While, yes, Warner Bros. and DC Studios’ Superman is all about the super and human elements of the iconic hero, the film is also about Supes’ bond with his best friend Krypto, the superpowered canine set to make his debut in the DC universe. However, Krypto’s first big-screen outing wasn’t without some challenges.
In an exclusive excerpt from the upcoming Superman: The Art and Making of the Movie , visual effects supervisor Stephane Ceretti detailed how the motion-production team drew inspiration for Krypto from director James Gunn’s rescue dog Ozu, who Gunn affectionately calls “the worst dog in the world.”
But the real hurdle was trying to figure out whether or not Superman’s adorable pet would don a cape like his comic book iteration, and if so, what would it look like in motion?
“We really took advantage of the look of the cape from Superman’s costume, the kind of fabric that Judianna (Makovsky, costume designer) used,” Ceretti said. “We worked with them to figure out how to translate the cape from a human body to a dog. Obviously, it’s very different because a human is standing up, so the cape rolls down the shoulders and then becomes a free-flowing thing. When it’s on the dog, it’s lying on its back, so it’s a different vibe in terms of the way it goes.”
“But we still really try to work on our simulation and how to control it to keep the same feeling of the kind of fold and quality of the cape that we have on the back of David, to try to translate that onto the back of the dog, which is very different.
Writer Otto Binder and artists Sy Barry and Curt Swan created Krypto the Superdog, with his first appearance—alongside Superboy—being in 1955’s Adventure Comics #210. Much like Gunn’s dog, Krypto has managed to find himself in numerous mischief over the years, teaming up with Superman, Superboy, Streaky the Supercat, Ace the Bat-Hound, Jun Kent, Supergirl, and more.
But Krypto’s greatest adventure will find him fighting alongside the Man of Steel in theaters when DC Studios releases Superman on July 11.
The book Superman: The Art and Making of the Movie is scheduled for release on November 18.
