A loose remake of the 1974 live-action film Blazing Saddles,[b][4] it stars the voices of Michael Cera, Ricky Gervais, George Takei, Gabriel Iglesias, Michelle Yeoh and Samuel L. Jackson, with Mel Brooks, Aasif Mandvi, Djimon Hounsou, and Kylie Kuioka in supporting roles.

Taking place in a world of anthropomorphic animals, the film tells the story Hank, a young dog who learns to become a samurai to save a cat village from a conniving landlord.

The project was first announced by producer Yair Landau in 2010 as Blazing Samurai in response to the then-recent trend of westernizing Asian films.

Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank was scheduled to be released in 2017, but was delayed several times, mainly due to distributor changes and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ika Chu, hoping to offend the townspeople, decides to appoint Hank, a dog prisoner about to be executed, as Kakamucho's samurai.

While training, Hank subdues Sumo, an immensely strong henchman that Ika Chu sent to drive out the townspeople quicker, with the help of Jimbo.

Hank then chases Ika Chu to his palace where he fights him on his giant jade toilet which overflows and threatens to flood the town.

Hank warns the Kakamucho townspeople of the incoming flood and leads them in the digging of a channel to safely divert the water around the town.

The film was scripted by Ed Stone and Nate Hopper, but the final credits include the writers of Blazing Saddles.

[7] In February 2015, Open Road Films acquired the U.S. distribution rights with Chris Bailey and Mark Koetsier attached to direct.

[14] The film also features two original songs by Broadway songwriters Alan Zachary & Michael Weiner: the opening titles track "Blazing Samurai" (performed by Michael K. Lee) and the end titles song "The Coolest Cat" (performed by Tony Award winner Adrienne Warren).

[20] Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank was available on digital download by Paramount Home Entertainment on August 16, 2022 in the United States.

[21] In the United States and Canada, Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank was released alongside Where the Crawdads Sing and Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, and was projected to gross around $10 million from 3,475 theaters in its opening weekend.

The website's consensus reads: "While it might be intriguing for Mel Brooks completists, Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank is an often ungainly blend of kid-friendly animation and grown-up gags.

[23] Writing for TheWrap, Katie Walsh called the film a "breezy, funny, highly self-referential flick steeped in movie history".

"[28] Owen Gleiberman praised Jackson and Gervais, but thought Cera's "sheepish" performance left the film "in search of a center", adding: "You get the feeling that the whole premise of this project was that the script, with its Blazing Saddles mystique, would somehow power it.

Club's Martin Tsai gave a highly critical review, calling it "morally reprehensible", with a "lazy, melting-pot approach to exploring Asian culture".