Well I didn’t see that one coming. Who remakes a zany comedy? And sets it in feudal Japan for good measure? Odd as it may seem, it’s fairly clear that Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank took its basic plot from Blazing Saddles of all films. It even accentuated certain similarities like giving the role of Shogun to (screenwriter for both films) Mel Brooks.
Did he just say, “it’s good to be the Shogun?” That’s a different film, Mel.
Lieutenant Shogun Ika Chu (voice of Ricky Gervais) –that’s almost clever, no?- is a figurative fatcat in a literal land of all cats. His palace overlooks the aesthetically-challenged village of Kakamucho – again, that’s almost clever, I guess- so his plan is to drive the citizens out so he can level the town and improve his view. First, he gets rid of the local samurai. When the villagers petition for a replacement, Ika Chu selects a talentless dog in order to get citizens so disgusted they will leave.
The dog, Hank (Michael Cera), becomes the plot, which is a shame, because I can’t say I ever warmed to Hank. At first, Hank comes off as too humble; his skill set in non-existent, hence he has to be trained by obese, over-the-hill ex-samurai, Jimbo (Samuel L. Jackson) – who is named such so that the screenplay can make several “Yojimbo” jokes; that’s almost clever, too, no? Then Jimbo defeats the Mongo character –I did say this was a Blazing Saddles remake, right?—Hank takes credit for Jimbo’s victory and it goes directly to his head. The only dog in a world of cats behaving like he deserves celebrity – now there’s a subplot nobody will enjoy … but it did lead to some almost clever origami.
In case you hadn’t noticed, there’s a lot of “almost clever” in this film. There’s also a bit of bathroom humor led by the 
giant jade toilet in Ika Chu’s palace. “Did you jiggle the handle?” is a phrase that comes up multiple times. And while there’s a protagonist I really didn’t care for, I did like Samurai Cat Sam Jackson and a few of the minor characters. One standout moment late in the film finds Hank forcibly separating from his mentor while yelling: ”You can’t die! Our issues aren’t yet resolved!” How do I feel about this …? Almost clever.
There isn’t a reason to remake Blazing Saddles. It’s silly to think that will fly even if you animate it and set it all-cat feudal Japan. If you’re considering seeing Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank, but you haven’t seen Blazing Saddles yet, go watch Blazing Saddles. But, if you have seen Saddles already, you can do worse than this poorly titled and almost clever remake.
A canine sent to save a habitat
Turned out, in fact, to be “not all that”
His demeanor ineffective
And combat skills defective
But in the end, he also made a lousy cat
Rated PG, 98 Minutes
Director: Chris Bailey, Mark Koetsier, Rob Minkoff
Writer: Ed Stone, Nate Hopper, Mel Brooks
Genre: Kung foolishness
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Are you in a mood for silly?
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: “One bathroom joke too many”
