PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie

Kids will enjoy this affable superhero sequel, even if parents check their phones

Any parent of young kids is familiar with PAW Patrol. What started off as a Canadian children’s cartoon more than a decade ago (created with the sole purpose to sell toys), has ballooned into a world-wide craze with more than $14 billion in toy/merchandise sales since 2014.

Two years ago, The PAW Patrol Movie came out as movie-goers were just returning post-pandemic and impressed with $144 million worldwide against a $26 million budget. So, inevitably, a sequel would be fast-tracked into production.

My four-year-old daughter Madeline and I have seen the first PAW Patrol movie many times on Paramount+ (I’m going to guess five or six at least) and so my little one was very excited to see the sequel in the movie theater. (She even received the massive Paw Patrol City Tower, a movie-tie-in toy for Christmas last year. She’s very familiar).

Before I get to my own thoughts on this movie that’s really not made for me, let me just say Madeline loved the movie. She was engaged the entire time and the content was totally appropriate for a child her age and included a positive message about believing in yourself. Great daddy-daughter time.

This PAW Patrol sequel focused on giving each member of the team superpowers, acquired from crystals found in a meteor. The plot is basically a remake of the six-part TV special, released on DVD as a movie, called “Mighty Pups.”

The first PAW Patrol Movie brought the cartoon pups from Adventure Bay to Adventure City and introduced a new female character, Liberty, a long-haired dachshund voiced by Masai Martin (of “Black-ish”), helping address the lack of female representation among the cast of characters. This is something my daughter has noticed as well, asking why Skye, and eventually Everest who was added in season 2, are the one girls in PAW Patrol. Interestingly enough, Everest, the female snow dog, is left out of both movies.

Fortunately, in PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie, Skye and Liberty take center stage with both sub-plots focusing on them. This time, they recruit big-name Hollywood teen star McKenna Grace (Gifted, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Captain Marvel) to voice Skye, as the diminutive cockapoo grapples with insecurity from being the smallest member of the rescue team. She’s really the main character in this one.

TV series bad-guy Mayor Humdinger returns in the sequel and provides the only lines that adults might laugh at, but his screen-time is decreased from the previous movie as a new villain, mad scientist Victoria Vance, voiced by Oscar-nominee Taraji P. Henson, hatches a plan to steal the super crystals of the PAW Patrol. Besides desiring superpowers, we aren’t ever really sure what the motivations are for this thinly-drawn antagonist. But let’s not analyze the plot too much. This isn’t top-notch writing.

As a parent, the first movie entertained me a little more because the smarminess of Humdinger is mildly amusing. The sequel had less appeal to me, but neither movie is something I’d ever watch without my child present.

I probably laughed the loudest during the movie when my daughter made her comments. When the PAW Patrol tower was destroyed by a meteor (I’m sorry for the spoiler, you’ll be OK), my daughter loudly said, “They can just build a new one!'“ and the adults in the audience laughed. She’s right though. Where does Ryder, this elementary-aged kid, get all the money to build these elaborate headquarters and massive vehicles for these dogs? Did they ever explain that?

Side note: For adults who love seeing things ironically, the internet has suggested a double-header similar to Barbenheimer. This time you’ll see both new movie this week: Saw X and this Paw Patrol sequel. They’re calling it Saw Patrol, but I didn’t think my four-year-old was up for that… yet. I’m sure when she’d old enough she’ll have some great comments.