out of ideas, he said, “No, I think I was worried about running out of time to get all my ideas down on paper!”
To watch a trailer for “Dog Man,” click the video player below:
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The story is produced by Kay Lim. Editor: Remington Koerber.
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