History WesternAnimation / PawsOfFuryTheLegendOfHank

* TheHero: Hank is the protagonist, and the whole movie is about him becoming a heroic samurai.

* ButForMeItWasTuesday: A heroic example. Getting saved from a gang of thugs by a samurai was a pivotal moment in Hank's life. For [[spoiler:Jimbo]], he was just being a good samurai performing his duty to protect the weak even while abroad. He was also a bit sauced at the time, so his memory of the event is hazy.

The film also stars Creator/MelBrooks as Shogun, Creator/GeorgeTakei as Ohga, Creator/GabrielIglesias as Chuck, Creator/DjimonHounsou as Sumo, Creator/MichelleYeoh as Yuki and Kylie Kuioka as Emiko.

* KeepTheReward: [[spoiler:At the end of the film, the shogun offers Hank the reward of a brand-new samurai sword. But Hank refuses, since his training with Jimbo isn't finished. Hank decides instead to give the sword to Emiko.]]

[[NamesTheSame Not to be confused with]] ''VideoGame/BrutalPawsOfFury'' (that also features martial-arts-practicing anthropomorphic animals in a vintage East-Asian setting). Also has nothing to do with ''[[VideoGame/YoKaiWatch Jibanyan]]''.

* ForMeItWasTuesday: A heroic example. Getting saved from a gang of thugs by a samurai was a pivotal moment in Hank's life. For [[spoiler:Jimbo]], he was just being a good samurai performing his duty to protect the weak even while abroad. He was also a bit sauced at the time, so his memory of the event is hazy.

** One of the members of Ika Chiu's army looks similar to Jason Voorhees from [[Franchise/FridayThe13th]].

** Also the subject matter of one of the film's [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FV-4wlfUsAE9Z8b?format=jpg&name=large promotional billboards]], where Hank once again finds himself smushed by Sumo's gigantic backside.

* TheArtifact: Hank was originally going to dance to "Music/GangnamStyle" in the club scene (which is retained in the Sky Movies print). However, seemingly at the last minute, the song was replaced with "Delirious" by Boneless, yet Hank still whistles "Gangnam Style" in the scene after.

The film is intended to be a {{homage}} to Creator/MelBrooks' 1974 Western comedy film ''Film/BlazingSaddles'' (and was initially titled ''Blazing Samurai''). Hank (Creator/MichaelCera), a beagle who wishes to become a samurai, stumbles upon a strange land known as Kakamucho, which is inhabited entirely by cats. He comes across Ika Chu (Creator/RickyGervais), an evil cat warlord who helps Hank become a samurai by placing him under the care of Jimbo (Creator/SamuelLJackson), who was once a great samurai himself. Jimbo reluctantly agrees to train him, and eventually, Hank must save Kakamucho from Ika Chu in order to discover what it means to become a true samurai.

* TheStinger: [[spoiler:Two cat guards look at Ika Chu now locked up behind bars and says that he won't return in the sequel]].

The film is intended to be a homage to Creator/MelBrooks' 1974 Western comedy film ''Film/BlazingSaddles'' (and was initially titled ''Blazing Samurai''). Hank (Creator/MichaelCera), a beagle who wishes to become a samurai, stumbles upon a strange land known as Kakamucho, which is inhabited entirely by cats. He comes across Ika Chu (Creator/RickyGervais), an evil cat warlord who helps Hank become a samurai by placing him under the care of Jimbo (Creator/SamuelLJackson), who was once a great samurai himself. Jimbo reluctantly agrees to train him, and eventually, Hank must save Kakamucho from Ika Chu in order to discover what it means to become a true samurai.

** As stated in the summary, the film was inspired by the 1974 Mel Brooks film ''Blazing Saddles''. Brooks himself even voices the Shogun.

* TheArtifact: Hank was originally going to dance to "Music/GangnamStyle" in the club scene (which is retained in the Sky Movies version). However, seemingly at the last minute, the song was replaced with "Delirious" by Boneless, yet Hank still whistles "Gangnam Style" in the scene after.

