Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie (U)

Ryder and PAW Patrol pups Chase, Marshall, Rocky, Rubble, Skye and Zuma are caught in a mysterious storm and their ship crash-lands on a tropical island filled with prehistoric beasts. A dino-expert pup named Rex befriends the stricken team and helps them to navigate this lost world. Mayor Humdinger seizes the opportunity to mine the island for its natural resources and his greedy actions cause a dormant volcano to erupt, endangering all life.

LondonNet Film Review

PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie (U) Film Review from LondonNet

No dino is too big, no pup is too small in a supersized feature film extension of the hugely popular PAW Patrol children’s TV series, which goes for a fast-paced gallivant in the Jurassic park by uncovering a hidden island populated by living, breathing prehistoric creatures. Director Cal Brunker and co-writer Bob Barlen don’t waste energy contriving a pseudoscientific explanation for the hulking beasts’ existence when a lean 88-minute running time can be devoted to rip-roaring adventure on four and two legs…

Ryder (voiced by Henry Bolan) and Paw Patrol pups Marshall (Carter Young), Chase (Rain Janjua), Rocky (William Desrosiers), Rubble (Lucien Duncan-Reid), Skye (Mckenna Grace) and Zuma (Nylan Parthipan) safely extinguish a fire on a boat, rescuing a family of four and their ungrateful pet cat Mr Fluffybuns. The jubilant team sail on their floating HQ into a gathering storm that causes instruments on the bridge to malfunction. As a swirling fog lifts, the ship runs aground on an island that doesn’t exist on any map. This lush oasis is filled with wonders long thought extinct, including herds of Brachiosaurus and Spinosaurus and a playful T-rex named Timmy, who acts as a steed for shipwrecked pup Rex (Hayden Chamberlen).

He has been trapped on the island for two years and 147 days and is delighted to welcome fresh, furry faces to his treehouse. Scientists including Heidi (Jameela Jamil) and Eugenia (Fortune Feimster) from the Paleontology Studies Institute flock to the island to protect the dinosaurs’ verdant ecosystem. However, avaricious Mayor Humdinger (Ron Pardo) plots to mine the island’s uncut diamonds with the help of guide Hunter Cutlass (Meredith MacNeill) and explosives expert Alistair Stonewall (Terry Crews). “When in doubt, we blast it out!” whoops Alistair, planting 1,000 sticks of dynamite that carelessly coax a dormant volcano back to life.

PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie is the most exciting and entertaining chapter of the tail-wagging saga to date with kinetic action sequences and sweet sentiment as Marshall learns the value of being the team member who never gives up. “Sometimes I think you’d be better off without a clumsy pup like me,” he laments in a moment of crippling self-doubt. Cue a gooey flashback to justify the firefighting hound’s promotion to lead canine for this expedition.

Brunker and Barlen’s script keeps a tight leash on character development besides Marshall, but gentle humour consistently raises a smile. “I’m a bulldog and this is as fast as I can go,” wheezes and puffs poor Rubble as the team races through the jungle to avoid a rampaging predator. The Dino Movie learns from the best – Toy Story 3 – about how to engineer jeopardy in a fiery final sequence and venerate courage and tenacity. To quote Ryder: buckle up pups!

– Sarah Lee