Oh, thank GOD, the puppy-based Village People have returned. And they have a bone to pick (or gnaw on as the case may be). Unfortunately, while this particular bone ought to be fossilized and millions of years old, it isn’t. And our perpetually adolescent intrepid thumb-challenged heroes have stumbled upon Dino Island, which apparently exists, and is thirty minutes from the mainland, tops. Pretty convenient, huh?
How did a nearby island with living dinosaurs go unnoticed by the Adventure Bay population? Beats me, but these guys clearly have their own issues as they’ve left all the social services of the entire city up to seven puppies and a ten-year-old kid. And, as all the social service entities in question are on Dino Island, I guess nobody gets any emergency attention this week. Good luck if your house is on fire, citizens.
The film begins with a rescue out on sea. Animated Snoop Dogg is fishing when his pet cat starts a fire. Oh, those cats. KnowhatI’msayin’? The admittedly clumsy Dalmatian pup Marshall manages to save the cat from the burning boat … but his adventure is just beginning, for Marshall and his unsure behavior become the major non-dinosaur focus of PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie.
Lost in a storm following the rescue, PAW Patrol discovers an uncharted isle. And, check it out, dinosaurs. The setting seems dangerous in a very Jurassic-like way for about 20 seconds, and then we’re introduced to an 8th pup, a paraplegic named Rex, who saves the day calvary-style riding in on his pet Tyrannosaur, Timmy. Hard to be afraid of a T-Rex named “Timmy.”
Whereas another movie … or, literally, any other movie, might see danger in the dinosaurs themselves, PAW Patrol took a different tack. I’m guessing the producers did not wish to scare their audience, which is honorable, sorta, in the same honorable sorta way PAW Patrol itself inures small children to authoritarianism. Geez, why didn’t we think of sugar-coating all adult institutions in pre-pubescent animal cartoon form? Imagine pre-k TV shows like “Baby Bear Banking” and “Li’l Llama Legal” Regardless of reason, the dinos on Dino Island are -for the most part- ridiculously docile. And the film in need of a villain resurrected the Mayor from the last film.
Oh, Mayor Humdinger, when will you learn? And how long is he serving the city, anyway? When does his term end? Hmmm. If every social service is handled 
by a kid and a bunch of puppies, I doubt they’ll ever get to an election; Humdinger might just be mayor for life. Bottom line is this film already so much fabrication, and still felt a need to make more. I mean, sure, this is an entire society in which all rescue and social services are taken care of by puppies … and they landed on a island filled with living dinosaurs, but let’s give ‘em a villain, anyway. Psst. Mayor Humdinger; the island is full of raw diamonds!
PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie came with two very important messages: don’t give up and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Yeah, there are all sorts of poor messages to take from this film, like ignoring the problems of a city (i.e. your job) to do your own thing for a while (that’s very Trump-like, huh?) and to exploit any new discovery for your own purposes (also very Trump-like), but we can excuse the latter because the pups have “good intentions,” I suppose. The important thing is that the stated messages for children watching are better than the unstated messages, making this movie palatable for me the first time through. I cannot guarantee palatability for successive times.
In a world where pups rescue all
A new island begins to enthrall
For dinosaurs inhabit
Most tame as a rabbit
Cuz otherwise, there’s a lesson to recall
Rated PG, 88 Minutes
Director: Cal Brunker
Writer: Cal Brunker, Bob Barlen, Keith Chapman
Genre: Movies parents will loathe sooner or later
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Your PAW Patrol addicted child
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Their parent and/or guardian