-->-- '''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7sIaW2i0EA Theme Song]], in what would have been a TitleThemeTune had they not changed the title. '''

''Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank'' is a computer animated film directed by Rob Minkoff and Mark Koetsier with additional direction by Chris Bailey and released on July 15, 2022 by [[Creator/{{Paramount}} Paramount Pictures]] in conjunction with Creator/NickelodeonMovies in the US and some regions. Theatrical screenings are accompanied by ''Bad Hamster'', a short from WesternAnimation/BigNate.

The film is intended to be a homage to Creator/MelBrooks' 1974 Western Comedy film ''Film/BlazingSaddles'' (and was initially titled ''Blazing Samurai''). Hank (Creator/MichaelCera), a beagle who wishes to become a samurai, stumbles upon a strange land known as Kakamucho, which is inhabited entirely by cats. He comes across Ika Chu (Creator/RickyGervais), an evil cat warlord who helps Hank become a samurai by placing him under the care of Jimbo (Creator/SamuelLJackson), who was once a great samurai himself. Jimbo reluctantly agrees to train him, and eventually, Hank must save Kakamucho from Ika Chu in order to discover what it means to become a true samurai.

* TheArtifact: Hank was originally going to dance to Music/GangnamStyle in the club scene (which is retained in the Sky Movies version of the movie). However, seemingly at the last minute, the song was replaced with "Delirious" by Boneless, yet Hank still whistles Gangnam Style in the scene after.

* BeYourself: Played with, as technically another character learns the lesson, but it's still to Hank's benefit: [[spoiler:The first time Jimbo trains Hank, it doesn't work, and Hank doesn't improve. But Jimbo realizes this is because he was attempting to train Hank to be another ''cat'' samurai, when what he really needs to do is train Hank to improve his skills ''as a dog''. This time it works, as Hank is able to get past the wall by digging, use his nose to sense the environment around him, etc.]]

** After the aforementioned AssKicksYou moment, Hank gets stuck between Sumo's butt cheeks before Sumo yanks him out.

* CatsAreMean: Played straight with Ika Chu, who is the BigBad of the film, but averted with the other cat characters. Most of the village initially reject Hank [[FantasticRacism because he's a dog]] but come around after he beats Sumo, Jimbo is standoffish but becomes Hank's mentor, and Emiko is on Hank's side from their first meeting.
* ChekhovsGun: The "samurai cup" that Ika Chu gives Hank as a makeshift badge of honor. At the climax, [[spoiler: Hank throws it at Ika Chu to knock him into the Super Bowl, defeating him]].

* EarlyBirdCameo: Hitpig, a character created by [[ComicStrip/BloomCounty Berkley Breathed]], appears alongside the hitmen cat henchmen Ika Chu recruits. Hitpig is set to be the next feature from Aniventure, the film's primary production company.

* FantasticRacism: Dogs are banned from the country that the film takes place in, and Hank specifically is persecuted and ostracized just for being one.

** As stated in the summary, the film was inspired by the 1974 Mel Brooks film ''Blazing Saddles''. Brooks himself even voices a character in the film (Shogun).

* PlotMandatedFriendshipFailure: [[spoiler:After Hank defends the town from Sumo (with assistance from Jimbo, though Hank is unaware of this), his newfound celebrity goes to his head, and he accepts an offer from Ika Chu to have some "fun" instead of honoring his commitment to his teacher. But Ika Chu only invites him for a night on the town so Hank won't be present while Ika Chu's ninjas destroy the town. When Hank returns, he finds the town in ruins, with Jimbo and the other townspeople mad at him for not being there to protect them.]]
* RecycledInSpace: As stated, this movie is ''Blazing Saddles'' '''[-IN JAPAN!-]''', right down to scenes and dialogue being lifted almost verbatim from that movie.
* ShoutOut:
** Ika Chu's name sounds suspiciously like [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Pikachu]].

[[caption-width-right:350:''[[{{Tagline}} Underdog to top dog.]]'']]

* AerithAndBob: Played with, since all the names in the movie are mostly real-life ones. There are American sounding names like Hank, Jimbo and Chuck, alongside Japanese names like Ika Chu, Sumo, Shogun, Emiko, and Ohga.