"If you go into Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie with the right mindset and simply enjoy it for what it is — Thunderbirds, but with dogs — you’re going to have a good time"

The latest entry in the beloved Paw Patrol franchise knows exactly what it wants to be.

Paw Patrol is an interesting franchise because it doesn’t rely on audiences having an encyclopaedic knowledge of every episode of the television series. Instead, it essentially has two continuities running concurrently, allowing the films to exist separately from the series. That works particularly well for someone like me, who only has a cursory understanding of the television show. I’ve seen some episodes with my nephews, but I’ve seen all three films to date.

What I like about Paw Patrol is that it completely understands how absurd its premise is. A pack of talking puppies have these wonderfully outlandish vehicles and regularly use them to save the world. Think Thunderbirds, but with dogs.

At the same time, the characters remain reassuringly consistent. Ryder is the fearless leader — albeit a kid — while Chase, Skye, Marshall, Zuma, Rubble and Rocky retain the same personalities whether you encounter them on television or on the big screen. Even changes between the casts don’t prove distracting; McKenna Grace, for example, voices Skye in the films but not in the television series.

Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie takes place on an island populated by prehistoric creatures. Think Land of the Lost rather than some complicated time-travel explanation or Jurassic Park shenanigans. The dinosaurs are simply there, the Paw Patrol have an adventure to deal with, and the film gets on with it. For a franchise built around talking puppies with impossibly elaborate rescue vehicles, that’s really all the explanation you need.

Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie is clearly Marshall’s story. He has always been depicted as the clumsy, accident-prone pup, but here he gets the opportunity to step into the spotlight. Voiced beautifully by Carter Young, Marshall absolutely shines.

More importantly, Marshall gets to be the hero of the story.

All in all, Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie is a colourful, heartfelt and inoffensive film in what has become a blossoming big-screen franchise. Three films in, Cal Brunker, Keith Chapman and their creative team know exactly what they have in Paw Patrol — and they know exactly how to make it work.

If you go into Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie with the right mindset and simply enjoy it for what it is — Thunderbirds, but with dogs — you’re going to have a good time. And really, age doesn’t matter. You could be nine years old or, like me, 42. Sometimes talking puppies, ridiculous vehicles and dinosaurs are all you need.