Paw Patrol: The Movie Review: The Paw Patrol Pups Move To The Big City

Release date: August 20, 2021
Running time: 76 minutes
Directed by: Cal Brunker
Screenplay by: Richard Wenk
Cast: Iain Armitage, Marsai Martin, Ron Pardo, Yara Shahidi, Kim Kardashian West, Randall Park, Dax Shepard with Tyler Perry and Jimmy Kimmel introducing Will Brisbin

The PAW Patrol is on a roll! When their biggest rival, Humdinger, becomes Mayor of nearby Adventure City and starts wreaking havoc, Ryder and everyone’s favorite heroic pups kick into high gear to face the challenge head on. While one pup must face his past in Adventure City, the team finds help from a new ally, the savvy dachshund Liberty. Together, armed with exciting new gadgets and gear, the PAW Patrol fights to save the citizens of Adventure City!

The Paw Patrol movie is pretty much everything you expect from a longer episode of Paw Patrol, with better animation and a few surprises.  In the film, the Paw Patrol move from Adventure Bay to Adventure City, and take on new friends, new challenges, and an old rival in Humdinger.  The film has the same characters, catch phrases, and cute dog outfits you come to expect, as well as the same voice cast.  And the movie adds a few new characters to the mix from the big city to help Ryder and the pups adjust to life and challenges here.  I liked the overall animation as it added some really pretty new effects to the show.  There are also some impressive scenes despite the characters looking the same as in the TV show.  The film has smart touches to update your favorite pooches without changing them.  

And the movie also touches on some important things for kids to learn including teamwork, failure (and jumping back from it), friendship, and problem solving.  I especially liked it addressing one character's concerns and failures to let kids know that everyone fails here and there, but it's how you bounce back that is important.  And the film also has some subtle messages about climate change, though I don't think this was a major factor unless you were looking for it.  

But Paw Patrol often feels like a combined episode of the TV show, for all the good and bad it has.  There are distinct rescue scenarios, which should be familiar to anyone who has watched the show, but when you have a movie opportunity I was hoping that the film would stretch out the scenarios. And despite there being an overarching enemy and a plot thread that does span most of the movie, the actual rescues are pretty self contained.  It almost seems like the film combined a couple TV show episodes into a movie.  And despite the fact that I liked the film taking on failure, the way it does it is a little strange.  I appreciated the effort but it doesn't make much sense for the characters.  And the movie itself is pretty short; I feel like they could have squeezed out some more from this property rather than cutting it at 76 minutes.  

Paw Patrol: The Movie has the puppies, rescues, and animation that makes the show so fun, with big city effects but a not big city run time.

Rent it.

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Paw Patrol: The Movie is in theaters and on Paramount+ on August 20, 2021.  For showtimes, click here.

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