Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie writer and Executive Producer Bob Barlen discusses giving the pups super powers, new designs, and more.
Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie gives the pups super powers when a meteor crash lands in Adventure City. This means that the gang gets new suits, which are very cool! Mama’s Geeky sat down with writer and Executive Producer Bob Barlen to discuss the new film.
Bob talks about designing new looks for the pups, what about Paw Patrol makes it such a well loved franchise, and settling on telling Skye’s story this time around.
Bob Barlen Talks Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie
Mama’s Geeky: The first film was Chase’s story. This is Skye’s story. Can you talk about bringing her to the forefront of the film?
Bob Barlen: Absolutely. When we were planning the film and outlining it, we really wanted to, like we did with the first movie, focus on one character story. And we love Skye. We loved writing her in the first film, I just thought that she was the natural choice to expand. We really had a good idea for the story and her whole theme through it, which really does apply to everyone, whether you’re young or old, that no pups too small. And that really is what it is and what she learned throughout the whole thing. It just really felt like a right fit for this type of movie.
Mama’s Geeky: What was it like designing the super hero looks for the pups?
Bob Barlen: For us, it was incredible to get the chance to make a superhero movie. We’re fans of big films and big Hollywood movies like that. So to get to make one of our own with the Paw Patrol was great. To design the suits, and the gadgets, and the vehicles, and all that stuff. It really felt great. Everyone who works on the movies, all the artists, they take it so seriously, as do we. So people are very invested in making sure that the way this car transforms is actually the way it would work if it was a real thing. Or the suits looking good. It’s really amazing to make something so big because it pulls together such a talented group of artists and craftspeople that are building these things.
Mama’s Geeky: It feels like there could be a Mighty Pups series.
Bob Barlen: Well, hopefully the people come and enjoy the movie. And there’s always room for more fun with the pups.
Mama’s Geeky: I love a good villain. Victoria Vance is great, and almost has a connection with Skye. Can you talk about that?
Bob Barlen: Absolutely. Yeah. Well, she was played by the amazing Taraji P. Henson. She did such a good job and had such a fun time with it. We really wanted to create someone who you can see that she is a little bit conflicted. It’s not that she’s trying to be bad. It’s just that all her stuff doesn’t work out. She just wants to be the greatest scientist in the world and then it gets to her. As you mentioned, the part where she’s talking to Skye, we wanted to have a little bit of a parallel where you see that these two characters, maybe in a different world, could be friends. Could get along. They’d be working on adventures together. But not the case in these movies.
Mama’s Geeky: Can you talk about the importance of including things for viewers of all ages, instead of just focusing on a younger audience?
Bob Barlen: Well, when we are creating these films and writing them and making them, we are thinking, of course, about our audience. They’re for younger people, but really, we are the audience. So Cal Brunker, my co writer, and our director and I, are talking through it, as well as with our producers, and we are the first audience for it. So we need to like it. And you know, we’re grownups. So hopefully, we’re making something that if a parent is going and taking their kid, everyone can enjoy it. We really want to make something that is for the whole family and from the youngest member of the family all the way through to the older brothers and sisters and people who might even have come along to support the younger sibling during maybe their first time at the movies or something like that. But we want everyone who watches it to have a good time at the movies.
Mama’s Geeky: The sorry about more merchandise parents line, cracked me up. It’s so meta.
Bob Barlen: For a movie this big, there’s always toys. And that’s something that we have a lot of fun with because we grew up playing with toys. For me, it’s such a cool thing to get to write a movie, and then actually work with the toy designers who are making the things that we write. Then all of a sudden, they become actual things that you can play with. It’s amazing. I have a room full of toys from the movies, and they’re so much fun.
Mama’s Geeky: So you collect all the merchandise?
Bob Barlen: On the first movie, I tried to collect one of every toy, and there were a lot of toys. I had to stop, I had to tap out. So on the second one, I’ve got some of my favorites, which is probably a more reasonable way to go about it.
