Since its debut, PAW Patrol has become one of the world’s most successful children’s entertainment franchises. Its colourful characters, memorable catchphrases and exciting rescue missions have created generations of young fans. After spending a decade proving that rescue missions and life lessons can share the same screen time, now the franchise is going prehistoric, and bringing along one of its biggest celebrity voice casts yet.
The Story
The pups’ ship gets caught in a storm and crash-lands on an uncharted, dinosaur-filled island, the only place on Earth where dinosaurs never went extinct. There they meet Rex, a pup stranded on the island for years who’s become its resident dino expert and built himself a treehouse home. When archrival Mayor Humdinger shows up hunting for diamonds in the island’s cliffs, his reckless mining triggers a dormant volcano, and the PAW Patrol faces its biggest, most dino-sized rescue mission yet.
The Pups
Henry Bolan takes over as Ryder in his first-ever feature voice role, leading Carter Young as Marshall, McKenna Grace as Skye, the only pup performer reprising her role from The Mighty Movie, Lucien Duncan-Reid as Rubble, Rain Janjua as Chase, William Desrosiers as Rocky, and Nylan Parthipan as Zuma.
Joining them for the first time is Rex, voiced by Hayden Chemberlen in his acting debut. Rex is a Bernese Mountain pup who uses a wheelchair and becomes the team’s guide through the island’s dangers, Chemberlen, who also uses a wheelchair, has said the character’s athleticism and creativity feel personal to play, continuing PAW Patrol’s track record of writing disability into its heroism rather than around it.
The Dinosaurs
This is what sets the film apart from the previous two. The island is home to T. rexes, Triceratops, Stegosauruses and Brachiosauruses, with director Cal Brunker’s team consulting real palaeontologists to get how the animals move and hold themselves right, aiming for majestic over cartoonish. Two get real story roles: Rhubarb, a hatchling T. rex who becomes Marshall’s best friend on the island — designed, per Brunker, to be the “cutest dinosaur ever” with puppy-like mannerisms, the idea being what happens when a puppy gets a puppy of his own — and Timmy, a fully grown T. rex who’s Rex’s constant companion and ride around the island.
The Star Power
Ron Pardo returns as Mayor Humdinger, a role he’s voiced for 12 years across the series and now three films. Fresh out of jail, he recruits Harper Cutlass (Meredith MacNeill) and explosives expert Alistair Stonewall (Terry Crews) to help him mine the island’s diamonds. Elsewhere on the island: Jennifer Hudson as reporter Lilian Ledes, chasing the biggest story of her career; Fortune Feimster as Eugenia Bunsen and Jameela Jamil as Heidi Pothesis, both scientists studying the island’s dinosaurs; and Bill Nye, Paris Hilton (as Nancy) and Snoop Dogg (as Dave) rounding out the ensemble.
More Than Just Action
Beneath the spectacle, the film holds onto what’s made PAW Patrol a global phenomenon – teamwork, courage, kindness, and a readiness to help without hesitation, the same values that keep parents as invested as their kids.
Catch PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie in cinemas across India in English and Hindi from 21 August, and get ready for a roaring adventure the whole family can enjoy together.