PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie

Movies, like all stories, can help children process the world around them as well as the internal world they face every day. In PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie, this emotional guidance is a complicated bag, couched in an animated superhero arc for the fuzzy crime fighters. The result is a pleasant enough experience, with a surprisingly stacked cast and solid animation.

Skye (Grace), a cockapoo who serves as the aviation expert for the pups of PAW Patrol, is dealing with some insecurities. She’s always been the smallest of the group and she’s worried and wants to prove her worth to the team. When a mad scientist who refutes the label speeds up a meteor crash in Adventure City, the pups get superpowers from it. Finally, Skye might have her chance to show everyone she has what it takes to be a valuable member of the team.

The sequel to 2021's PAW Patrol: The Movie, this movie smartly decides to focus on one character from the squad, giving the movie a chance to explore the emotional territory it wants to through Skye. It does a pretty fair job at this, with Skye making some questionable choices as the film goes on, but remaining empathetic to her plight. It also walks a weird line between empowerment and the “pull yourselves up by your bootstraps” mentality. Skye, speaking about her experience as the runt of her litter and how she got out to join the PAW Patrol, simply says, “I had to do better for myself.” It’s an unsettling line that made me think about how we broadcast the messages we want to tell our children about their complex emotional lives. When Skye says this, will they interpret it as believing in themselves so much they can achieve their goals? Or will they be tougher on themselves?

Existential emotional questions aside, the animation is well done, colorful, and enjoyable enough to keep kids and adults suitably happy. It’s also quite funny and smart about how it uses its ensemble cast (Kardashian and a host of other familiar and new voices do great work). Notably, Taraji P. Henson as new villain Dr. Victoria Vance seems to be having great fun leaning into a goofy mad scientist role.

Overall, PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie has enjoyable moments children and adults will enjoy, but also poses big questions and complicated ideas about personal growth and achievement. If you go watch it with a small child, encourage some discussion after and see how they felt about Skye’s journey. Movies are one way of helping children (and adults) process feelings, but talking it out can help even more.

In theatres, PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie is paired with an equally cute and fun Dora the Explorer short that showcases the colorful and magical world of alebrijes (colorful renderings of Mexican fantasy creatures). It’s a cute and colorful aperitif to take in before diving into the world of PAW Patrol. It’s also always fun to hear a full theatre of kids and adults getting wrapped up in the action and keeping Swiper away with some magic words.