Rent PAW Patrol: The Movie (2021)

PAW Patrol: The Movie (aka PAW Patrol: La Película / La Pat' Patrouille: Le Film) review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

Talking about a movie like PAW Patrol as an adult leads to that perplexing area of film criticism where you’re talking about films intended for very young children. PAW Patrol no doubt still has a lasting love that carries on for preschoolers who adore watching funny puppies engage in heroic missions. On a message level, it’s hard to be bitter about a show that wants to instill sensations of heroism and problem-solving at such a young age.

For the many young kids who watch the show and will inevitably watch this movie many times, I can’t really fault them for loving such a show. Had I grown up with this cartoon, I would’ve been all over the PAW Patrol hype as well. But now that the show makes the jump from the small screen to the big screen, I find myself in the difficult area of enduring the tedium of a feature-length PAW Patrol story.

The picture follows the rescue operations of the PAW Patrol who engage in such mildly dangerous missions as protecting a maple syrup truck from toppling over a bridge. We get a brief review of their operations, their names, and their vehicles, spoken of in a way to make sure mom and dad get the right toy for Christmas. Their human leader Ryder takes the helm and makes sure everybody is safe, punctuating the event with a punchline about pancakes. Lukewarm stuff but an okay sequence for first-time movie-goers.

Anyway, Ryder and his team of pups are given that chance to prove themselves by acting as the new rescue team of Adventure City. This towering metropolis seems exciting but it’s also under siege from a greedy mayor, Humdinger, who cuts corners and lets his many innovations bring chaos to the city. The PAW Patrol will certainly have their hands full on a series of missions to prevent a train car from going off the tracks or a weather-controlling device stirring up a hurricane.

At the same time, the pup of Chase finds himself going through trauma while in the big city. He reveals that he has a history of being abandoned in the city and this brings about PTSD where he finds himself unable to function on missions. I have severely mixed feelings about this character's growth. On one hand, it’s not every animated kid’s movie where you see this type of trauma handled in a way that may seem more relatable to kids. On the other hand, this is a point of pathos present in a PAW Patrol movie. It has the retro aroma of a TV-to-movie adaptation that feels as though it has to be something more profound and poignant than the simple antics the franchise was known for.

The film comes close but ultimately stumbles because it has to fulfill its obligations as both a PAW Patrol movie and a ho-hum animated adventure aimed at the wee ones. We get the passive comedic jabs where the pups pepper puns into the script and the adults make mildly aware commentary. There are some guest voice actors who don’t really add much to the table, the roster including Yara Shahidi, Kim Kardashian West, Randall Park, Dax Shepard, Tyler Perry, and Jimmy Kimmel. The animation at least looks spiffier than it does in the show, leading to some slightly more elaborate and exciting sequences of rescue.

PAW Patrol is fine for preschoolers watching a movie for the first time. It has an okay narrative if not a broad theme that is easily digestible. The antic are cute and harmless despite being rather innocuous. But, hey, kids, that’s just the opinion of a grumpy old adult who has seen way too many animated movies. Chances are you’ll probably form fond memories of this picture and come back to it years later with a warm nostalgia for dogs who can pilot vehicles. I hope you get that out of this movie because it didn’t do a whole lot for me.