A new trailer is out for Paramount and Nickelodeon’s decade in the works animated comedy film Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank starring Michael Cera and Samuel L. Jackson. This new look at the upcoming film puts greater emphasis on the action that’ll take place in the film, pitting Hank (Cera), his mentor (Jackson), and the rest of the town against an unrelenting army. It also doesn’t shy away from a menagerie of movie references, bringing up everything from Star Wars to Apocalypse Now.
Paws of Fury elicits the obvious comparisons to Kung Fu Panda with an unlikely mammalian hero looking to become a warrior of legend. The film follows the tale of a dog named Hank whose hard luck days living in a bad part of town inspired his dreams of becoming a samurai. He finds himself now in a town full of cats, looking for a mentor to teach him the ways of the samurai only to become the town’s protector when a villainous cat (Ricky Gervais) threatens their existence. With the townsfolk by his side and an old samurai who reluctantly steps in to make sure he’s up to the task, Hank must finally become the hero he’s always wanted to be, even if it means saving a whole village of dogs’ worst nemeses.
This new trailer opens up with an ominous warning that something big is coming. Rather than it being a massive T. Rex or Godzilla though, it’s merely a very big cat that has the townsfolk scared stiff. With nobody willing to stand up to this tough customer, Hank is relegated to savior and asked to confront him, though, as seen in the previous trailer, it doesn’t go well. We then get another look at Hank’s bumbling “training montage” before jumping into some larger-scale action that sees more of the town, not just Hank, fighting off a massive army under the command of the villainous Ika Chu which all provides some nice well-animated combat and slapstick fun. Closing it out, Hank and Ika Chu do battle, only for the villain to utter Darth Vader’s famous “I am your father” line in an attempt to throw him off and show just how much work his focus needs.
Paws of Fury boasts a loaded cast beyond the comedic duo of Jackson, Cera, and Gervais with Michelle Yeoh, Mel Brooks, Gabriel Iglesias, George Takei, Djimon Honsou, Kylie Kuioka, Cathy Shim, and Aasif Mandvi making up the core of the film. Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies teamed up to make the film a reality, though that was easier said than done considering its long stint in development hell. Originally conceived by Sony Pictures Animation’s Yair Landau back in 2010 under the title of Blazing Samurai, it endured numerous announcements and delays before finally, mercifully, landing smack in the middle of Summer 2022’s film lineup with a star-studded lineup.
A solid directing trio is at the helm of the film of the film too, with The Lion King director Rob Minkoff joined by Mark Koetsier, who worked in the animation department for Kung Fu Panda and Big Hero 6, and Kim Possible director and producer Chris Bailey. Writers for Paws of Fury include Ed Stone, Nate Hopper, and Norman Steinberg, the latter of whom wrote for the film’s inspiration Blazing Saddles.
Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank comes to theaters on July 15.
