Review: Paw Patrol: The Movie (2021)
Every time I watch the Paw Patrol defending the status quo (and with a three-year-old and a five-year-old, there’s a non-zero chance pretty much every week), I’m reminded of a saying I’ve seen floating around the internet in different forms: don’t trust a man who dislikes cats, especially if he likes dogs, ’cause that’s a man who wants obedience and control. Sure, it’s dating advice for the app era of love, but I’ll be honest, I trust Ryder, the humanoid automaton leading the Paw Patrol, about as far as I can throw him. And since he’s probably a robot, that’s not very far.
Anyway…
In Paw Patrol: The Movie, our heroes and their leash holder are called from Adventure Bay (where everyone knows them) to Adventure City (where no one knows them, even though they still sell enough merchandise to get Batman amounts of wealth) because Mayor Humdinger, their eternal nemesis and outspoken cat lover, won the election. Apparently, the Paw Patrol has some outspoken political opinions. And judging from the lavish new headquarters they get in the city, it’s clear they’re not part of the 99%. Besides, there are no other emergency services in Adventure City, and privatizing those is an extreme standpoint, even for the American right. But apparently, that’s where we’re at.
Anyway…
The pups are called to the city by a charming street pup called Liberty, who clearly bought into the American dream. And you know what, by the end of the movie, she is indeed inducted into the elite club. They even give her a rocket-powered Vespa (let’s forget for a moment that snitchy cop dog Chase gets a sports car that transforms into a tank, which is wholly unnecessary, but I guess we expect our cops to drive around in war machines in this day and age). All she has to do is accept to be collared and submit to their eternally cheerful and eternally creepy master. Wait, is the subtext that Ryder has a bisexual furry harem? I don’t know if that’s weirder than dogs driving cars and flying planes, or the fact that they have voice command technology that works flawlessly in high stress and noise situations. But clearly, kids’ TV has issues…
Anyway…
I’m probably reading too much into it. My kids liked it, I stayed awake and it was competently made, I guess, but not exactly aiming high.
