Dog Man is officially heading to a theater near you next January, with Universal Pictures distributing the same-name family film based on Dav Pilkey’s quirky graphic novels from DreamWorks Animation.

Starring a police officer who’s half dog, half man, the film will tag along as its hybrid hero embarks on a mission to capture feline supervillain Petey the Cat. While DreamWorks Animation optioned the feature film rights back in 2020, the project has now secured the 2025 theatrical slot.

Veteran animation producer Peter Hastings (Animaniacs) is directing, with DreamWorks’ Karen Foster (Spirit Untamed) producing. Hastings was previously a showrunner on the Netflix adaptation of Captain Underpants.

Dog Man has been a strong performer for publisher Scholastic, selling more than 60 million copies since the first of 11 books launched in 2016. This popular kidlit franchise is a spinoff from Pilkey’s long-running Captain Underpants book series—and it has a similarly zany style of comedy that’s designed to appeal to the seven-plus demo.

Up next on DreamWorks Animation’s movie slate, fantasy toon Orion and the Dark will premiere on Netflix this week (February 2), followed by martial arts comedy sequel Kung Fu Panda 4 hitting US theaters on March 8.

Featured image: Dog Man: Lord of the Fleas (2018) by Dav Pilkey