Paw Patrol: The Movie is a 2021 Canadian animated adventure comedy film based on the television series Paw Patrol created by Keith Chapman. It was directed by Cal Brunker, who co-wrote the screenplay with Billy Frolick and Bob Barlen, and features the voices of Iain Armitage, Marsai Martin, Yara Shahidi, Kim Kardashian, Randall Park, Dax Shepard, Tyler Perry, Jimmy Kimmel, and Will Brisbin. Several cast members from the television series also reprised their roles, such as Ron Pardo, Keegan Hedley, Lilly Bartlam, Kingsley Marshall, Shayle Simons, and Kim Roberts, with others joining the cast. In the film, Ryder and the Paw Patrol pups are called to Adventure City in order to stop the recently elected Mayor Humdinger from wreaking havoc.
Ronnen Harary announced that Spin Master Entertainment was "considering whether to extend the Paw Patrol franchise into feature films at some point in the next 12 to 24 months" in November 2017. Development began in February 2020, with Brunker attached to direct, and Barlen and Frolick attached to write the screenplay. Voice casting took place from October 2020 to May 2021. Production was done remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film was produced almost entirely in Canada; according to Brunker, "95 percent of everything" happened in Canada, with the exception being some audio recording.
Paw Patrol: The Movie premiered at the Vue West End in London on August 8, 2021, and was theatrically released in Canada on August 20, by Elevation Pictures and in the United States by Paramount Pictures. It was also made available on Paramount+ on the same day in the United States. The film received mixed reviews from critics and was a box office success, grossing $151 million against a budget of $26 million. A sequel, Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie was released in 2023, and a third film, Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie, was released on August 14, 2026.
Plot
After being called by Cap'n Turbot to rescue a truck driver who has crashed through a suspension bridge, the Paw Patrol receives a message from a dachshund named Liberty, who informs them that their arch-nemesis Mayor Humdinger has just taken over nearby Adventure City in a fixed election. Chase initially refuses to go, as he has PTSD from being abandoned by his original owners in the city when he was younger, but reluctantly agrees to go after Ryder assures him everything will be fine.
As Ryder and the pups settle into their new headquarters, Humdinger travels to a meteorology laboratory and commandeers a Cloud Catcher designed to suction up small clouds for research. Despite the warnings of head meteorologist Dr. Kendra Wilson, Humdinger uses the device to keep the city constantly free of rain. He later attempts to set off too many fireworks at once at a show, and the Paw Patrol, aided by Liberty, suit up to respond to the ensuing chaos.
During the response, Chase sees some citizens trapped on a balcony and parachutes down to rescue them, but he forgets to take off his parachute and gets blown over the railing by a wind gust, badly frightening him. The next day, Humdinger unveils a loop-the-loop extension he has designed for the local el train; the structure quickly breaks, leaving a train stranded upside down atop a loop. Ryder sends Chase up to a rooftop to zip-line across and rescue the passengers, but Chase freezes in panic. Skye rescues him, and Marshall saves the passengers instead.
After the train rescue, Ryder advises Chase to take a break. Chase angrily accuses Ryder of betraying his trust and giving up on him, and runs away. However, he is captured and taken to an obedience school converted into a dog pound. Liberty allows herself to be captured as well so she can speak with Chase and the other impounded dogs. The rest of the Paw Patrol follows Liberty, breaking into the pound and releasing the prisoners. As the other pups return to headquarters, Ryder takes Chase to the intersection where he had found Chase as a small puppy, and explains that he adopted Chase because he saw bravery in him.
Later, Humdinger reveals an extension he has added to the city's tallest skyscraper, putting his office at the very top. Kendra attempts to warn an indifferent Humdinger that the Cloud Catcher is being overworked and will soon dangerously malfunction. The machine goes critical, unleashing a hurricane on the town. Kendra calls the Paw Patrol to respond; they suit up, and Ryder names Liberty as their newest member and gives her a motor scooter to ride.
As the pups help the citizens take cover, Ryder ascends to Humdinger's office and convinces him to evacuate by getting on the elevator. Ryder manually releases the elevator cables to quickly lower Humdinger and his kittens to the ground; he attempts to rappel down after them, but the storm blows the tower extension into another building, trapping Ryder in the debris. Seeing the tower fall, Chase uses a special motorcycle with suction cup tires to ride up the side of a skyscraper, arriving at the gap where the falling tower split its neighboring building. After briefly freezing up again when he realizes he cannot use his grappling hook, Chase remembers Ryder's words about his bravery and takes a leap of faith across the gap, finding Ryder trapped in the rubble on the other side and freeing him. They hurry down to safety, while Skye sacrifices her helicopter to destroy the Cloud Catcher and end the storm.
Once the weather clears, Chase arrests Humdinger for gross negligence, public endangerment, and dognapping and he gets removed from office. The Paw Patrol is later given the key to Adventure City in a major ceremony held by Kendra and news reporter Marty Muckraker. As Ryder gives Liberty her own pup tag and collar to make her a true member of the team, one of the former pound dogs calls the team for help, and they happily depart for another rescue.
