DOG MAN FEATURE FILM COMING TO THEATERS
WORLDWIDE IN JANUARY 2025 FROM
DREAMWORKS ANIMATION
NEW
YORK, May 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Some
howling good news to readers and moviegoers alike. Scholastic, the
world's largest children's book publisher and distributor,
announced today that a new book in the global publishing phenomenon
Dog Man by Dav Pilkey will be
published on December 3rd.
DreamWorks Animation and Universal Pictures recently revealed that
"Dog Man," an animated feature film adaptation based on the
blockbuster hit graphic novel series will be released in theaters
worldwide in January 2025.
Dog Man: Big Jim Begins, the thirteenth book in
the series, explores the origin story of Pilkey's beloved Dog Man
characters, and will land in stores in time for the holiday season
and weeks before the global theatrical release of the movie. The
announcement comes on the heels of the success of Dog Man:
The Scarlet Shedder released in March of this year and
seized the #1 spot as the bestselling book overall (adult and
children's books combined) for five straight weeks* in North America and topped bestseller lists
around the world. Since the series launched to critical acclaim in
August 2016, there are more than 60
million Dog Man books in print to date with translations in 47
languages.
Author and illustrator Dav
Pilkey, whose first graphic novel was published nearly 22
years ago, said, "With this new book, I wanted to share the origin
story of my characters, as readers get to know more about Big Jim—a
character who is playful, kind, overly optimistic and often
misunderstood, and who sometimes gets into trouble despite having
the best intentions. Since the pandemic, I've been writing and
illustrating books in the Dog Man and Cat Kid Comic Club series
which has been a satisfying yet solitary experience. I'm grateful
to all my readers—kids and their families as well as educators--who
have sent me letters and messages of encouragement. Their support
and enthusiasm have inspired me to keep making books. I am truly
humbled and honored."
"For nearly four decades, Dav
Pilkey has been delighting kids with books that ignited
their passion for reading," said Ellie
Berger, President of Scholastic Trade. "With Dog Man, Dav
has created a vast universe featuring characters that kids can
relate to and stories that make them laugh and clamor for more.
There isn't anything in the industry that has reached this level of
success and fandom that Dog Man has achieved in seven short years.
The massive impact of Dav Pilkey's
books cannot be overstated, and we couldn't be more proud to be his
publisher and help bring these books to the hands of kids
everywhere."
"Dog Man" film director Peter
Hastings (Kung Fu Panda,
Animaniacs, The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants), said, "What
I found so compelling about Dog Man is that it transcends culture
and language, connecting and uniting kids and families everywhere
with stories about friendship, love, bravery, empathy, epic
adventures…and of course, a lot of humor. All of us at DreamWorks
Animation are thrilled to once again be partnering with the
incredibly talented Dav Pilkey and
the team at Scholastic to bring Dog Man to the big screen--an
iconic character known all over the world."
With Dav Pilkey's trademark humor
and heart, the Dog Man series celebrates creativity and imagination
and explores universally positive messages including the importance
of doing good and striving to become a better version of one's
self, while it also tackles more complex themes including loss,
redemption, and forgiveness. Most recently with Dog Man:
The Scarlet Shedder, Dav Pilkey delved into the world of
artificial intelligence while making a gripping and comical
commentary about the impact of social media.
About Dav Pilkey
The
publication of Dog Man: Big Jim
Begins marks Dav
Pilkey's 38 years of writing and illustrating award-winning
and bestselling books for children. When Pilkey was in second
grade, he was diagnosed with dyslexia and what is now widely known
as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Because of his
learning and behavioral issues in school, he was often sent out in
the hallway. It was in his elementary school hallway where he
created comic books about superheroes that eventually became
Captain Underpants and Dog Man. Launched more than 25 years ago,
Pilkey's pioneering Captain Underpants series has more than 90
million copies in print, translations in 38 languages, released as
a feature film by DreamWorks Animation, as well as an original
series on Netflix. TheaterWorksUSA's musical adaptations of Dog Man
and Cat Kid Comic Club opened to rave reviews, were
both New York
Times Critics' Picks, and are currently touring
around North America and
Australia. Dav Pilkey has created over 70 books for
children and was awarded a Caldecott Honor for his picture
book The Paperboy. His first graphic novel, The
Adventures of Super Diaper Baby, was an instant national
bestseller and was published fourteen years before the first Dog
Man book was released. For more information about Dav Pilkey and his books, visit
https://mediaroom.scholastic.com/davpilkey.
About Scholastic
For more information about
Scholastic, visit our mediaroom
at https://mediaroom.scholastic.com/.
(*Source: Circana Bookscan)
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SOURCE Scholastic Inc