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The inspiring true story behind Superman's canine sidekick, Krypto the Superdog
The new Superman movie hit theaters this weekend, and while it's almost impossible to upstage a handsome superhero in a skin-tight suit—with piercing blue eyes and superpowers to boot—the newest cast member, Krypto the Superdog, is the undeniable superstar.
The highly anticipated chapter in the DC Marvel Superman franchise sees Clark Kent joinblonde-haired with a canine sidekick, in the form of the blonde haired shaggy-coated ruffian Krypto the Superdog.
Krypto is a CGI flying white mutt who, like his best flying superhero friend, dons a doggie red cape to match the Man of Steel's. Krypto the dog in Superman. Pic: Warner Bros. Pictures
While this is Krypto's first movie screen appearance the unruly dog made is first waggy-tailed appearance in DC Comics way back in 1955.
While Krypto is a CGI generated woofter, the real life story of the inspiration for his unruly mutt, uteri and his on-screen antics are the makings of a Supermutt spin-off series. Krypto the dog and David Corenswet as Superman in a scene from Superman. Pic: Warner Bros. Pictures
James Gunn's actual rescue dog served as the 3D model for Krypto
The film's director James Gunn previously announced that Superman's trusted but often time disobediant dog Krypto was inspired by his own real life rescue dog Ozu.
More recently, Gunn told The New York Times that his greyish pup became the physical model for the computer-generated super-pet. The process, which Gunn said Ozu 'despised,' required the dog to perch on a table surrounded by cameras capturing angles of him from all sides to create a 3D image. Director James Gunn (right) with Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor and Davd Corenswet as Superman. Pic: Warner Bros. Pictures
Gunn said he worked with three visual effects companies to develop and fine-tune Krypto, including a team that created Rocket Raccoon from the 'Guardians of the Galaxy' films. He also used his own personal pet videos of Ozu playing with his cat as the basis for some of Krypto's movements onscreen.
'I have tons of videos of them playing,' the director told the Times. 'In fact, when Krypto is jumping on Superman at the beginning of the movie, that's all based on footage of him playing with my cat.'
And Kyoto's rise from street ruffian to superdog status also reflects Ozu's ascent from horrendous begins to the lap of luxury.
In a social media post Gunn shared Ozu's story saying that he 'came from a hoarding situation in a backyard with 60 other dogs & never knew human beings. View this post on Instagram
A post shared by James Gunn (@jamesgunn)
But it wasn't all walkies and bellyrubs as Gunn also revealed the pair getting off on the wrong paw with Gunn revealing initially Ozu 'was problematic to say the least.'
'He immediately came in & destroyed our home, our shoes, our furniture – he even ate my laptop,' Gunn wrote. 'It took a long time before he would even let us touch him.'
He also wrote that he had adopted Ozu shortly after he had started writing the script for Superman, which was how the dog made its way into the story.
I remember thinking, 'Gosh, how difficult would life 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,' Gunn wrote in his post. Superman is out in Irish cinemas now. Pic: Warner Bros. Pictures
Krypto maintains the decidedly unruly nature of the dog upon which he is based, a canine rascal to Superman's more disciplined and cool and compassionate demeanour.
But of course this is Hollywood so there is the Happy FUREVER after ending with the 'not-so-good-good-boy' – as Gunn described him – truly winning over the distinction of superhero hound in his own right.
This isn't the last time we'll be seeing Krypto on the silver screen
Toward the end of the film, we learn that Superman's cousin Kara Zor-El – Supergirl, as played by 'Sirens' star Milly Alcock – is the actual owner of the Krypto. In the movie, Supergirl is a bit of a party girl who asked her cousin to watch over her dog while she was off catching a buzz in outer space.
But it seems both she and her beloved pet will be back, since Alcock is slated to star in a feature-length 'Supergirl' which is out next year with the flick currently listed as being in post production on IMDb.
