PAWS OF FURY: THE LEGEND OF HANK

Setting the story in an eastern cat world mostly works, the characters are well-designed and with its brisk runtime you never feel like you are wasting too much time on a trifle like Paws of Fury.

I've never found Blazing Saddles to be the comedy classic that a lot of people seem to think it is, so I went into Paws of Fury, an animated update of the Mel Brooks film, with pretty low expectations. Yet while the movie indulges too much in basal humour, there is plenty I enjoyed in Paws of Fury.

Setting the story in an eastern cat world mostly works, the characters are well-designed and with its brisk runtime you never feel like you are wasting too much time on a trifle like this. Sure, the narrative is something you've seen a million times before and the villain's evil plan never makes sense, but there are enough small touches of creative invention sparkled throughout the picture to keep you entertained for most of the time.

However, in a couple of flashbacks (and the opening credits sequence) that involve different animation styles, you sense that more could have been done to make sure that the mostly generic Paws of Fury truly would have stood out amid the field of current animation releases.

release: 2022

director: Rob Minkoff, Mark Koetsier, Chris Bailey

starring: Michael Cera, Ricky Gervais, Mel Brooks, Michelle Yeoh, Samuel L. Jackson