Paws of the Deer King: The Legend of Baymax - Renegade Animation #69
Tonight on Renegade Animation, Captain Kaye and The Animation Guru look at Baymax!, the wholesome new Disney+ series of shorts starring that lovable walking marshmallow, The Deer King, Production I.G.'s fantasy epic, and Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank, a kid-friendly remake of Blazing Saddles with cats and dogs in feudal Japan.....seriously.
Hey, folks, The Streamin’ Demon here once again to present another Renegade Animation! This time, Mike and Cameron discuss Baymax, Disney+’s series of shorts about, who else, Baymax, the latest GKIDS release, The Deer King, and something REALLY weird; Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank! I actually was aware of this flick that was stuck in development hell for years, and thought it was…an interesting premise; Blazing Saddles meets Kung Fu Panda, from a director of The Lion King, no less. But what does Mike have to say?
Baymax!
“Baymax is delightful! It's only 6 episodes, roughly 5-10 minutes each, and it's basically a slice of life comedy where the titular character goes around San Fransokyo and tending to the medical needs of various individuals. Highly recommended!”-Captain Kaye
The Deer King
“The Deer King is an animated fantasy film directed by Masashi Ando and Masayuki Miyaji, and written by Taku Kishimoto. Based on the Japanese novel series of the same name by Nahoko Uehashi, the film follows The Lone Antlers, a band of death warriors, who gave their lives to save their homeland from the empire of Zol. Van, their leader and the sole survivor, is enslaved in a salt mine. One night, savage dogs attack the mine, and soon after, a mysterious disease wipes out both the slaves and their keepers. Van, however, escapes with a little girl called Yuna. Meanwhile, Hohsalle, a gifted physician, searches for a cure for the disease that is spreading among the Zolian settlers. What path will these men choose to save their loved ones and the people of this land?
There will be comparisons drawn between this and Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke, and the irony is not lost on me that this year happens to be the latter's 25th anniversary. However, I will not be making such comparisons, and shall only judge The Deer King on its own merits. With that being said, there is a lot to talk about with this movie, and the easiest place to start is the found family dynamic between Van and his adopted daughter Yuna. A story as epic in scope as this needs an emotional anchor to ground the audience, and I thought this hit the spot beautifully. Your mileage may vary on Yuna herself, but what she means for Van is what drives him forward to his ultimate destiny. In terms of the animation, to say that a Production I.G joint looks amazing feels a bit redundant, but that doesn't make it any less true. What sets this movie apart from many animated films that I've seen this year is that while there are fantastical elements, the story itself is less straight forward and with a fairly grey morality.
The conflict at the center of the narrative is a disease referred to as "Mittsual," which coincidentally parallels the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. That only makes the actions of each faction more compelling. I don't really have too much in the way of negatives. For the most part, the film is fairly well paced at around 114 minutes. Certain moments in the first half may seem a bit too episodic, but the action steadily ramps up towards the second half. The music composed by Harumi Fuuki is gorgeous throughout the film, and I love the song "One Reason" that plays during the closing credits. If you have the opportunity to see The Deer King in theaters, please take full advantage!”-Captain Kaye
Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank
Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank is an animated martial arts comedy film directed by Rob Minkoff & Mark Koetsier, with additional direction by Chris Bailey. Loosely inspired by the 1974 Mel Brooks comedy Blazing Saddles, the film follows Hank, a down-on-his-luck hound that finds himself in a town full of cats who need a hero to defend them from a ruthless villain's evil plot to wipe their village off the map. With help from a reluctant trainer, the underdog must assume the role of fearsome samurai and team up with the felines to save the day. The only problem is -- they all hate dogs.
I've been following the production of this film as far as 2014, under its original title Blazing Samurai. Since then, the film has passed through a few different distributors (one of which is now defunct), until Paramount Pictures acquired the rights in 2021. Let me get my biggest problem with the film out of the way: I don't think this should have been aimed at kids. It's not because of the subject matter, nor that the setting has been changed from the American West to Feudal Japan. In fact, Eastern and Western cinema have a long history of exchanging narratives, the most famous example is The Magnificent Seven being an American adaptation of Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. So conceptually, they absolutely had the right idea. However, they went wrong in terms of its execution. For starters, you are immediately set up for disappointment after an incredible 2D animated opening credits sequence, while the art style for the film proper just kinda feels generic.
As for the comedy, I'll admit that I laughed more than I didn't. For better or worse, the writers of Blazing Saddles are all credited in the film, and Brooks was even directly involved both in the production and providing the voice of the Shogun Toshi. The rest of the voice cast is great too. I could tell that Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Cera had a lot of fun in the booth, and 2022 continues to be the year of Michelle Yeoh! The reason I say this shouldn't have been aimed at kids is because, and perhaps what I really mean, is that it falls too often into American storytelling clichés. Racism allegories don't always work when the characters are anthropomorphic animals, and some of the best jokes from Blazing Saddles get completely lost in translation when toned down for a younger audience. Speaking of tone, that's another limbo in which the film is stuck. Either the film should have gone even sillier than its predecessor, or taken itself more seriously. Finally, perhaps this shouldn't have even been an American production. Had this been an anime adaptation, your mileage may still vary with the shifts in tone, but injecting humor in an otherwise serious narrative is par for the course with shows like Dragon Ball, Yu Yu Hakusho, One Piece, etc.
Ultimately, while I enjoyed watching this movie, I can only give it a soft recommendation. I'm not sure how this was granted a theatrical release while Rumble went straight to Paramount+, but I digress. If you're a fan of Blazing Saddles and have been curious about this movie, see it for yourself and come to your own conclusion.-Captain Kaye
