LIKES:
The Pace: You know you are going to love a potential curveball of a kid's movie when you realize it's only 85 minutes not including credits. Paws of Fury gets to the point very quickly, does not hesitate to dive in the ridiculous antics, and just dominates in getting through the film very quickly. For parents hoping this won't drag too long, the pace is fun and keeps up with some of the other elements this movie exploits to really maximize their inclusion into the film. And if you hate everything about this movie, you have at least wasted little time fulfilling your role to take the child to the movie.
The Animation Flow: The Legend of Hank may not be the most realistic, unique, or even awesome design in terms of other animated features. However, don't knock it off because the animation does indeed flow and match the caliber you would expect anthropomorphic animals to move in this day and age. All the denizens of this alternate universe have a flowing motion that works for the lower budget of this film as they run, smack, yell, and fight to defend the odd village of this feudal era pavilion. Far better than what I can do, the movie does at least have good movement for me and fits with the kid friendly atmosphere they have in store.
The References: A gigantic geek like me is all about finding references to other trends and trivia in a movie and their fun inclusion into the work. You'll be happy to see that Hank's journey is loaded with references to the famous films the entire movie is based on in the short 85 minutes. Hank's costume alone should ring some bells, but you'll find plenty of other things getting their moment in the form of dialogue, character design, digs at the original movie and plenty more for you to scope out. While some might be a bit of a stretch, others are perfectly put in there and may have you cracking a smile at what you caught and the clever use they had.
The Voice Acting (To a Degree): Again, this is not going to be the role or performance to break the Oscar mold, but it also does not mean you won't enjoy the work that the cast brings to the mix. First of all, the number of people they got for this movie is impressive, pulling in famous voices left and right to portray the cavalcade of cats to life. I could go on about who I was surprised to see, but IMDB will give you the list, many of which have adequate time on this film. So, let's focus on the big three as I usually do to get through this category. Gervais is still the voice you either love or hate. He makes the villain Ika Chu as sassy, conniving, and ridiculous as you would expect and it works so well for this movie that I could not help but love what he was able to do with the role. Like Doofenshmirtz off of Phineas and Ferb, it's a villain that works on two levels and his voice just matches it perfectly. Cera is the same Cera you know, quiet, timid, and managing to find that sweet spot for the unlikely hero. Hank and he share a lot qualities together and I loved just how much they matched the character to the actor in this film. It's really Jackson who has the best of the main three for me, his demeanor matched perfectly in the face of Jimbo. The cat has the attitude and Jackson sells it in his approach to the way of the Samurai, and once more his aggressive and dark level of comedy works in this film. Yes, he has been balanced for younger ears, but the range he gets out of this work was very fun and entertaining for me.
The Action Scenes: Surprisingly, the PG rating did not dilute the action of this movie and I was impressed with how much fighting, coordination, and style they integrated into the film. Paws of Fury does not have the violence that parents may fear of blood, gore, dismemberment and the likes, but still has the stunts and fights you expect this Samurai-Western to have. Sword fights have some style of coordination in the way the opposing parties fight. Other moments are the same montage of tricks and moves that the children's animation loves to show in their fights. It all works for me in the long run and I really enjoyed combining it with the references to see the choices they made without treading into the darker levels you might fear.
The Comedy: This is of course my favorite element, and thanks to several friends of mine, this style of comedy works very well. Paws of Fury has a lot of jokes, and I mean a lot of jokes, crammed into a short amount of time. Fortunately for me, the diversity helps mitigate things and you can enjoy your preferential style of laughs to varying degrees. It's got fart humor, slapstick, catch phrases, recurring jokes, and adult humor masked in the dialogue. All of them work so well in this hodge-podge of comedic antics that you just can't help but enjoy what they have to offer. And again, thanks to my friends, I got a lot of the humor style in this film (dry sarcasm, well-timed shots, and political references) that it maximized my enjoyment. I mean pointing at how ridiculous a concept is, how something doesn't make sense in the era they are in, and even breaking the fourth wall are all in this movie and it's great for older fans like me.
DISLIKES:
The Pace May Be Too Quick: Given the treasure trove of things I was seeing in this movie; the faster pace may have been a downside to be honest. Hank's world has so much to enjoy, but you are experiencing it so quickly that you are left little time to savor the slashes they are bringing. While this will get you out of the kiddy elements faster, the other parts you might enjoy are lost to how quickly we have to get through. The movie even jokes about short attention spans, and sadly this movie is catered to the culture of paying little attention to the details.
The Emotional Depth Is Minimal: Disney may be working in overdrive to bring you touching, modern, and deep tales of characters struggling with current state problems. Hank's journey though is far shallower though, and though it might be a more fun and adventurous tale, it is still lacking that level I like in my characters. There are certainly moments that pull at relatable strings for me, that's no problem, but there was so much more that could have gone into this movie to further sink the audiences' teeth and grip on to. There is potential for more, but unfortunately time and budge seemed to direct this movie away from the heartfelt moments one might enjoy in an animated feature.
