Samouraï Academy

I was surprised to see that the Minions outdrew this movie by over 3-1 average per theater so I went to see for myself. Unfortunately, it's a bit stale and uneven. The jokes are Mel Brook-ish and dated so I'm not sure if the kids get it. A few childish tantrums scenes that could have been better written really didn't add to the movie. Storyline execution aside, the voices were good. Samuel, Ricky and George (when given a chance) Ricky were standouts. Sorry for the low rating but Bob's Burgers and The Minions really raised the bar so if you know going in that this movie is a notch below, you'll be OK as your expectations will be met. It's still a nice time out.

... 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.

A hard-on-his-luck hound 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 and surprising beginner must assume the role of town samurai and team up with the villagers to save the day. As Hank, a sympathetic and friendly dog with a head full of dreams about becoming a samurai, sets off in search of his destiny. The only problem... cats hate dogs. Prepare to crack up !. Next summer the fun rises in the east !. Underdog to Top Dog !. Time to mark some territory !. Excitement never ends !. Where else?

This wacky Samurai spoof is packed with lots of silly laughters and great entertainment and fun. The film is an adaptation of Mel Brooks' classic Blazing Saddles in which Hank, a dog destined to become a samaruai, decides to defend the village of Kakamucho from an evil villain who wants Esatt to disappear. In fact, the movie lifts the script and various jokes from ¨Blazing Saddles¨ and puts a more family-friendly spin on them. With attractive voces from Michael Cera as Hank and Samuel L. Jackson as his trainer. Also starring Mel Brooks, George Takei, Aasif Mandvi, Gabriel Iglesias, Djimon Hounsou, Michelle Yeoh, Kylie Kuioka, and Cathy Shim. Hank is a puppy with everything to lose in this city dominated by cats where his presence is not welcomed. The film moves from the American West to feudal Japan, turning Mel Brooks' original Western into an animated samurai movie. And taking lines and plots from other stories as "History of the World Part 1", ¨Men in Tights¨, ¨Karate Kid¨, ¨The good , the bad and the Ugly¨ and Samurai movies as ¨Yojimbo¨ or ¨Seven samurai¨. This is a tribute to Japanese culture that goes back in its setting to the classics of the filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, as well as the Spaghetti subgenre. Turning out to be an animated situation comedy that bases its humor on the clichés of cats and dogs, while making numerous nods to the great classics of cinema and using different animation techniques to tell this fun story.

It displays a lively and enjoyable score by Bear McCreary. Produced by the incombustible Mel Brooks and written by Mel himself along with Nate Hopper, Norman Steinberg, Andrew Bergman, being efficiently directed by Chris Bailey, Mark Koetsier, Rob Minkoff. The latter , Rob Minkoff, is a successful filmmaker with several hits, such as: The Lion King, Haunted mansion, The Forbidden Kingdom, Stuart Little I and II, Adventures of Peabody and Sherman, Flypaper and Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank(2022). Rating: 6.5/10. Well worth watching.

Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank (2022) was not great, but it was not awful. I do know that this movie is a child friendly remake of Blazing Saddles (1974) just with samurais, which Is weird.

The voice acting was good like Michael Cera and Samuel L. Jackson, and the animation was not that bad because it had some nice backgrounds with some nice visuals.

There are small funny scenes I laughed at, but most of the jokes are for kids to laugh at. There are some unexpected scenes that happen in the movie that I thought was funny at times.

The action scenes are fast moving and there are references to other movies that can be funny but unnecessary. The references will be funny mostly to parents who take their kids to see this movie.

There are mostly jokes that are not funny, the main villain is not in the movie that much, and the evil plan for the villain is stupid. I am not the target audience for this movie, but this is a quick movie for kids and adults to watch that will not hurt anyone.

If you're wondering where the title "Paws of Fury" comes from, then you're not a Bruce Lee fan. Arguably Bruce Lee's best movie was 1972's "Fist of Fury." Since then there's been "Blind Fury," "Balls of Fury," and now "Paws of Fury."

In a land where everyone was cats, an evil governor named Ika Chu (Ricky Gervais) wanted to make a huge impression on the Shogun (Mel Brooks) during his visit. To do that he wanted to totally eliminate a small village. He had to make sure that in eliminating the village he was not implicated. His hopes were that by providing the village a terrible samurai (because it was his duty to provide the village with a samurai) he could then use a secret army of samurai to lay waste to the village with little resistance.

For the job of samurai he chose Hank (Michael Cera), a dog who was on his way to being executed because no dogs were allowed in that land.

Hank didn't know the first thing about being a samurai. In fact, he'd come to that land to learn how to be a samurai. Ika Chu saw his plan's success in Hank. He would let him go free to be the samurai of the village.

Hank found a teacher in Jimbo (Samuel L. Jackson), though Jimbo was very reluctant to take on the teacher role. Jimbo would have to train Hank enough in order for him to save the village from the impending attack that Ika Chu would send.

"Paws of Fury" falls into the plot category of about 80% of animations: embracing differences. With Hank being the only dog in the land, everyone hated him and wanted him gone or dead. The unfortunate lesson of this animation is that Hank had to prove himself worthy of being embraced. In other words, if he couldn't help the town, then the town would go on hating him simply because he was a dog.

That's not to say that the movie wasn't good or entertaining. It was funny and had its moments. You could see Mel Brooks' mark on the movie with the characters frequently breaking the fourth wall. For instance, I know that the movie was only 85 minutes because Jimbo mentioned that they only had a total of 85 minutes to get the job done.

Rounding out the stars who lent their voices were George Takei, Gabriel Iglesias, Aasif Mandvi, Djimon Hounsou, and Michelle Yeoh. "Paws of Fury" isn't going to knock your socks off, but it will easily entertain you and your kids.