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Features
Mark Koetsier
The Way of the Feline Samurai The creative forces behind Paws of Fury tell us how they mixed Eastern and Western archetypes in their new movie. By Devin Nealy
T
he famous undefeated samurai Miyamoto Musashi once said, “If you know the way broadly, you will see it in everything.” The quote speaks to the subtle and imperceptible threads that unify life’s many divergent concepts and cultures. And, yes, that even includes cats and dogs. On the surface, the timeless clash of felines and canines that fuels the narrative in Paws of Fury: the Legend of Hank appears to be the film’s sole source of duality. However, the trio of creators behind the movie (writer Ed Stone and directors Rob Minkoff and Mark Koetsier) initially conceived the idea to explore the commonalities shared by Eastern and Western cinema. “The first idea was sort of a Western,” says Stone, who also penned the acclaimed 1999 movie Happy, Texas. “Can we take a real Western from the West and make it Eastern? Is that an interesting idea?” Paws of Fury: the Legend of Hank follows the journey of the eponymous Hank, an endearing dachshund voiced by Michael Cera, as he endeavors to become a brave samurai. Hank embarks on the warrior’s path by training under a samurai cat named Jimbo, voiced by Samuel L. Jackson. As Hank’s skills develop, the villainous cat Ika Chu, played by Ricky Gervais, be-
gins to upend law and order in the town, prompting the protagonist to test his samurai abilities.
Homage to the Masters Formerly known as Blazing Samurai, Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank proudly wears its influences on its sleeve. When the trio arrived at the idea of blending Eastern and Western story forms, they leaned on the cross-pollination of ideas shared by Akira Kurosawa and Sergio Leone as a reference point. “When it came to executing the scenes, as we went along, a lot of the shots, we tried to take Sergio Leone’s style of filmmaking,” says Koetsier. “Those real-
ly tight shots on the eyes and really low camera angles.” In the early stages of development around 2010, Stone intended for the film to feature human leads. When he ran the idea by Minkoff, a veteran animation director whose credits include The Lion King, Stuart Little and Mr. Peabody & Sherman, he received an illuminating note that changed the shape of the project. “I came to Ed and said, ‘Do you think it would be possible to turn this into a fable and make it about animals?’“ says Minkoff. “Ed said, ‘Well, I think that’s a good idea.’ So I jumped into the project, and we kind of did a reboot of it,” he says. Minkoff cites the script’s transition into a
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june|july 22
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