Too Many Jokes? Yes, we've seen plenty of times where too many jokes in too short of a run time can lead to burn out, fatigue, and annoyance. Paws of Fury may have crossed the line several times with several styles for older audience members, though the little ones who are targeted will soak it all in and probably imitate their style. I'll admit that some of the younger jokes are lost on me, reminding me of Modern SpongeBob episodes that are no longer clever, but just stupid and lost on me. Fortunately, there are those more adult themed jokes that will help this limitation out for audience members. A win in my book
No Stakes or Edge: Disney has in the past put stakes into their journeys to make you sit on the edge of your seat, think Lion King. Paws of Fury again took the G rated approach and the stakes are practically absent in the presentation this movie chooses to have. It's not the worse, but you bet that there is not quite as on the edge moments as you might have liked to see, which again is great for more sensitive viewers, but for those looking for that bark and bite, don't expect any in this child targeted movie.
Some Moments Last Too Little: This goes for the action scenes and exciting challenges to the obstacles put before our heroes. Paws of Fury moves briskly, and because of the lack of edge, build up, and oomph, there are moments that just feel a bit too easy and short sighted in the long run of the movie. Certainly, the comedy helps with this, but again, in the art of storytelling it feels like this film is coming up short again on the full magic they could have obtained had they put a little more time and focus on it, giving you those climactic finishes, I come to expect in adventure movies like these.
The VERDICT:
Paws of Fury is a fun little distraction from the blockbusters that have come out the last few months. Geared towards a younger audience, it serves as a good introduction movie to a young viewer for various genres and gives them a taste of what the cinematic world has to offer. It's highlight for me were: the entertaining pace, the flowing animation, the references, and the comedy that was geared to me. These moments really show the potential of the series and the studio if they have more time and money to make the piece they want. However, the juvenile nature and fast pace also get in the way of the movie on many elements, including: suspense, adventure element, and story that sort of make this tale a blander film than you hope. Though I enjoyed my viewing in the theater, I believe this is another film meant for home viewing or going out with a group or family more than seeing in a small viewing party. My scores are:
Animation/Action/Comedy: 7.0 Movie Overall: 6.0.
The Pace: You know you are going to love a potential curveball of a kid's movie when you realize it's only 85 minutes not including credits. Paws of Fury gets to the point very quickly, does not hesitate to dive in the ridiculous antics, and just dominates in getting through the film very quickly. For parents hoping this won't drag too long, the pace is fun and keeps up with some of the other elements this movie exploits to really maximize their inclusion into the film. And if you hate everything about this movie, you have at least wasted little time fulfilling your role to take the child to the movie.
The Animation Flow: The Legend of Hank may not be the most realistic, unique, or even awesome design in terms of other animated features. However, don't knock it off because the animation does indeed flow and match the caliber you would expect anthropomorphic animals to move in this day and age. All the denizens of this alternate universe have a flowing motion that works for the lower budget of this film as they run, smack, yell, and fight to defend the odd village of this feudal era pavilion. Far better than what I can do, the movie does at least have good movement for me and fits with the kid friendly atmosphere they have in store.
The References: A gigantic geek like me is all about finding references to other trends and trivia in a movie and their fun inclusion into the work. You'll be happy to see that Hank's journey is loaded with references to the famous films the entire movie is based on in the short 85 minutes. Hank's costume alone should ring some bells, but you'll find plenty of other things getting their moment in the form of dialogue, character design, digs at the original movie and plenty more for you to scope out. While some might be a bit of a stretch, others are perfectly put in there and may have you cracking a smile at what you caught and the clever use they had.
The Voice Acting (To a Degree): Again, this is not going to be the role or performance to break the Oscar mold, but it also does not mean you won't enjoy the work that the cast brings to the mix. First of all, the number of people they got for this movie is impressive, pulling in famous voices left and right to portray the cavalcade of cats to life. I could go on about who I was surprised to see, but IMDB will give you the list, many of which have adequate time on this film. So, let's focus on the big three as I usually do to get through this category. Gervais is still the voice you either love or hate. He makes the villain Ika Chu as sassy, conniving, and ridiculous as you would expect and it works so well for this movie that I could not help but love what he was able to do with the role. Like Doofenshmirtz off of Phineas and Ferb, it's a villain that works on two levels and his voice just matches it perfectly. Cera is the same Cera you know, quiet, timid, and managing to find that sweet spot for the unlikely hero. Hank and he share a lot qualities together and I loved just how much they matched the character to the actor in this film. It's really Jackson who has the best of the main three for me, his demeanor matched perfectly in the face of Jimbo. The cat has the attitude and Jackson sells it in his approach to the way of the Samurai, and once more his aggressive and dark level of comedy works in this film. Yes, he has been balanced for younger ears, but the range he gets out of this work was very fun and entertaining for me.
