The PAW Patrol pups discover a mysterious island populated by dinosaurs. Mayor Humdinger goes to the same island and causes a volcano eruption. There are lots of fun, heroic rescues and encouragements about perseverance and hard work. The volcanic eruption and subsequent destruction could be intense for sensitive little ones.
If it’s a day that ends in “y,” you can bet that the PAW Patrol pups—Skye, Marshall, Rubble, Rocky, Chase and Zuma—are out offering help to anyone in need.
On this particular y-ending day, their human leader, Ryder, and his puppy pals are all aboard their large Sea Patroller when a call comes in. While out fishing and enjoying some vacationing sun, a family accidentally set their boat on fire. So the PAW Patrol swoops in, and before you can say “Woo-hoo!” they’ve taken care of the fiery problem and saved the family’s day.
Hey, it’s nothing out of the ordinary for the PAW Patrol.
However, the storm that follows is definitely not very ordinary at all. It blows in unexpectedly and pushes the Sea Patroller off course. And the unmapped, mysterious island that the PAW Patrol then discovers crosses over into extraordinary territory. For not only do they find a wheelchair-using pup named Rex living there, but they also realize that the island is populated by … dinosaurs!
Rex fills in the PAW Patrol and shows them around. It seems that the handicapped Bernese Mountain Dog has been on the island for more than two years since a similar storm stranded him there. He’s built an impressively massive treehouse, and he’s learned all he can about the dino residents. In fact, Rex’s good friend Timmy (a Tyrannosaurus rex!) helps carry him wherever he wants to go.
The PAW Patrol pups are beside themselves with tail-wagging joy. Not only is this island a paradise, but it’s a scientific discovery that may very well change the world. And when they let the scientific community know about it, everyone agrees.
Ah, but that’s when the other work boot drops.
Mayor Humdinger, the PAW Patrol’s old nemesis who is newly released from prison, was planning on going straight as an arrow after being locked up. But when he sees the news coverage and spots huge diamonds in the island’s background, his straight arrow days are quickly forgotten. Humdinger, his feline sidekicks and a couple of hired henchmen are soon island bound.
What do you want to wager that some heroic pups will have to save the day again pretty soon?
There are lots of heroic moments here where pups in rescue vehicles save dinosaurs, people and fellow patrol members. Marshall, the brave but clumsy firefighting pup, rescues, well, everyone by scaling a mountain and helping quench a lava flow that threatens sheltered individuals.
Marshall, however, also worries that his clumsiness and mistakes will someday hurt and disappoint others. Rex tells him, “Everyone makes mistakes when they’re learning something new.” And later Ryder tells him, “I don’t need you to be perfect, I just need you to give it everything you’ve got. … Once you set your mind to something, there’s nothing you can’t do.” And so, the movie encourages kid viewers that they don’t need to worry about being perfect, they simply need to keep going and do their best.
Other moments in the movie laud friendship and bravery. Rex, the handicapped pup, is shown to be cool and completely capable despite his limitations. There are frowns at being greedy. And there are a few positive environmental messages: “It’s amazing how much nature will give you if you know where to look,” Rex tells his new friends.
None, other than the inclusion of dinosaurs.
None.
A cat accidentally causes a fire onboard a large fishing boat, trapping a family. (The PAW Patrol rescues them.) Marshall enters a fiery passage below deck and chops down a door to rescue a stranded individual.
A massive storm tosses the PAW Patrol and their Sea Patroller ship back and forth in large roiling ocean waves. The ship ends up running aground on a mysterious island. Marshall then stumbles down in front of a Spinosaurus with long sharp teeth. But before the dino can gobble him up, he’s saved by an even larger T. rex that roars its disapproval and scares the smaller predator away.
We see a series of other small moments of danger, including a small dino and a rescuing pup getting washed over a waterfall, a Brachiosaurus falling and becoming wedged in a narrow chasm and an explosion causing a small stampede of frightened dinos.
However, it’s Mayor Humdinger who causes the greatest havoc. Humdinger and his thug crew find a large diamond wall that they try to excavate. Eventually they use an abundant amount of dynamite that not only crumbles the crystalline formation but causes seismic quakes that trigger a volcanic eruption. The resulting fiery lava and falling rock debris endanger everyone.
The hot lava melts vehicles and sets the jungle aflame. The pups come to the rescue, but Marshall is battered and knocked unconscious after a dangerous fall. (He gets up and continues his rescue efforts.) And the lava eventually endangers all of the island’s populace.
There’s no foul language in the story. However, there is a cat named “Mr. Fluffy Butt.” And someone declares, “You smashed that sucker up good!”
None.
There are a couple of dinosaur poo jokes in the story, but they’re not crude or offensive in nature. In fact, they’re more of a wink at someone being punished for their actions by being assigned to fertilizer-shoveling duty.
After getting out of prison, Mayor Humdinger declares that he’ll head in a new direction with his life: “No more lying, cheating or get-rich-quick schemes.” However, he almost immediately reverses this tack upon spotting an “easy” chance at great wealth. After a string of further bad decisions, one of Humdinger’s henchmen asks, “You think there’s a lesson here about not being too greedy?”
Over the course of 13 years, the PAW Patrol series has never waned in popularity. There’s just something about puppies helping others while piloting large emergency vehicles that kid viewers dig. Even TONKA trucks would have to tip their heavy-duty steel truck beds in recognition of that kid-pleasing record.
So it’s a given that kids and parents want the same sort of celebratory puppy pal moments and solid, kid-friendly encouragements when it comes to the movies they watch. There’s no need for gravel-in-your shoe irritations, piles of toilet humor or complex social issues in this firetruck mix.
Thankfully, the filmmakers behind PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie (the third of the PAW Patrol movies) are all in on those demands. They deliver in spades—and shovels, pick axes and winches, too. They throw in a mysterious island, dinosaurs and an erupting volcano just for fun—which offers lots of opportunities for barking comradery, heroic rescues and some solid lessons lauding perseverance, friendship and courage.
The only potential whimper warning here involves the fact that the volcanic eruption and some battered onscreen puppies might be a little intense for the more sensitive members of your littles litter. During the kid-packed screening of this film that I watched, I heard a few 4-year-olds’ exclamations. And one tyke loudly assured her parents with, “It’s OK. It’s not scary.”
By the end, though, the brave actions, fun rescues and happy ending won the day. And it will likely buoy your family trip to the movies as well.
After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.