Voice cast Iain Armitage as Chase, a brave 7-year-old German Shepherd who serves as a police pup. Armitage found the role special and enjoyable. He said, "It's a new challenge because you don't get to convey anything with your body movements… that's all the animator's job," he then explained: "You can only use your voice to convey whatever you're trying to show. But it's really fun to do animation." Armitage replaces Justin Paul Kelly from the series. Marsai Martin as Liberty, a long-haired Dachshund who grew up and lives in Adventure City and a crowd dog who becomes the newest member of the PAW Patrol. Martin said this particular role was unique because it hits close to home. Martin expressed her feelings about her role, "She's so wild and a free spirit. She's so energetic and fun, and I feel like she'd actually make a perfect fit into the PAW Patrol because of how amazing and wild she is." Ron Pardo as: Mayor Humdinger, the Paw Patrol's arch-nemesis from Foggy Bottom who is elected the mayor of nearby Adventure City. Pardo said he drew inspiration for Mayor Humdinger's voice from mixing impressions of a Dudley Do-Right cartoon character with a well-known American entertainer from the 1930s-1950s. Cap'n Turbot, a sea captain and animal expert, and a close friend of the Paw Patrol. Pardo reprises both roles from the series. Yara Shahidi as Dr. Kendra Wilson, a scientist who works at a university. Kim Kardashian as Delores, a Poodle who is working at an animal shelter after being jailed in the Fuzzy Buddies obedience school. Kardashian said she was excited to voice the part, thrilled that her children now consider her a "cool mom". Randall Park as Butch, a burly man and one of Mayor Humdinger's security guards who attempt to keep the pups out of Adventure City. Dax Shepard as Ruben, a skinny man and another of Mayor Humdinger's security guards. On voicing his character role, Shepard stated that Paw Patrol "was the first show he was forced to watch after becoming a dad but admitted that he actually enjoys it", adding: "that earned him some serious cred with his kids". He concluded: "I get to reintroduce my kids to that experience of going to the movies that I valued so much growing up". Tyler Perry as Gus, a truck driver. Perry, on his role, saying that his 6-year-old son Aman is also thrilled that his father is involved in the film. "He loves Skye and Chase and Zuma. I know the theme song like the back of my mind," he stated in an interview. "...That's the reason I said yes. I really wanted to be a part of something that he could appreciate as much as I do." Jimmy Kimmel as Marty Muckraker, the wig-wearing news anchor of the Adventure City News Network. Kimmel also had trouble convincing his kids of his role in the film. "I have been telling them, trying to explain to them that Daddy's in the Paw Patrol movie," the late-night host jokes. "I'm hopeful this will make me a big shot, at least for a couple of days." Will Brisbin as Ryder, a 10-year-old boy who leads the Paw Patrol. Brisbin had to keep his role a closely guarded secret for some time, which he found difficult as his nine-year-old brother is a huge Paw Patrol fan. Brisbin replaces Beckett Hipkiss from the series. Keegan Hedley as Rubble, a determined 5-year-old English Bulldog who serves as a construction pup. He became the main comic relief character in the film as opposed to the series, so Hedley was encouraged to improvise during his recording. Hedley reprises his role from the series. Lilly Bartlam as Skye, a happy-go-lucky 7-year-old Cockapoo who serves as an aviator pup. Bartlam reprises her role from the series. Kingsley Marshall as Marshall, a loyal, but clumsy, 6-year-old Dalmatian who serves as a firefighting pup. Marshall reprises his role from the series. Callum Shoniker as Rocky, a clever 6-year-old mixed-breed dog who serves as a recycling pup. Shoniker previously voiced the Copycat from the Mighty Pups, Charged Up sub-series and replaces Jackson Reid from the series. Shayle Simons as Zuma, an energetic 5-year-old chocolate Labrador who serves as an aquatic rescue pup. Simons reprises his role from the series. Kim Roberts as Mayor Goodway, the mayor of Adventure Bay. Roberts reprises her role from the series. Paul Braunstein as a tough guy on a subway. Monique Alvarez as Carmen, a entrepreneur and the owner of a local bodega/grocery store. Neil Crone as Tony, the proprietor of the namesake of his grocery store. Jamillah Ross as a camerawoman working for Marty Muckraker. Josh Robert Thompson as the fireworks technician that Mayor Humdinger enlisted to pull off his fireworks show. Joe Pingue as Barney, an Old English Sheepdog and inmate at Fuzzy Buddies obedience school. Charles Gallant as Harris, an overweight Labrador Retriever and inmate at Fuzzy Buddies obedience school. Richard Binsley as Rocket, a Jack Russell Terrier and inmate at Fuzzy Buddies obedience school. Raoul Bhaneja as dad Saara Chaudry as daughter Five side characters from the series also make non-speaking cameo appearances in the film: Francois Turbot, Katie, Mr. Porter, Farmer Al, and Farmer Yumi.
Production Development In November 2017, Ronnen Harary confirmed that Spin Master was "currently considering whether to extend the Paw Patrol franchise into feature films at some point in the next 12 to 24 months". Animation tests were conducted in 2017 to measure how the characters "would translate onto the big screen" and the company developed a film script.
Development of the film was confirmed on February 21, 2020, with Cal Brunker attached as director while Spin Master Entertainment's president, Jennifer Dodge serves as the film's producer. Production was done in both the United States and Canada. On March 13, 2021, an exclusive first look of the film was shown during the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards 2021.