‘Paw Patrol: The Movie’ enlists Kim Kardashian, Tyler Perry and Jimmy Kimmel
“Paw Patrol’s” tech-savvy Ryder and his CGI-animated team of pups are heading to the movies — and Kim Kardashian West is coming along for the ride.
Marshall, Rubble, Chase, Rocky, Zuma and Skye (yeah!) are making their feature-length film debut in “Paw Patrol: The Movie,” a co-production from Spin Master Corp., Nickelodeon Movies and Paramount Pictures with a star-studded voice cast that will bring Nick Jr.’s heroic canines to life.
Kardashian West, the reality star-turned-beauty mogul whose brood is a fan of the series, will be joined by Iain Armitage (“Young Sheldon”), Will Brisbin (“Forbidden Playground”), Jimmy Kimmel, Marsai Martin (“black-ish”), Randall Park (“Fresh Off the Boat”), Tyler Perry, Yara Shahidi (“black-ish”) and Dax Shepard (“Bless This Mess”).
Members of the current cast will be heavily featured in the movie, while Kardashian and the majority of the cast announced Thursday will portray new characters created specifically for the film, a representative for Spin Master told The Times. Those characters will be announced at a later time.
The film all but solidifies the franchise’s future after “Paw Patrol” — namely its police-dog character Chase — became a flashpoint for controversy over the summer.
After Nickelodeon put out a statement aligning the network with the Black Lives Matter movement, activists called for the cancellation of the series for glorifying the good-cop archetype (in the same vein as “Cops” and “Live P.D.”). The series was not canceled, despite White House press secretary Kaleigh McEnany’s false declaration that it was nixed as a result of “cancel culture.”
Longtime “Paw Patrol” animation director Cal Brunker will helm the new film, which is set for release in August 2021. The project is currently in production with cast and crew working remotely, Deadline reported. Production is said to be proceeding on schedule despite the pandemic.
The film, billed as “the biggest ‘Paw Patrol’ story ever,’ follows Ryder and the pups to Adventure City, where they’re called to stop Mayor Humdinger “from turning the bustling metropolis into a state of chaos.”
The preschool series debuted in 2013 and quickly became one of Nickelodeon’s most popular franchises. It was renewed for an eighth season in February and focuses on a curriculum that highlights citizenship, social skills and problem-solving.
More to Read
Only good movies
Get the Indie Focus newsletter, Mark Olsen's weekly guide to the world of cinema.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.