Because I’m in my 50s and have no kids, I never saw the PAW Patrol TV show. I assumed it aimed for a fairly young crowd and didn’t give it a look.

However, I remained open to the possibility I misjudged. As such, 2021’s PAW Patrol: The Movie wound up in my Blu-ray player.

In Adventure Bay, a youngster named Ryder (voiced by Will Brisbin) leads a team of heroic puppies called the PAW Patrol. They help keep the locals protected when danger arises.

Nearby Adventure City picks scurrilous Humdinger (Ron Pardo) as their mayor. As his shenanigans threaten the peace, the PAW patrol kicks into action to save the day.

On a discussion board I visit, I got into a debate about what separates a “family film” from a “kids movie”. I argued that a “family film” appeals to youngsters but isn’t created explicitly for them, whereas a “kids movie” aims mainly for a young audience.

Without question, Patrol falls into the second category. Although it comes with some entertainment value for an older crowd, the film nonetheless exists for the pre-teens.

Not that there’s anything wrong with such a project. While I appreciate movies like ET the Extra-Terrestrial or the Pixar flicks – efforts that work equally well for a wide range of age demographics – little kids deserve their own films as well.

And Patrol will undoubtedly fare best with the early elementary school audience. It throws out a slew of cutesy animal characters and peppy visuals, with only the most minor sense of danger involved.

Of course, Patrol imbues the story with the vague hint of peril for its puppy protagonists, but the tone remains so light that it seems unlikely many will truly fret. This becomes a light adventure with drama that creates modest tension among anyone over the age of four.

I also suspect Patrol will deliver only minor entertainment for those over the age of four as well. Again, I don’t regard this as a problem, for little kids deserve their own programming.

Patrol strongly orients toward that audience. With lots of cool gadgets, adorable animals and bright colors, it boasts clear appeal for little ones.

Beyond that, older viewers likely won’t find Patrol to offer a painful experience, but they also probably won’t genuinely enjoy it. Patrol does toss out bones to adults, with a few slightly clever bits of dialogue as well as voice performances from known actors like Randall Park, Tyler Perry, Jimmy Kimmel and Kim Kardashian.

Beyond “stop evil Mayor Humdinger”, Patrol barely attempts a plot. It tosses in a theme related to a crisis of confidence from Patrol pup Chase (Iain Armitage), but one shouldn’t expect much of a story.

All of this creates 86 minutes of fun for young kids – and 86 minutes of tolerable content for older folks. I’ll never want to watch Patrol again, but I can’t claim I disliked my time with it.

PAW Patrol: The Movie appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.35:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Expect an attractive presentation.

Sharpness felt appropriate. Little to no softness materialized, so the image felt tight and concise.

At least no issues with jaggies or shimmering occurred, and edge haloes were absent. Of course, the image lacked any print flaws, so it remained clean at all times.

Colors became a strong element. The movie went with a somewhat pastel palette, and it displayed consistently vivid hues within its chosen range.

Blacks were dense and tight, and shadows were fine. Overall, this was a good-looking Blu-ray.

Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the film’s Dolby Atmos soundtrack opened up the film in a satisfying manner. Though the mix didn’t give us wall-to-wall theatrics, it managed to use the spectrum well.

As expected, the film’s occasional action sequences boasted nice breadth and activity, and the Patrol-related elements created a fine sense of involvement. While the soundscape didn’t stun us on a frequent basis, it provided more than enough to succeed.

Audio quality seemed consistently solid. Speech appeared natural and distinctive, so no edginess or other issues marred the dialogue.

Music sounded warm and full, while effects showed good clarity and accuracy. When necessary, bass response came across as deep and tight. All of this lifted the track to “B+” status.

Minor extras appear here, and a featurette called A Totally Paw-some Team spans six minutes, two seconds. It gives us basics about the pups of the Patrol and seems like a tutorial for new viewers to gve them details about the characters.

Adventure City News Reports goes for one minute, 57 seconds and brings a summary of Patrol members Chase and Liberty as told by the movie’s reporter Marty Muckraker. It’s a cute promo piece and that’s about it.

Finally, we get a lyric video for the movie’s theme. It combines film clips with on-screen lyrics. Yawn.

As a flick meant for young kids, PAW Patrol: The Movie works fine. It seems unlikely to offer much appeal to older audiences, but it musters enough charm to make it watchable for adults. The Blu-ray boasts excellent picture and audio along with minor bonus features. Patrol provides competent entertainment for youngsters.