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Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank | 2022 | PG | – 1.3.2
A dog (voiced by Michael Cera) dreaming of becoming a respected samurai, enlists the help of a once great samurai warrior (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson) to train him in order to defend a small town from being eradicated by a menacing, power hungry cat (voiced by Ricky Gervais). Also with the voices of Kylie Kuioka, Mel Brooks, George Takei, Gabriel Iglesias, Aasif Mandvi, Djimon Hounsou, Michelle Yeoh and Cathy Shim. Directed by Chris Bailey, Mark Koetsier & Rob Minkoff. [Running Time: 1:37]
Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank SEX/NUDITY 1
– Several cats kiss a dog on the cheek and flirt with him, swooning; one calls him “hot.” A giant cat hugs a dog and another cat and one cat calls the encounter a “bro fest.”
► Invading cats on horseback charge through a town and when they tear down a shower screen, a cat behind it screams (we see the cat wearing bikini underwear). A dog draws his sword and his robe falls off leaving him “nude.” A giant cat referred to as Sumo wears a belt around his waist and we see his fur covered buttocks.
Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank VIOLENCE/GORE 3
– Invading cats on horseback charge through a town, they tear down a shower screen and a cat behind it screams (please see the Sex/Nudity category for more details); others hold a cat up by the feet and punch her in the face repeatedly, two cats stretch another cat between them, a flaming arrow is shot toward explosives and a cat runs away with it. A samurai fights several others with swords, they fight, kick, shoot arrows and we see some struck and knocked down without blood. A flaming arrow hits a pile of barrels of TNT and they explode throwing many cats into the air with flames all around them; many other cats charge toward them and they fight.
► A town is attacked and we see flaming arrows stick into the side of a house, throwing stars also strike the building, other objects are thrown around and we hear cats yelling and see some running. A flashback shows a dog being bullied by other dogs until a samurai intervenes and fights the attackers with a sword, scaring them away. A giant cat eats a Gatling gun and spits out bullets toward enemy attackers. A cat describes losing his honor by killing a shogun’s relatives when he thought he was being ambushed; we see the scene after the attack and several cats lie motionless, presumably dead. A cat is shot by many bowmen shooting arrows at it; we hear it struck off-screen and it yells and falls. Many cats on horseback charge into a town, they lob flames onto structures and the townspeople run and scream; we see injured cats walking with crutches and being carried on stretchers after the attack. A dog and a cat fight with many armed guards; they swing swords and kick, a cat hisses at a dog and the dug growls and lunges at it later. A cat fights many other armed cats and we see him surrounded; a dog later talks about him having been killed. Many marauders arrive in a town on boats and run roughshod through a town destroying everything. A cat and a dog fight each other on the seat of a giant toilet; one ends up in the bowl swirling around when the toilet is flushed and the toilet spews torrents of water out of the bowl and the building, toward a town that would likely be washed away if the flooding is not diverted. Three kittens are washed away in flooding water, another kitten tries to help them and falls in also, and several others jump in after them and they are pulled out OK.
► A dog is shown facing a firing squad of bowmen; the execution is halted but one arrow is loosed and a cat catches it just before it hits the dog. A dog is shown shackled to the wall of a cell; he is taken out by guards and is prepared for execution (we see the executioner with a cover over his head and a large axe); the dog digs into the ground and gets away from the guards, sirens blare and cats chase him. A cat loads a gun and fires it just as a bird passes in front of him and the bird is struck. A giant cat rides a boar into a town; the cat is referred to as Sumo and when horses make fun of the boar, the cat punches one in the face knocking many more over like dominoes. A sword is thrown at a dog and a cat stops it with another sword.
► A giant cat terrorizes other cats in a bar, throwing things and cats around; a kitten with a sword faces the giant cat and slashes some of its fur from its abdomen and hits it in the nose with the sword hilt; a dog and another cat fight with the giant cat and the dog is thrown, slides across a bar top, gets stuck in a lampshade, is sat on by the giant cat and gets stuck between the cat’s buttock cheeks; the giant cat swallows an edamame (he is allergic) and he collapses unconscious (his face swelled earlier when an edamame got stuck to his cheek). Many cats charge a dog while yelling, “Kill him,” and “Tear him up”; the dog runs away and a cat knocks him unconscious with a wok, and many cats surround him and raise weapons toward him. A cat walks through a building and is dismissive about the work others are doing to prepare for an official visit; the cat says that nothing is good enough, he dumps a can of paint on one cat’s head, and he pushes another cat over a balcony and calls others names. Several characters are pinned under the letters of a large sign that fall on them; no injuries are evident.
