Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank
review by Bobby Blakey
I love all things martial arts so when a film does something creative with the genre I am all in. The latest Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank is taking the animated approach and features a great voice cast including Michael Cera, Ricky Gervais, Samuel L. Jackson, Mel Brooks, George Takei, Aasif Mandvi, Gabriel Iglesias, Djimon Hounsou, Michelle Yeoh, Kylie Kuioka, and Cathy Shim. Could this film live up to the iconic cast involved or will it’s blade be too dull?
Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank follows a hard-on-his-luck hound Hank who finds himself in a town full of cats who need a hero to defend them from a ruthless villain's evil plot to wipe their village off the map. With help from a reluctant teacher to train him, our underdog must assume the role of town samurai and team up with the villagers to save the day. The only problem… cats hate dogs!
AS mentioned above Mel Brooks is one of the voice actors in the film, but actually involved a lot more than you may think. While it isn’t obvious from the trailers and lack of all the adult content this is in fact a loose remake of Brook’s classic comedy Blazing Saddles with the original title of the film even being Blazing Samurai. For those adults that know the film have no fear this is very much family friendly and meant for the youngsters, but makes for a lot more fun for the adults that get to see the varying moments that are clearly out of the original film.
I was a bit concerned with the look of the animation from the trailer, but seeing it in full scale it was really nice, filled with bright vibrant colors and fun details. They even changed up the animation style for some of the flash back stories that made it feel fresh to what they were doing. The character designs are pretty straight forward in design, but still manage to
stand out in a fun way. While there isn’t a big range of styles in the characters looks each voice actor gives them their own unique personality.
Some might think that this diverse cast doesn’t fit in this samurai world
and at times it does feel off given the look and direction, but overall it still delivers. There are plenty of laughs, heart and fun to be had with a lot of jokes geared towards adults making it one that everyone can enjoy. There are some gags that fall flat and times it feels like they are trying to crowbar in punchlines too often, but plenty of others that deliver the laughs.
This film isn’t doing anything to really break down the walls of animation, but will no doubt entertain the intended audience and adults that are in for some good giggles. Decide for yourself and grab your copy of Paws Of Fury: The Legend Of Hank available now on digital and then on Blu-ray and DVD on October 18th from Paramount Home Entertainment.