by John Tillyard, Contributing Writer
In a town populated entirely by cats and where no dogs are allowed, a dog named Hank (Michael Cera) shows up as the samurai chosen to defend it. He receives nothing but disdain for being a dog in a clear allegory for racism. With the help of his mentor Jimbo (Samuel L. Jackson), Hank must face his fears and prove to himself and the town that he is the hero who can defend it. Meanwhile, the cat that sent him there, Ika Chu (Ricky Gervais), is planning to wipe the town off the map in hopes of becoming the land’s new shogun by sending the worst samurai he can find.
A retelling of the 1974 comedy Blazing Saddles, Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank was initially titled Blazing Samurai,and focused on a black samurai, but it was changed to a dog in a world full of cats, most likely to make the conflict in the story more understandable to a younger audience.
One thing I found very refreshing was to see an actual opening credit sequence that doubled as the prologue. It seems nowadays like all animated movies put their elaborate sequence that credit the actors at the start of the end credits. It’s a shame because a good opening credit sequence can help draw you in and set the tone. So I liked that they started with something visually exciting and stylized, more like east Asian animation. It’s also possible they wanted to credit the cast upfront because it is stacked.
The story is the typical hero’s journey, where Hank learns from an old mentor to be a better fighter and is gradually accepted by those around him. Generally, the critical element of this story is how compelling I find the relationship between the student and the mentor; in this case, it’s a bit painful to watch. I got the impression Hank only chose Jimbo because he just happened to be there, and Jimbo only agreed to teach him because it was the honorable thing to do. They don’t have any bonding moments, and they bicker quite a bit. There is the suggestion that Jimbo learns a better way to teach him, but it goes by quickly. Hank has a “don’t let fame go to your head” arc later on when Jimbo allows him to believe he is the one that saved the day, but there is never any moment he discovers the truth or learns anything. At one point, Hank does the trope of leaving and being inspired to go back, but they express his reason for returning as being nothing more than his being a dog, and they are loyal. Hank never really grows as a character; he candidly is better by the end.
Most of the enjoyment I took was from the story’s antagonist, Ika Chu, who has most of the funny lines and has an amusing way of summarizing the situation. He takes a hands-off approach for most of the story, trying to sabotage the town’s plight by sending others in to do his dirty work. It makes his frustration very believable and prepares for a more exciting climax when he faces off against Hank because it’s the first time the main antagonist has participated in the action.
Speaking of the action, it’s probably the most exciting aspect: there are a few good fight scenes here and one big action sequence as the climax. There were several elements to the action that I don’t think I’ve seen before, and I also liked how everyone in the town got involved. In the end, it’s not Hank or Jimbo that saves the day; it’s the whole town working together.
With it originally being inspired by the parody Blazing Saddles, a lot of the comedy is in the strange, fourth-wall-breaking style that’s likely to make modern audiences think of Deadpool, which can be a bit jarring if not done correctly. In Deadpool, he was the only character to be aware of the audience or the fact he was in a movie. In the case of Paws of Fury, numerous characters break the fourth wall at different points, and other movie elements such as split screens or on-screen text are physically present. The whole thing was much looser with breaking the fourth wall rules. It made the entire experience feel less grounded and gave me less reason to care. Hank also mentions that they are in a movie several times, and I don’t understand the point. Was it just the fundamental idea that he knows he’s in a movie supposed to be funny?
Another source of comedy comes from the fact that most of the characters are cats. For example, catnip is their alcohol, and they wash by having others lick them. I enjoy this type of humor in stories with anthropomorphic animals because it utilizes the fact that they are still animals; it is usually pretty clever. It works okay here, although specific gags are recycled. In general, the humor is a bit hit-and-miss. One cleaver gag shows an ancient society’s version of modern technology, but later, there is a fart joke.
The animation is passable enough; nothing about it will make you go, “wow!” But it also never looked cheap, the action sequences are all fairly gripping with a lot of fast-moving parts, and I was never distracted by poor animation. Seeing such a high-profiled cast in the opening credits did have me worried they may have spent all their budget on acting fees, but it was enjoyable visually in places with a few different styles used in flashbacks.
Overall, Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank is an enjoyable experience with the funny dialogue, a few good visual gags, and decent action sequences. Still, if you are looking for anything more profound than that, like a fascinating character journey, you’re not going to find it here. There is a primitive message about giving everyone a chance, but it gets forgotten by the end.
Score: 7/10
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