► A few training montages show a cat training a dog in the ways of the samurai with the dog being struck with reeds, falling into a river, being slammed into a rock, falling off a wall and landing hard on his back; the dog practices shooting a rope attached to an arrow across a crevice and misses his target (he hits a cat in the shoulder once without blood). A cat destroys a model of a town and puts a structure in his mouth, chokes on it and spits it out. Cats scream and hide when a kitten runs through the town calling, “Stranger Danger,” when many armed cats on horseback charge toward them; a samurai mounts his horse and sweats as the invaders approach and he eventually runs away, leaving the town undefended. A dog accidentally hits himself in the head with nunchakus, crashes onto a table with tea service prepared and shatters the pot and cups. A giant cat is shown having an acupuncture treatment after an allergic reaction: a needle is placed in his shoulder and his arm swings, hits a dog and throws him into a boulder (he’s OK later). A cat installs a giant toilet and it later overflows; he orders others to “jiggle the handle.” A cat sitting on a stone in a sand garden stands up and turns away from the camera (we hear a zipper) as if the cat was using the sand like a litter box.
► A cat complains about being able to see a town full of other cats and wanting to evict them all and wipe them off the map. Signs are posted that read, “no dogs allowed.” A character says, “It feels right to hate,” and says that his family has always hated. Children paint an extra “o” on a sign that reads, “Pop.” A cat carries a small bird with a scroll in its mouth and spits it out to deliver a message (a tweet). A character says, “Cars and curiosity kill cats.” An introduction includes description of a time and a place where cats in a small village were threatened by invading armies and a samurai protected them.
► A dog says, “Someone just cut the cheese,” and a cat waves behind his tail as if he flatulated. A dog says, “I have to mark my territory” as he walks away from the camera and seems to be unfastening his pants (we do not see urine).
► Mother cats worry when their kittens touch a dog and one calls for them to use hand sanitizer; we see other mother cats licking their kittens’ paws clean. A cat burps loudly after drinking what he calls “catnip.” A pen splatters ink on a cat’s face. A dog pours an alcoholic beverage on a fire and it explodes charring the faces of the dog and a cat. Many cats eat a lot of beans and they later flatulate while standing in a crowd; some spray flames into the air.
Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank LANGUAGE 2
– 2 mild scatological terms, 1 mild anatomical term, name-calling (fools, evil doers, hairball of a town, fraidy-cats, bandits, greedy, barbarians, simpleminded twit, mother father cocker spaniel, scapegoat, selfish, glory seeker, sad, unhappy, morons, imbeciles, dog breath, dimwits, hornswoggles, runt, bad doggie, idiot, mean old lady, dummies, brainless, stupid, washed up loser), exclamations (stranger danger, peekaboo, oh my gosh, doggone it, ow, shut-up dog, what the flush). | profanity glossary |
Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank SUBSTANCE USE
– A cat drinks from a flask that contains a beverage that he has distilled in several scenes and he calls it “catnip.”
Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank DISCUSSION TOPICS
– Danger, samurai, greed, disappointment, hate, living up to an oath, controlling fear, patience, pride, success, failure, duty, celebrity.
Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank MESSAGE
– Everything is better when you work together toward a common goal.
(Note: A short called “Big Nate” preceding the feature includes several boys eating ice-cream and suffering from an “ice-cream coma” during which they imagine their hamster growing to enormous proportions, and complaining in a deep voice about one boy putting it in his pocket; the hamster jumps on a boy on the sofa and pins him, and then spurts out many baby hamsters, accompanied by flatulence sounds, filling the room; when the boys come back to real time, they are frightened when a blender is turned on and fear that the hamster has been ground up in it — it has not.)
CAVEATS
Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.
We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.
Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.
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