PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie is Your Excuse to Go to the Theatre this Weekend

I cried during the first PAW Patrol movie. The 2021 film was the first movie I took my kids to see in theatres. It was after the pandemic had locked everyone away for months and my emotional state from watching my children miss many “normal” childhood experiences was wobbly at best. As an entertainment reporter and critic who has witnessed the transformative powers of a good show or movie, I was more jazzed than they were for the next two hours of their lives.

Cue the opening scene, in which a trucker dangles over a bridge and begs Cap’n Turbot to call the fire department, call the police, call somebody. But then the fisherman reaches for his phone and dials up Ryder and his best pup pals instead. The iconic theme song rolled and I lost it. I’m tearing up now recalling the memory. Such is the power of film.

Fast forward to today and the franchise’s anticipated sequel, PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie, is now in theatres. This time around, the action picks up in Adventure City, where a mad scientist named Victoria Vance (Taraji P. Henson) creates a meteor-attracting machine to draw in giant space rocks and harness their powers.

Of course things go drastically wrong and a meteor inflicts major damage instead, notably on the new sky-high Pup Tower that Ryder and the dogs — including first-film addition Liberty (Marsai Martin) — have been living in. The disappointment of their crushed living quarters is short-lived, however, when the dogs uncover meteorite crystals that give them heroic super powers.

It’s a fun play on pretty much all superhero movies as of late and gives the story enough distance from the first movie to feel unique and special. There are more action sequences and high-stakes scenes, which is a natural result of incorporating super powers into your narrative. Notably, the film also gives a hero’s journey to Skye (Mckenna Grace), the only original female pup of the bunch. (Everest continues to be absent in this movie, despite a snowy origins-story involving Skye and how she came to live with Ryder.)

Like the first film, there are also some good lessons to be learned for the wide-eyed kids tuning in. In the original movie, Chase had to overcome his fears in order to grow and save his friends. Here, Skye grapples with her small size and feelings of not being good enough. She feels like she has to work twice as hard as the other pups in order to achieve the same things, a smart storyline that younger kids will surely relate to.

The sequel also pushes further with the life lessons though, particularly as Skye realizes her own self-worth and contributions to the team as a whole. She learns that her superpowers are great, but they only magnify the amazing qualities she already possesses. It’s a lesson for all the pups, in fact, including the three new puppy trainees under Liberty’s care. There’s a reason Ryder always says “No pup’s too small,” and it’s definitely a driving theme as the movie unfolds.

Adults willing to bring their kids to the theatre to witness the spectacle won’t be disappointed either. There are plenty of celebrity cameos (Kristen Bell! Chris Rock! North and Saint West!) to appreciate, plus the double entendre jokes that most children’s films are smart enough to throw in for the adults. It all adds up to a familiar film with the characters kids know and love and a big story with new things to pick up on after repeated watches (because you know you’ll be watching this again once it starts streaming).

But PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie is also special and supersized in every way, which means you’ll want your kids to experience it in theatres. In other words, this is a movie event. And even though families have had many fun films to take in together since the original Paw Patrol reignited those family movie-going adventures in 2021, this franchise will always hold a special place in my heart.

PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie hit Canadian theatres on Thursday, Sept. 28.