The Action Scenes: Surprisingly, the PG rating did not dilute the action of this movie and I was impressed with how much fighting, coordination, and style they integrated into the film. Paws of Fury does not have the violence that parents may fear of blood, gore, dismemberment and the likes, but still has the stunts and fights you expect this Samurai-Western to have. Sword fights have some style of coordination in the way the opposing parties fight. Other moments are the same montage of tricks and moves that the children's animation loves to show in their fights. It all works for me in the long run and I really enjoyed combining it with the references to see the choices they made without treading into the darker levels you might fear.
The Comedy: This is of course my favorite element, and thanks to several friends of mine, this style of comedy works very well. Paws of Fury has a lot of jokes, and I mean a lot of jokes, crammed into a short amount of time. Fortunately for me, the diversity helps mitigate things and you can enjoy your preferential style of laughs to varying degrees. It's got fart humor, slapstick, catch phrases, recurring jokes, and adult humor masked in the dialogue. All of them work so well in this hodge-podge of comedic antics that you just can't help but enjoy what they have to offer. And again, thanks to my friends, I got a lot of the humor style in this film (dry sarcasm, well-timed shots, and political references) that it maximized my enjoyment. I mean pointing at how ridiculous a concept is, how something doesn't make sense in the era they are in, and even breaking the fourth wall are all in this movie and it's great for older fans like me.
DISLIKES:
The Pace May Be Too Quick: Given the treasure trove of things I was seeing in this movie; the faster pace may have been a downside to be honest. Hank's world has so much to enjoy, but you are experiencing it so quickly that you are left little time to savor the slashes they are bringing. While this will get you out of the kiddy elements faster, the other parts you might enjoy are lost to how quickly we have to get through. The movie even jokes about short attention spans, and sadly this movie is catered to the culture of paying little attention to the details.
The Emotional Depth Is Minimal: Disney may be working in overdrive to bring you touching, modern, and deep tales of characters struggling with current state problems. Hank's journey though is far shallower though, and though it might be a more fun and adventurous tale, it is still lacking that level I like in my characters. There are certainly moments that pull at relatable strings for me, that's no problem, but there was so much more that could have gone into this movie to further sink the audiences' teeth and grip on to. There is potential for more, but unfortunately time and budge seemed to direct this movie away from the heartfelt moments one might enjoy in an animated feature.
Too Many Jokes? Yes, we've seen plenty of times where too many jokes in too short of a run time can lead to burn out, fatigue, and annoyance. Paws of Fury may have crossed the line several times with several styles for older audience members, though the little ones who are targeted will soak it all in and probably imitate their style. I'll admit that some of the younger jokes are lost on me, reminding me of Modern SpongeBob episodes that are no longer clever, but just stupid and lost on me. Fortunately, there are those more adult themed jokes that will help this limitation out for audience members. A win in my book
No Stakes or Edge: Disney has in the past put stakes into their journeys to make you sit on the edge of your seat, think Lion King. Paws of Fury again took the G rated approach and the stakes are practically absent in the presentation this movie chooses to have. It's not the worse, but you bet that there is not quite as on the edge moments as you might have liked to see, which again is great for more sensitive viewers, but for those looking for that bark and bite, don't expect any in this child targeted movie.
Some Moments Last Too Little: This goes for the action scenes and exciting challenges to the obstacles put before our heroes. Paws of Fury moves briskly, and because of the lack of edge, build up, and oomph, there are moments that just feel a bit too easy and short sighted in the long run of the movie. Certainly, the comedy helps with this, but again, in the art of storytelling it feels like this film is coming up short again on the full magic they could have obtained had they put a little more time and focus on it, giving you those climactic finishes, I come to expect in adventure movies like these.
The VERDICT:
Paws of Fury is a fun little distraction from the blockbusters that have come out the last few months. Geared towards a younger audience, it serves as a good introduction movie to a young viewer for various genres and gives them a taste of what the cinematic world has to offer. It's highlight for me were: the entertaining pace, the flowing animation, the references, and the comedy that was geared to me. These moments really show the potential of the series and the studio if they have more time and money to make the piece they want. However, the juvenile nature and fast pace also get in the way of the movie on many elements, including: suspense, adventure element, and story that sort of make this tale a blander film than you hope. Though I enjoyed my viewing in the theater, I believe this is another film meant for home viewing or going out with a group or family more than seeing in a small viewing party. My scores are:
Animation/Action/Comedy: 7.0 Movie Overall: 6.0.