Paramount Unveils Star-Studded, Fart-Fueled Trailer For ‘Paws Of Fury’

Paramount has dropped the trailer for Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank, a furry animated feature with a tumultuous past starring Michael Cera and Samuel L. Jackson. Originally announced in 2015 with a planned 2017 release, the film will now hit theaters on July 15, 2022.

The cgi feature, billed as a spoof on Mel Brooks’ classic comedy western Blazing Saddles, turns on an undersized pooch who rambles into a small village full of cats where he is recruited to take down a ruthless villain with designs on wiping the community off the map.

Rob Minkoff (The Lion King) and Mark Koetsier (story artist, Big Hero 6, Rumble) co-direct a screenplay from Ed Stone and Nate Hopper, with revisions by Robert Ben Garant and Minkoff. Minkoff, Adam Nagle, and Guy Collins produce with Alex Schwartz, Adrian Politowki, and Martin Metz on board as executive producers.

Joining Cera and Jackson in the stacked voice cast are Michelle Yeoh, Mel Brooks, Rickie Gervais, Aasif Mandvil, Gabriel Iglesias, Djimon Hounsou, Kylie Kuioka, and Cathy Shim.

Paws of Fury is presented by Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon Movies, Align, and Aniventure in association with HB Wink Animation and GFM Animation. It is a Flying Tigers Entertainment production in association with Cinesite.

The film has experienced a long and turbulent production and distribution history. It was originally announced in 2015 under the title Blazing Samurai, produced at Toronto’s Arc Productions before the studio suddenly shuttered in 2016, a year before the film was originally slated to hit theaters. In January 2022, Paramount acquired the movie from GFM Animation for North America and other key territories.