Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank

... to the point of stupidity. Really.

No, it is not a "ripoff of kung fu panda." China and Japan are actually different places with different cultures.

This was also not someone "ripping off" Mel Brooks. He directed it! He's in it! And the role he plays is the same one he plays in Blazing Saddles.

Because it IS Blazing Saddles. The writers of the original are even credited. Given how many American Westerns were redone Samurai movies, it's a pretty established pattern.

It's definitely got some tongue-in-cheek references. It has some jokes that (as Mel Brooks movies do) push the line. But it tells a good story and has solid voice acting, so I'm not sure where some of the complaints are coming from.

Good, simple story for kids. Not too much here, pretty typical, some funny moments. Some noteworthy voice actors, attractive animation and momentary touches on themes of accepting others' differences. Worth the watch, try it :)

It's a alright family film, few adult jokes in it as well. It's not the best kids film but worth a watch with the kids. My daughter was laughing throughout. Could of been better though. So wouldn't go out of my way to watch it again.

THINGS I LIKED: The fantastic voice talents include Michael Cera, Samuel L. Jackson, Ricky Gervais, George Takei, Aasif Mandvi, Gabriel Iglesias, Djimon Hounsou, and Michelle Yeoh.

The movie also includes the voice and talents of the legendary Mel Brooks. He's also one of the Executive Producers. In fact, the original movie was going to be a remake of his popular movie Blazing Saddles by calling this one Blazing Samurai, giving the writers of that movie screen credits in this one. Ultimately, it was decided to make this one more family-friendly. Adults will get a kick out of all his adult humor which will mostly fly over the heads of kids.

There were so many laugh-out-loud moments for me. The visual gags are just as hilarious as the spoken ones.

Bear McCreary offers some fun, original music.

The animation is gorgeous to look at with some truly stunning landscapes and impressive details.

When characters break the 4th wall, I'm always amused. Maybe I shouldn't be, but I am. The movie definitely has an awareness of itself.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: The story feels like a blend/rip-off of several movies at the same time, such as Kung Fu Panda and even The Three Amigos.

Some visual jokes fly by so fast that I wanted to hit pause many times just so I had enough time to soak in everything on the screen. That being said, not all of the jokes land.

It's pretty doggone predictable.

Some of the jokes are dated and inappropriate for a kid's movie.

For me, I quickly started losing interest in the tedious story in Act 1 but something happened and I really enjoyed Acts 2 & 3.

The name of the town "Kakamucho" sounds VERY Mel Brooks. In Spanish, it means "a lot of poop."

TIPS FOR PARENTS: Lots of fart jokes, as expected.

Some of the adult humor is quite...adult.

Animated violence

THEMES: Persistence Taking action on goals Friendship Working together Prejudice Power Believing in yourself Supporting others Hard work

We saw this without knowing anything about its long development cycle. Once we heard that Cera, Talal, Jackson, and Mel Brooks were in this movie we had to see it. And who in their right minds won't be charmed by animated cats and dogs?

The critics overthought this remake of Blazing Saddles. Filled with both sight gags and loads of pop culture references, in addition to all the Blazing Saddles humor (and probably some Spaceballs gags as well), this quick-cut, display animated comedy was funny from start to end credits.

We thought it was cute and a great break from the doom and gloom of daily life. We would see it again to catch the bits that went by so quickly we did not get all of them on the first viewing.