Dog Man and his arch-nemesis Petey the Cat are stuck in a cycle of fighting with each other until Petey creates a clone. Little Petey may look just like Petey, but he sees the world quite differently. He values friendship and approaches life experiences with wonder and awe. His perspective sparks joy in Dog Man. It also helps Petey realize that he has good qualities even when he makes bad choices.
Use one or more of these activities to explore the Dog Man movie’s spiritual themes with children ages 4 and up.
Missing stories. Sarah Hatoff tells Dog Man’s story through her news reports. However, she is so focused on his story that she neglects other people’s stories. The chief gets mad because she never reports on the things he does. Invite children to imagine that they are reporters alongside Sarah, looking for other stories to tell. Ask: Whose stories are being neglected? How would you tell these stories? Take turns posing with an imaginary microphone to report stories that Sarah missed.
Hurt feelings. The Mayor demands that Dog Man be taken off Petey’s case. Dog Man slowly walks home, feeling crushed. Once inside his house, he begins to howl. Invite children to imagine someone has told them something hurtful. Say: Show me how your body would look after you hear something hurtful. Then ask: What sounds would you make? What might you say?
Do-Gooder traits. Flappy the fish is programmed to destroy all do-gooders. Ask children: Who are some of the do-gooders Flappy goes after? How do you know they are do-gooders? Make a list together of their do-gooder traits and then ask: Which of these traits do you have? How could you be a do-gooder too?
Friendship book. Little Petey creates a book that shows things he and Flappy could do together as friends. When Flappy hears the story, his evil powers vanish. He no longer wants to hurt others. Instead, he wants to build friendships. Encourage children to create their own mini-books with pictures or descriptions of 3-4 things they would like to do with a new friend.
Hurtful relationships. Grampa abandoned Petey as a kitten and does so again after Little Petey invites him home. Encourage children to imagine that Petey and Little Petey have a chance to talk with Grampa about how they feel and why Grampa acted the way he did. Ask: What do you think Petey and Little Petey might say to Grampa? What do you think Grampa might say to them? Take turns acting out possible scenarios, exploring the situation from each person’s perspective.
Horrible and beautiful. Early in the movie, Petey tells Little Petey that the world is a horrible place. He points out things like weeds, litter and mud to support his view. Near the end of the movie, Little Petey echoes his father’s words back to him, but Petey stops him. He points to the stars and says that there is beauty and goodness in the world. Invite children to create a mural together of things around them that they find horrible and beautiful. When you are done, ask: I wonder how we could reduce the horrible things and increase the beautiful things? Encourage them to try out some of their ideas in the coming days.
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