Dog Man: (Tom Howe) Based on three of the books in
the "Dog Man" series that spun off from "Captain Underpants" in 2016,
the cinematic adaptation of
Dog Man in early 2025 was met with
critical and popular praise. The concept proposes that a police officer
and his dog are both badly injured in a warehouse explosion and, in an
effort to save the working parts of both, doctors combine the dog's head
with the human's body. Thus, Dog Man is born. But while he laments the
loss of both his former lives, there are still villains to pursue across
his city, and the primary bad guy is a maniacal orange cat named Petey
who caused the aforementioned explosion. That villain clones himself for
purposes of villainy, but that kitten wants no business in evil.
Ultimately, after much battling between the leads and the resurrection
of telekinetic fish, Flippy, that is eventually the true villain, there
is reconciliation and peace to be found. The whole concept is about as
juvenile and ridiculous as "Captain Underpants," so don't expect
intellectual brilliance at every turn. The soundtrack for
Dog Man
features a score by British composer Tom Howe and a song, "Supa Good!!!"
by Yung Gravy, that certainly has James Brown rolling over in his grave.
Howe got his start in the business like many in his generation, as a
ghostwriter, in this case contributing to many Harry and Rupert
Gregson-Williams' prominent projects of the 2010's. As he graduated into
a solo career, he toiled with countless television series, and his
recent film score credits have often been tied to the children's
animation genre, which provided him the connections necessary to earn
the trust of DreamWorks and Universal for
Dog Man. He wastes no
time plundering just about every kind of soundtrack for animated
concepts, providing a parody score that explodes with energy and rarely
lets up. Although this movie is technically a sequel to
Captain
Underpants: The First Epic Movie from 2017, nothing from Theodore
Shapiro's superb score for that film survives here. Instead, Howe treads
towards even wilder territory, admitting himself that the score is
"bonkers." The listening experience is explosively outrageous in its
pilfering of eras and genres of music, but the execution of that
strategy is very well handled, even if it doesn't make for the most
palatable of album experiences.
Howe's approach to
Dog Man balances exuberant
1970's police caper tones with dashes of Henry Mancini personality,
shifting when necessary to more conventional orchestral children's
music, especially in the work's latter half as the characters'
sensitivities are fleshed out. The instrumental palette is extremely
diverse, combining an orchestra and occasional choral infusions with the
vintage stylings led by saxophone, electric guitar, drum kit,
synthesizers, and open brass. The big band material carries over to
later in the score, sometimes touching upon the attitude of Brian
Tyler's rambunctious
Now You See Me scores, and the "Best
Friends" cue is downright riotous in personality. There are also a
wealth of unusual instrumental applications and sound effects, like a
panting dog emulated by voice, these techniques reportedly inspired by
the composer's appreciation for Ennio Morricone. The extreme
instrumental usage can overwhelm at times, and certainly when the tempos
and emotions of a cue sway violently within its own confines. Most
casual listeners may find that Howe's style pushes Michael Giacchino's
The Incredibles frequently, especially when wailing brass gets
its moments to shine. The composer offers several themes in the score,
the primary one for Dog Man and his antics not as well focused as
secondary ideas representing family and the evil fish. The Dog Man theme
is preceded by a snazzy caper rhythm and conveys confidence with its
ascending heroism. A bright fanfare portion of the theme sounds almost
like a villain identity for Petey, and some associations with the
initially adversarial cat may be at play here. This main theme enjoys
its most 1970's-like performance in the totally wild "Roger That," and
it blasts in its dark superhero fanfare mode at the start of "Big Jump."
The idea's rhythm at 0:07 joins with some Lalo Schifrin influence and
the panting dog effect that is humorously awful, seemingly by intent.
The Dog Man theme is heard briefly at the start of "Bomb Squad" and
later on bolder brass before bursting in faux newsroom theme mode to
begin "Reporting on Dogman," followed by the rhythm; a super-silly
version for barking voices and trumpets tests your patience in this cue.
The theme undergoes crazy variations in the zany "Arresting Petey" while
the fanfare mode stomps throughout "Flippy Stolen." The idea is
fragmented throughout "I Want My Life Back" and struggles to complete
its phrasing in "The Final Showdown" prior to a silly, pitch-wavering
conclusion.
The main Dog Man theme doesn't experience as much of a
catharsis at the end of
Dog Man as hoped, but it does factor in
later cues. It flourishes again in the snazzy action of "Dog vs
Building," shifts into lazy European pleasantries in "Just Need a
Friend," defeats the Flippy theme in "Arresting Flippy," and mingles
with the family theme in "Ruff Ruff." That theme for family doubles for
the character of Li'l Petey, and it really emerges in the sentimentality
during the second half of the score. After occupying all of the
keyboarding with its elegance in "Doghouse Memories," the theme's piano
and plucking in "Off the Case" is a little more dramatic but still
lighthearted. It twinkles with romantic sadness in "Abandoned" before a
rude interruption, becomes more hopeful and nearly cheery in all of
"Cats & Dogs," and is teased by clarinet and xylophone at the outset of
"Just Like Me" before recurring later on piano. The family theme is
tender once again at the end of "Searching for Li'l Petey" but explodes
in victorious action mode in the last minute of "Everyone is a Hero."
Slight during several moments in "Another Final Showdown" against
Western parodies, the idea reduces to saxophone, string, and woodwind
thoughtfulness in "Petey the Do Gooder" and enjoys a friendly wrap in
"Ruff Ruff." On the darker side of the score, the villain theme for
Flippy the fish doesn't really shine until it consolidates finally in
"Flippy is Back," a funny march with choir and snare before a brass
rendition in the middle of the cue is more appropriately ominous. This
theme returns with brass and snare force at 0:24 into "They're
Related!," stomps in pieces throughout "Getting Help," and is carried by
the brass openly in "Everyone is a Hero" with a grandiose moment for
choir. As the character is defeated, the theme pounds a few notes to a
resolution in the middle of "Arresting Flippy" and a variant interrupts
the false ending in "Ruff Ruff" with a huge closing crescendo of parody
intent. On the whole, the listening experience for
Dog Man is
actually quite consistent from start to finish, the softer interludes
for the family theme not lasting long enough to really change the mood
of the whole. As Howe said, this score is "bonkers," and it makes for 48
minutes of sheer madness on album. Its weakness comes in the inability
of the themes, and especially the main one, to remain front of mind
during all of the frenetic shifts. As such, listeners may find the score
to be outrageously anonymous. Still, it's technically masterful in its
execution even if challenging to digest, and Howe shows the capability
to parlay this work into a solid animation career if he chooses. Let's
hope that the panting dog effects rest in peace.
@Amazon.com: CD or
Download
- Music as Written for the Film: ****
- Music as Heard on Album: ***
- Overall: ***
There exists no official packaging for this album.
