AJ Goes to the Dog Park is a 2024 American comedy film directed by Toby Jones from a screenplay by Toby Jones. The film is set to be released in the United States on July 25, 2025.
The film was directed and written by Toby Jones, an animator and screenwriter known for series such as OK KO! Let's Be Heroes, the film debuted on Fantastic Fest 2024, and has a limited release in theaters on July 25, 2025. This is a low-budget, almost homemade production - a kind of hybrid between "live-action anime" and a crazy comedy, full of funny gaffes and surreal humor.
AJ (AJ Thompson) leads a quiet and predictable life: work, dinner with his family, two Chihuahuas, and regular walks at the dog park. But suddenly he is forced to deal with a huge change - the park becomes a "blog park", populated by typographers instead of pets. To get the park back, AJ embarks on a ridiculous campaign for mayor, facing a series of "epic" challenges: fighting, fishing, demolition, scrubbing, etc. - in the chain of tasks he must master in order to defeat the mayor and get the park back.
The comedic rhythm is messy and radically free – like a living cartoon with abrupt scene changes, slapstick gags and out-of-the-box visions. The film is loaded with animation flashback scenes enhanced by the work of animators (including Owen Dennis from Infinity Train) and music by Rebecca Sugar, which adds an anime-themed teaser to the finale. According to Austin Chronicle, the production exudes a cozy, "practically homey" energy - as if a group of friends had recorded a film for fun.
„AJ Goes to the Dog Park is a love letter to the slightly normal and the very absurd – a family comedy with the spirit of a DIY experiment, like live-action animation, imbued with serious charm and freestyle. If you’re looking for something fresh, different and fun, this film, for all its strangeness, manages to leave a smile and… a sense of pure, carefully arranged wildness in Fargo, North Dakota.
