In this fun-filled family adventure, hard-on-his-luck hound named Hank (Michael Cera) finds himself in a town full of cats who need a hero to defend them from a ruthless villain’s (Ricky Gervais) evil plot to wipe their village off the map. With help from a reluctant teacher (Samuel L. Jackson) to train him, our underdog must assume the role of town samurai and team up with the villagers to save the day. The only problem… cats hate dogs!
For thoughts on Paws Of Fury: The Legend Of Hank, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:
Video Quality
Paws Of Fury: The Legend Of Hank comes to Blu-Ray with a sparkling 1080p transfer. From beginning to end, viewers are treated to a dazzling array of colors that are practically leaping off the screen with the wide range of hues saturating every inch of the frame. Black levels are very deep with no hint of compression artifacts or digital anomalies of the sort. There is a tremendous amount of care and detail put into every unique environment which really shines through here. The textures of these locations and the character designs are never less than impressive and give the film a real sense of depth. The character designs are carefully crafted and blend seamlessly with the world. Paramount has provided this film with a really gorgeous video presentation.
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray really surprises with a Dolby Atmos track that gives this kinetic film a fully immersive presentation. Dialogue comes through clearly without ever getting suppressed by the competing score or sound effects. The front channels command a lot of attention for the primary sounds, but activity kicks in to the surrounds and rears both in action-oriented bits and when establishing the environment. The addition of the height channels also opens up this world even further with some dynamic sounds soaring above. These speakers may not carry the main weight of the track, but it expands things nicely. The low end effects from the subwoofer give the dust ups that extra effort to dial up the fun. Atmospheric sound effects are rendered appropriately within the mix so that directionality is never an issue. The score complements the action well and flows through with impeccable fidelity. This track is really enjoyable all around. There are English, English SDH, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Thai, and French subtitles provided.
Special Features
- Cool Cats and One Hot Dog: The cast of the film discuss their characters and their motivations within the story in this nine-minute featurette.
- In The Drawing Room with Director Rob Minkoff: Rob Minkoff explains and shows a step by step guide on how to draw Hank and Jimbo in this 19-minute featurette.
- Giving Voice To Paws Of Fury: This eight-minute featurette shows the voice cast and crew discussing the process of recording for this film and behind the scenes footage of the recording sessions.
Final Thoughts
Paws Of Fury: The Legend Of Hank is not breaking any barriers within the field of animation, but it provides serviceable family entertainment where you tell that the creative team is attempting to inject some wit into the script and clever commentary on the tropes. The loose Blazing Saddles framework provides some fun for older audiences while not alienating the younger or unfamiliar set. The voice cast does some really fine work all around, and no one feels like they are phoning it in. This film has had a very rocky road to the big screen, but the end result is far from a mess. Paramount Home Entertainment has released a Blu-Ray featuring a magnificent A/V presentation and a few brief supplemental materials. This is not reaching the narrative heights of competing animation studios, but it gives you enough to be worth a watch. Recommended
Paws Of Fury: The Legend Of Hank is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Paramount Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.