Mama’s Geeky: I love Liberty in this film as well. Can you talk about her journey in Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie?
Bob Barlen: Liberty is a character that we really love. She was a new character from the first film and so she was back. She’s played by Marsai Martin, who does just an amazing job with her. We wanted to do something a little different with her, and also show that even though things didn’t exactly work out for her originally, like with the super powers, there’s a way for her to contribute still, and ultimately just having that journey that’s a little bit different from Skye’s journey and the rest of the pups. It felt like a nice piece, as well as a way to bring in those junior patroller characters who we really had a lot of fun with. At the start, she’s a little bit suspicious of them. But then by the end, they ended up being a great team.
Mama’s Geeky: The junior patrollers are so cute and fluffy! Can you talk about finding their design?
Bob Barlen: Absolutely. We wanted to make them Pomeranians and puff balls, that’s what Liberty calls them – the puff balls. It’s an endearing term by the end. We wanted to make really cute little characters that were also in contrast to the puffs because even though the Paw Patrol are technically puppies, these guys are even smaller. It was fun to play with that age dynamic and having some little kids in there.
Mama’s Geeky: What do you think it is about Paw Patrol that makes it resonate and stick with viewers of all ages?
Bob Barlen: I think that Paw Patrol is very good hearted and earnest. It’s about this group of pups that’s going and helping people and they’re first responders. That really does resonate with people. I also think the way that we make the movies is they’re not done ironically. We really are trying to make something earnest and as the filmmakers, we wear our hearts on our sleeve, and our characters do too. That’s the way that I like making movies.
Mama’s Geeky: Did you have a plan for the second film while working on the first one?
Bob Barlen: We were talking about some ideas and just kicking it around but then the first one thankfully, everybody really responded well to it, it was quite successful. So you know, it was a natural step to move in and start making the second one.
Mama’s Geeky: Paw Patrol fans loved the first film. How did it feel to see their reactions?
Bob Barlen: Honestly, it’s so gratifying. I mean, for us to have this incredible group of artists and people who are working on this movie, and we work on it on our own and in secret for multiple years. And then finally, we put it out in the world. And so it is really gratifying when so many people watch it multiple times. It’s been in the top 10 of the worldwide charts, so it’s really great to know people are still watching this. People are still enjoying it. It’s awesome to make something and have people see it. And that’s one of the great things about working on movies of this scale is a lot of people see your work, which is gratifying for all of us on the creative team and all the artists.
Mama’s Geeky: One of the greatest things about this movie is that there are rewards for the fans of the series, but you can also go in blind.
Bob Barlen: Obviously, a lot of our audience are Paw Patrol fans. And that’s great. And we want to make something for them. Equally, if you’re not as familiar with it, maybe this is one of the first things you’ve seen about the Paw Patrol, we still want to make it a standalone film, where even if you haven’t seen the first film, or you haven’t seen the show, this can be the first thing you see. And you can still have a good time as a standalone thing. And Ryder saying no rescue’s too big, no pup’s too small. As we were writing it, we were saying this is something that everybody knows from the show, and we can give a bit of a backstory to that. So for the fans who have been hearing this for 10 years, they can go that’s actually where it came from. That’s interesting.
NEXT: Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie Review
About Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie
When a magical meteor crash lands in Adventure City, it gives the PAW Patrol pups superpowers, transforming them into The MIGHTY PUPS! For Skye, the smallest member of the team, her new powers are a dream come true.
But things take a turn for the worse when the pups’ archrival Humdinger breaks out of jail and teams up with a mad scientist to steal the superpowers for the two villains. With the fate of Adventure City hanging in the balance, the Mighty Pups have to stop the supervillains before it’s too late, and Skye will need to learn that even the smallest pup can make the biggest difference.
Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie is in theaters now.
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. On Camera personality and TV / Film Critic with 10+ years of experience in video editing, writing, editing, moderating, and hosting.