From director Jared Stern, DC League of Super-Pets is an all-new adaptation of superheroes of another kind. Krypto the Super-Dog and Superman are inseparable best friends, sharing the same superpowers and fighting crime in Metropolis side by side. When Superman and the rest of the Justice League are kidnapped, Krypto must convince a rag-tag shelter pack—Ace the hound, PB the potbellied pig, Merton the turtle and Chip the squirrel—to master their own newfound powers and help him rescue the Superheroes.
For those unfamiliar with the pets and their owners that make up the League of Super-Pets, The Koalition spoke with the cast of the movie to get to know their characters better and these pets prove they’re just as worthy of praise as their infamous superhero owners.
KRYPTO
Dwayne Johnson as Krypto the Superdog, a Kryptonian Labrador retriever and Superman’s dog.
Dwayne Johnson stars as the voice of Krypto the Super-Dog and as Metropolis Super Dog, KRYPTO prides himself on being Superman’s superpowered best friend—he can fly and has X-Ray vision, heat vision, “freeze” breath and super hearing, just like his two-legged Kryptonian counterpart. But the mutts down at the dog park aren’t feeling his whole vibe. The dude has tons of powers and zero chill. When his bestie and the rest of the Justice League need his help, Krypto mysteriously finds himself stripped of his otherworldly abilities. To save Supes, Krypto will have to learn to be a normal dog, with some help from a motley crew of shelter pets newly infused with powers of their own. To save the world, he’ll have to get his nose dirty. Literally.
From Krypto’s perspective, everything is going great in Superman and Krypto’s life. They are bros. They do everything together. Everything is perfect…until Superman meets Lois Lane, and he falls in love and Krypto starts to worry about losing his best friend now that he has a new best friend of his own.
The Super-Dog does not only share his BFF’s superpowers; the filmmakers intentionally designed a somewhat subtle artistic tie between Krypto and the Man of Steel as well—the shape of both Krypto’s head and nose is essentially the same shape as the S-Shield, with his ears pointing down to further emphasize it. Not only does he proudly look the part of a Superhero at all times—including a moment where he dons a familiar “disguise” as “Bark Kent”—on occasion, Krypto takes his job as a Super-Pet a little too seriously, as in his initial meeting with Ace. Dogs are loyal, they love unconditionally, and while Krypto loves Superman, he is going to have to learn over the course of the film how to open his heart to others, including Lois, and it’s Ace and the shelter pets who set him on that path.
ACE
Kevin Hart as Ace the Bat-Hound, a hound who acquires the powers of super strength and invulnerability and Batman’s dog.
The leader of the shelter pack, ACE is a sarcastic hound who’s spent most of his life in a Metropolis animal shelter planning his escape. Strong and seemingly invulnerable, he employs a tough guy attitude that masks his soft underbelly. Ace may act like he’s fine flying solo, but he’ll join the others in battle if it means not only saving the Justice League but getting Krypto to lead them all to greener pastures.
Kevin Hart brings a mix of cynicism and suspicion fostered by the character’s tragic past to the role. Ace is in a shelter, and this is a problem for Ace. He longs for freedom; however, he built a relationship with these other pets that are in this same shelter. He gives them and himself a sense of hope; he’s giving the others something to believe in case they don’t get adopted from the shelter. It’s the dream that there’s something better out there for all of them.
PB
Vanessa Bayer as PB, a potbellied pig who acquires the power to grow and shrink in scale. She later becomes Wonder Woman’s pet.
Lovingly needy, adorably desperate PB the pig has a heart even bigger than her adorable potbelly, which is outweighed only by her steadfast devotion to her Tailhuggers animal shelter family…and her superhero idol, Wonder Woman! The best friend any stray could hope for, when her pack is called on to help Krypto save the Justice League, PB is always ready to give it her all, especially now that she can grow to the size of a Metropolis skyscraper…or shrink down to a teeny, tiny speck.
Vanessa Bayer, who lends her voice to the precious porcine shelter pet looking for love. While she dreams of having a home of her own, PB also harbors hope of one day meeting her idol. Bayer expounds, “PB is a huge fan of Wonder Woman, and really looks up to her and admires how strong and powerful she is. So, when she starts having powers of her own, she feels this kind of kinship with Wonder Woman and can look at herself sort of in a Wonder Woman-esque way, which is really exciting for her.”
Bayer was thrilled to lend her comedic chops to the film. “It was fun being part of the whole world of these DC Superheroes and the DC Universe, and I just loved playing PB, because she really wears her heart on her sleeve. She’s so optimistic, she’s so full of love and joy—what could be better?” A lot like Wonder Woman, perhaps?
