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    Movie Review

    Laziness dooms Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank to also-ran status

    Alex Bentley
    Jul 15, 2022 | 9:31 am
    Hank (Michael Cera) and Jimbo (Samuel L. Jackson) in Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank.play icon
    Hank (Michael Cera) and Jimbo (Samuel L. Jackson) in Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank.
    Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

    Live-action remakes are all the rage at Disney, which has dedicated itself to redoing all of its classic animated properties. But it’s not often you see the reverse — an animated remake of a classic live-action movie — and of all the movies you might think would be remade, one of the ones least likely to come to mind would be Mel Brooks’ 1974 black comedy, Blazing Saddles.

    And yet, that’s exactly what the new animated film Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank, tries to do, although the connection between the two films is tenuous at best. In the film, the narcissistic Ika Chu (Ricky Gervais) leads a land dominated by cats, one in which each town is protected by a samurai. One such town, which just lost its fraidy cat of a samurai, stands in the way a great view for Ika Chu, and he vows to eradicate it altogether.

    He attempts to make that easier by appointing a dog, Hank (Michael Cera), as the town’s new samurai, hoping the townsfolk will revolt against him. Naturally, everyone warms to him right away, especially after he earns an early victory with the help of an aging samurai, Jimbo (Samuel L. Jackson). Soon, Hank and the town prove to much more formidable than Ika Chu ever expected.

    Directed by a trio of filmmakers and boasting five credited writers (although three of them are the original Blazing Saddles writers), the film is one of the laziest mainstream animated films in quite some time. The film is full of cheesy one-liners, the breaking of the fourth wall on multiple occasions, and more that seem greatly out of place. What works in an adult-oriented comedy doesn’t fly in a kids movie because all of the bite is missing, leaving the jokes with no clear audience.

    The filmmakers and writers just don’t seem to know how to make a broadly entertaining film. There are several clumsy attempts at making the movie relevant, vaguely calling out actions of hate and/or racism, but they don’t land at all. They throw in lots of anachronisms, inserting modern-day aspects among the ancient days of the samurai, but those scenes mostly confuse matters.

    Worst of all is the storytelling decisions in general. If you didn’t know going in that it was based on Blazing Saddles, there would be little way to tell other than the presence of Mel Brooks in a small role. And the use of samurai instead of simply Old West figures is supremely odd, and in a way insulting, like they’re trying to steal from a culture they know nothing about. Perhaps they didn’t want to use guns, but writers who were more clever could have found a better way around this obstacle.

    It’s difficult to keep up with Disney, Pixar, Illumination, and the like in the animation field, but the work put forth in this film is still relatively shoddy. The characters look fine, but none of them are so appealing that you can’t wait for the film to get back to them. And the fine details like hair and water are noticeably lacking compared with the superb graphics other studios produce.

    The lackluster parts of Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank, including the story, the writing, the animation, and the presence of celebrity actors no kid could ever name, provide no good reason for its existence. Even kids are smart enough to know when they’re being served something mediocre, and this film is so subpar it doesn’t even qualify as that level.

    ---

    Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank is now playing in theaters.

    Hank (Michael Cera) and Jimbo (Samuel L. Jackson) in Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank.

    Hank (Michael Cera) and Jimbo (Samuel L. Jackson) in Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank
      
    Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures
    Hank (Michael Cera) and Jimbo (Samuel L. Jackson) in Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank.
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    This week's hot headlines

    Death of Dallas Caramel Company founder leads week's most-read stories

    Stephanie Allmon Merry
    Jun 14, 2025 | 10:00 am
    Dallas Caramel Company
    Dallas Caramel Company
    Dallas Caramel Company

    Editor's note: It was a newsy week in Dallas. Sadly, the founder of a Dallas sweets company passed away; there was also news of a new gourmet European market in the works and peach cobbler coming to DFW Airport. Here's a chance to get caught up on the week's most-read stories, and here's help planning a fun weekend.

    1. Dallas Caramel Company founder Rain McDermott dies at 52. Dallas entrepreneur Rain McDermott, who founded artisan caramel maker Dallas Caramel Company when she was only 34 years old, died after a battle with breast cancer; she was 52.

    2. Gourmet European Market to open in north Dallas with pierogi and more. A new food shop with a distinct European flair is coming to Dallas: Called Gourmet European Market, it's opening at 17435 Preston Rd., in a shopping center south of Frankford Road, where it will feature food products from all over Europe but with a special focus on the Eastern European countries of Poland, Germany, Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Israel, and Bulgaria.

    Gourmet European Market Polish gingerbreadPolish gingerbread at Gourmet European Market.Photo courtesy of GEM

    3. Chef and caterer opens Southern to-go cafe south of Dallas. A chef and caterer has opened an eponymous to-go cafe south of Dallas: Called The Cedric Frazier Experience, it’s an upscale soul food kitchen located at 103 Waller St., in Red Oak, where it opened on June 7.

    4. Dallas cuts slack on senior homeowners with new property tax exemption. Dallas seniors who own a home got cut a break: On June 11, the Dallas City Council approved additional property tax relief for senior and disabled homeowners by increasing the city’s property tax exemption for residents who are 65 or older or disabled.

    5. Peach cobbler concept to open 2 locations at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. Southern desserts are coming to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW): The Peach Cobbler Factory, a chain based in North Carolina, will open not one but two locations at the airport. The first DFW location will open in Terminal D in late 2025; a second location will open in the new Terminal C Pier in 2026.

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