Director James Gunn rescued Ozu from a hoarding situation shortly after he started writing the script for ‘Superman.’
A new Superman era is upon us. The franchise’s latest iteration hit theaters over the weekend, smashing box office expectations with its US$130 million opening, CNN reports.
I’ve never been a fan of the quintessential American superhero and have yet to watch this movie, but I have been looking forward to it since I saw the trailer last year. No, it’s not because of the new Superman/Kal-El/Clark Kent, though I find David Corenswet swoony. It’s partly because of director James Gunn, whose Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy remains a favorite.
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But the biggest reason why I will be watching Superman in the next few days is the smallest member of the cast: Krypto. Superman’s unruly dog with its perpetually pricked ear has been capturing hearts, mine included, since the trailer dropped late last year and more so when a new teaser was released two weeks before the movie opened.
And once I found out the story behind Krypto’s real-life canine inspiration, the more my heart melted.
“The world’s worst dog”
Krypto in the movie is computer generated, with a real dog named Jolene—who’s also very cute—standing in on the set. The inspiration behind Krypto’s depiction in the movie, however, is an altogether different pooch with a heartwarming story: Ozu, Gunn’s pet.
In an interview with The Backstage Experience, Gunn jokingly called Ozu “the world’s worst dog,” whom he rescued from a hoarding situation in a backyard with 60 other dogs, shortly after he had started writing the script for Superman. “I came in and I saw this funny looking dog with an ear that stuck up and this little smirk on his face. It looked like he was up to no good,” he said. “For some reason I thought it was a good dog to adopt.”
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Upon arriving at his new home, Gunn wrote in an Instagram post back in October, Ozu “immediately came in and destroyed our home, our shoes, our furniture— he even ate my laptop.” He remembers thinking how difficult life would be if Ozu had superpowers. “And thus Krypto came into the script and changed the shape of the story as Ozu was changing my life,” he wrote.
He ended the post with an assurance that Ozu is now “fairly often, a very good boy.” On a sidenote, Gunn named the adorable furball after the legendary Japanese director Yasujirō Ozu, who, ironically, was known for his quiet and introspective films.
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In the same interview with The Backstage Experience, Gunn said that they 3-D modelled Ozu, took photos of him, and turned him into Krypto. “We just turned him white because my dog is brown. His (Krypto) terrible personality is based on Ozu,” he said. Indeed, except for the color, Ozu and Krypto are deadringers, from the scruffy coat down to that cute floppy ear.
In an interview with The New York Times, Gunn said he worked with three visual effects companies to develop and refine Krypto, including a team that created Rocket Raccoon from the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. He also used his own personal videos of Ozu playing with his cat as the basis for some of Krypto’s movements onscreen.
As expected, the unruly Krypto is stealing the show—and millions of hearts, too—with his mischievous antics that real dogs actually do. What is quite unexpected, though, is that this is the big screen live-action debut of the superdog with his red cape that matches the Man of Steel’s.
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Seventy years of Krypto
Krypto has been part of the Superman comic books for seven decades, according to Time magazine and The Hollywood Reporter. The mutt first appeared in comics exactly 70 years ago, in 1955, and just like any comic book character, there have been several versions over the years.
The OG Krypto (Skip as he’s called when living incognito on the Kent farm in Kansas) was a creation of writer Otto Binder and artists Curt Swan and Sy Barry, and debuted in Adventure Comics #210, which hit shelves in March 1955. It was supposed to be a one-time appearance, but the arc proved popular that it wasn’t long before Krypto returned again and again across Superman and Superboy comic books.
Krypto has also made an appearance in Saturday morning cartoons, as well as on primetime TV, particularly in Smallville, Titans, and Superman & Lois. He finally made his animated feature film debut in DC League of Super-Pets (2022). Dwayne Johnson lent his signature baritone to Krypto, the first time the dog was given the ability to talk. In the comic books, his thoughts were sometimes illustrated with text bubbles.
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In terms of superhuman (or should I say supercanine) powers, The Hollywood Reporter says it depends on which DC universe you find yourself in. The constants are that Krypto is smarter, faster, and stronger than normal dogs. He can also fly. Basically, Krypto can do pretty much what Superman can, only more adorably.
Oh, Krypto also has a signature red cape when crime busting, with the addition of a stylish gold collar and a dog tag with a big red “S” on it. His breed also varies, in some iterations he looks like a Labrador Retriever, in Gunn’s film, he seems like a terrier mix like Ozu.
I liked Zack Snyder’s Superman movies, even if they have a rather bleak atmosphere that’s similar to the Batman flicks. But I’m hoping for a more fun, heartwarming version of Superman this time around, and I’m putting my faith in James Gunn, whose Guardians of the Galaxy movies always put me in an upbeat mood.
And there’s Krypto and his canine charms, so I like this new Superman already even if I have yet to watch it.
Watch Krypto annoying Superman below:
