Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie is a 2026 Canadian animated adventure comedy film based on the television series Paw Patrol created by Keith Chapman. The sequel to Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie (2023), it is directed by Cal Brunker, who co-wrote the screenplay with Bob Barlen. The ensemble voice cast includes Carter Young, Mckenna Grace, Terry Crews, Jennifer Hudson, Fortune Feimster, Jameela Jamil, Bill Nye, Paris Hilton, Snoop Dogg, and Henry Bolan. The film also features several cast members from both the television series and the previous films reprising their roles, such as Mckenna Grace, Ron Pardo, Lucien Duncan-Reid, and Nylan Parthipan, and with others joining the cast. In the film, the Paw Patrol crash-lands on a dinosaur populated island and are thrown into a series of rescues.
In September 2023, before the release of Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie, a third Paw Patrol film was announced to be in development with a planned 2026 release date. Returning crew members were announced soon after, including Brunker as a director. Mikros Image in Montreal, like its predecessors, returned to handle the animation, this time collaborating in Paris, with the casting of Grace, Hudson and Feimster being announced the following year. The film is based on the Dino Rescue sub-theme of the main show.
Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie premiered at the Paramount studio lot in Los Angeles on August 3, 2026, and was theatrically released on August 14 in Canada by Elevation Pictures, and worldwide by Paramount Pictures. Like its predecessors, the film received mixed reviews from critics, and was a commercial success, grossing $139 million worldwide on a $40 million budget.
Contents
Plot
After rescuing a family from a boat fire, the Paw Patrol end up caught in a storm and wash up on an island inhabited by dinosaurs. Among them is a wheelchair-using puppy named Rex, who knows how to communicate with the dinosaurs, including his T-Rex friend Timmy. While the Pups and some researchers set up a base of operations there, Marshall befriends a baby T-Rex that he names Rhubarb.
Mayor Humdinger is released from jail and finds out about a diamond reserve on the island, which is now called "Dino Island". He teams up with a hunter named Harper Cutlass and demolitions expert Alistair Stonewall to get the job done. Marshall and Rex are too late to stop Humdinger as he uses a ton of dynamite to blow up the reserve, which causes a volcanic eruption.
Ryder and the Pups team up with the dinosaurs to get the humans and smaller dinos to safety. Marshall and Rhubarb work together to release a flow of water to save everyone from the rising lava.
Humdinger, Harper, and Alistair are punished by cleaning up dinosaur poop. Rex is made a member of the PAW Patrol, and Marshall and Rhubarb are hailed as heroes.
Voice cast
Carter Young as Marshall, a clumsy Dalmatian who serves as a firefighting pup. Young replaces Christian Corrao from the series and the second film and Jesse Gervasi from the series.
Mckenna Grace as Skye, a cockapoo and one of Marshall and Chase's closest friends who serves as the team's aviator pup. Grace reprises her role from the second film.
Terry Crews as Alistair Stonewall, a dynamite expert who allies with Mayor Humdinger.
Meredith MacNeill as Harper Cutlass, a hunter who allies with Mayor Humdinger.
Ron Pardo as:
Cap'n Turbot, a marine biologist and a close friend of the Paw Patrol.
Mayor Humdinger, the Paw Patrol's arch-nemesis from Foggy Bottom.
A barge captain
Jennifer Hudson as Lilian Ledes, a news reporter
Hayden Chamberlain as Rex, a friendly paraplegic Bernese Mountain Dog who has been stranded on the island for years and is an expert in all things dinosaur related. Rex was introduced in the series during the Dino Rescue sub-series and Chamberlain replaces Austin Farley from the series.
Fortune Feimster as Eugenia Bunsen, a historian and property caretaker of the museum.
Jameela Jamil as Heidi Pothesis, an archaeologist and Eugenia's partner.
Rain Janjua as Chase, a German Shepherd and Marshall's best friend since childhood who serves as a police pup. Janjua replaces Luke Dietz from the series, Christian Convery from the second film and Iain Armitage from the first film.
Production
Development
On September 26, 2023, three days before Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie was released, Spin Master Entertainment announced a third film is in development, scheduling it to be released in 2026. In October 2023, it was reported that Mikros Image in Montreal, like its predecessors, would handle the animation, this time collaborating in Paris. In April 2024, it was announced that Cal Brunker would return to direct, with Jennifer Dodge, Laura Clunie, and Toni Stevens also returning as producers. In February 2025, it was announced that the film would be titled Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie.
In February 2025, it was reported that Mikros' parent company, Technicolor Group, would shut down its operations immediately due to financial struggles and failures to find new investors. This led to Mikros' global operations ceasing work on current projects, including The Dino Movie. In March 2025, it was reported that Rodeo FX acquired Mikros' Paris and Canadian operations with the mission of continuing these projects.