CHIP
Diego Luna as Chip, a squirrel who acquires electric powers. He later becomes Green Lantern’s pet.
CHIP is content to spend his days within the sleepy confines of Metropolis’s Tailhuggers animal shelter, terrified by life and thankful for the safety of a cold, steel cage. But when his beloved sanctuary is suddenly under attack, this scaredy squirrel suddenly gets the power to shoot lightning out of his paws! Now the reluctant hero must overcome his fears—and find the will to power up—in order to help save the Justice League.
Written and directed by Jared Stern, Chip is one of his favorite designs with his eyeballs going in three different directions. Based on Jared’s dog, who looks like the actor Marty Feldman from “Young Frankenstein,” you could never quite tell which way he was looking. He is also afraid of his own shadow, but he is the one you most want to see become a hero, because to see him finally become empowered is an exciting thing.
Actor Diego Luna took on the role. “I enjoy the process of doing animated films, giving voice to characters by just going nuts and having fun in front of the microphone,” he says. “Chip was really fun to play, because he is full of contradictions and he has no filter: he is a Superhero, but at the same time, he’s scared of everything, and he tends to think like the worst can happen at any second. If there’s a chance of something going wrong, he is pretty sure it will, and he says so. Even once he gets these amazing electric powers, he has trouble controlling them; even the tiniest move can create a lot of damage. His journey is not to stop feeling fear, but to learn how to control his fear in order to achieve what he’s fighting for.” Often playing the heroic type or a roguish guy in movies, seeing Diego voicing Chip as a scaredy squirrel is refreshing.
In addition to the fun, Luna appreciated the film’s message—one that observant humans in real life could be learning every day. “In the movie, we see these animals behaving the way we should be behaving, giving us the lessons we need about teamwork, about helping others, being there for your friends and having convictions. These Super-Pets know what they’re fighting for and what’s right and what’s wrong, and they’re committed to it.”
MERTON
Natasha Lyonne as Merton, a turtle who acquires super speed. She later becomes Flash’s pet.
With a shell battered by decades of car collisions and the saucy vocabulary of a lady who’s lived a life, MERTON the slow and unsteady shelter turtle simply wants to relax and eat her weight in leafy greens. Plagued by truly horrible vision, Merton must place blind trust in her pack to point her in the correct direction—especially when she’s suddenly gifted with the incredible power of super speed! …the challenge now is simply making sure she’s going the right way.
Voicing the snapper whose outer shell sports more spare parts than a vintage car, Natasha Lyonne brought her trademark gravelly timbre to the role. “Well, Merton is a turtle who struggles with vision, and over a long life has endured a bit of a cracked shell, if you will. Over time, Merton has collected the detritus of a lifetime on her shell: bumper stickers, cracks and more. Think of Merton as someone with a jeans jacket with too many pins. Merton’s style is terrific, and she also has a heart of gold and a wealth of experience.
“I was absolutely over the moon when Jared asked me to play a 150-year-old turtle,” she continues. “I said to him point blank, ‘I’ve never received that offer before,’ and I was just delighted. I mean, it was so funny, and Merton is so cute. I had played mostly people until that point, so the opportunity to just stretch and play a turtle, I immediately began preparing by moving incredibly slowly.”
All kidding aside, Natasha felt much like Diego did, enjoying the dichotomies of her character once the superpowers kick in. “Merton, who I’ll remind you is a turtle, is much like a turtle in every sense—her true love is lettuce. No person, no romantic interest, will ever beat the smooth crunch of lettuce. And when I think of a turtle, I think very slow. However, what is the superpower that a turtle would love more than anything? High speed. And this type of super dynamic, Flash-level speed is granted to our friend, Merton. So, watch out.”
The film also stars the voices of Kate McKinnon (“Saturday Night Live,” the “Magic School Bus Rides Again” films, “Ferdinand”), John Krasinski (the “Quiet Place” films, “Free Guy”), Vanessa Bayer (“Saturday Night Live,” “Office Christmas Party,” “Trainwreck”), Natasha Lyonne (“Show Dogs,” “Ballmastrz 9009”), Diego Luna (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” “Maya and the Three”), Marc Maron (“Joker,” “GLOW”), Thomas Middleditch (“Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” “Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie”), Ben Schwartz (“Sonic the Hedgehog,” “Duck Tales”), and Keanu Reeves (the “Matrix” and “John Wick” films).
DC League of Super-Pets will be released by Warner Bros. Pictures in theaters internationally beginning 27 July 2022 and in North America on July 29, 2022