Casting
In September 2024, Mckenna Grace (reprising her role as Skye from The Mighty Movie), Jennifer Hudson, and Fortune Feimster were announced as part of the cast, with Ron Pardo reprising his role as both Cap'n Turbot and Mayor Humdinger. In May 2025, the rest of the cast was officially announced, including Jameela Jamil, Terry Crews, Paris Hilton, Snoop Dogg, Bill Nye, and Meredith MacNeill.
Music
A new song from Backstreet Boys, "Bottle Up", was included in the film. In March 2026, it was announced that Pinar Toprak would be composing the score for the film, following her work on Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie. In July 2026, Ava Max released a new song, "Work", for the film. The soundtrack album, which contains the score composed by Toprak and performed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, was released on August 14, 2026, coinciding with the film's theatrical release.
Credits and personnel
Retrieved from Film Music Reporter:
Music Supervisors: Dave Jordan and Justine von Winterfeldt
Score Composed and Produced by: Pinar Toprak
Music Editor: Shie Rozow
Additional Music and Arrangements: Antonio Di Iorio and Emir Isilay
Assistants to Pinar Toprak: Ece Muniroglu and Merve Tumba
Score Mixed by: Michael Gossard
Score Mix Assistant: Carissa Wong
Lead Orchestrator: Zuzana Michlerová
Orchestrators: Adam Klemens, Bernhard Philipp Eder, and David Federman
Music Preparation: Dominik Svoboda
Strings Recorded at: Budapest Scoring Orchestra
Contracted by: Bálint Sapszon
Conductor: Péter Illényi
Orchestra Coordinator: Bertalan Veér
Recording Engineer: Viktor Szabó
Studio Assistants: Marcell Rokosz, and Levente Böde
Librarians: Katalin Réti, Agnes Sapszon
Studio and Orchestra: Provided by Scottish Digital Arts
Release
Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie held its world premiere at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles on August 3, 2026, and was theatrically released on August 14. Elevation Pictures handles distribution in Canada, while Paramount Pictures handles worldwide distribution outside of Canada. It was originally set to be released on July 31, 2026, but in May 2025, it was pushed up one week before being delayed once again to its current date.
Reception
Box office
As of September 8, 2026, Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie has grossed $50 million in the United States and Canada, and $89 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $139 million. It was produced on a budget of $40 million.
In the United States and Canada, Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie opened alongside The End of Oak Street and The Brink of War. According to Rebecca Rubin of Variety, she reported that the film was projected to gross $20 million during its opening weekend, in 3,545 theaters. It made $7.3 million on its first day, with $1.9 million in Thursday night previews, ranking third behind The End of Oak Street. The film grossed $20.5 million during its opening weekend, ranking fourth behind The End of Oak Street.
Internationally, Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie has grossed $54.7 million, with its highest-grossing markets being France ($9.5 million), China ($9.1 million), Germany ($4.8 million), the United Kingdom ($4.8 million), Japan ($3.2 million), Poland ($2.7 million), Spain ($2.0 million), Mexico ($1.7 million), the Netherlands ($1.3 million), and Brazil ($1.0 million).
Critical response
On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, 82% of 34 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.0/10. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 47 out of 100, based on four critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale (the same grade as The Mighty Movie), while those at PostTrak surveyed that 63% of audiences would "definite recommend" it.
Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a positive review, writing: "These are not movies for adults by any stretch, but younger, and I mean younger, audiences have clearly embraced the adorable puppy search-and-rescue team, so their adult chaperones might as well give in and bring them to a matinee showing." Casper Salmon of Variety gave the film a mixed review, saying that it "does eventually cohere into a half-decent entertainment," adding: "Some well-conceived action sequences, set against a backdrop of surprisingly apocalyptic volcanic activity, drum up a fair bit of jeopardy and suspense." Catherine Bray of The Guardian gave the film two out of five, writing: "Children deserve charm and at least some degree of wit from their entertainment – and Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie has neither."
William Bibbiani of TheWrap gave the film a mixed review, saying "the filmmakers put real care into disability representation while also conveying other, more questionable themes," also adding it was "a colorful surprise, full of friendly imagery and somewhat engaging set pieces." He criticized the characterization as "thin", the dialogue as "eye-rolling", and the plot as "simplistic", but notes: "[T]hat's where "it's for kids" can be treated as an acceptable excuse. Movies for young kids aren't only teaching them about the world, they're also teaching kids how to watch movies." He concluded his review by stating, "But even then they'll be able to say The Dino Movie was bright and spirited, and the filmmakers cared enough about kids with disablities to treat them with respect and represent them in a responsible manner — while, admittedly, also trying to sell toys."
