The Mel Brooks Remake No One Even Knew Happened
People always say that Blazing Saddles could never have been made today, but that’s objectively false. Not only was it remade two years ago, but there was no public outcry whatsoever. In fact, most people don’t even know about the Mel Brooks remake. Of course, the fact that the movie is animated and geared towards kids might have something to do with that.
Yes, as weird as it sounds, Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank (2022) is a cartoon remake of Blazing Saddles for children. Because nothing says kids movie like Blazing Saddles. Seriously though, the story of how the animated Mel Brooks remake came to be is bizarre.
Paws of Fury Is A Blazing Saddles Remake
The movie, originally titled Blazing Samurai, was the brainchild of producer Yair Landau in 2010. Landau wanted to turn the idea of Westernizing Asian films on its head. So instead of a western based on a samurai film like The Magnificent Seven, Landau decided to remake Blazing Saddles, Mel Brooks’s classic western, in an Asian setting.
A Great Bad Idea
The concept of Easternizing a Western isn’t a bad one, but it feels odd to pick a provocative spoof like Blazing Saddles for the experiment. It would be like deciding to remake a sci-fi film as a medieval fantasy and then choosing Spaceballs. No one is saying you can’t take a Mel Brooks movie and remake it, but, on the other hand, no one is saying you should either.
But regardless of whether it was a good idea or not, the movie was not only made but even got Mel Brooks to do a voice in his own remake. Imagine being Mel Brooks—well into your twilight years—and someone asks you to voice a feline shogun that’s essentially a reskin of the Governor character you played in the original Blazing Saddles. We honestly can’t wrap our heads around it.
Blazing Saddles … For Kids
While the movie was originally going to keep the racial dynamic of Blazing Saddles, it was decided that instead of a black sheriff in a predominantly white town, Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank would feature a dog samurai in a village full of cats. Aside from a few cosmetic changes, the movie follows the same story as the Mel Brooks original—although the remake is understandably tamer, being meant for kids and all.
All The Right Talent Involved
Despite such a weird concept, Paws of Fury managed to land quite the cast. Michael Cera plays the titular Hank based on Cleavon Little’s Blazing Saddles character, while Samuel L. Jackson takes on the Gene Wilder role as Jimbo, a catnip-addicted samurai. Ricky Gervais, Michelle Yeoh, Djimon Hounsou, and a whole slew of other notable celebrities round out the rest of the cast of the Mel Brooks remake.
Meanwhile, the movie was directed by Rob Minkoff. You may recognize some of his earlier work, specifically a little ’90s art film called The Lion King. On top of that, Minkoff got none other than Lord of the Rings composer Bear McCreary to do the score for Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank. Seriously, how is it that no one knows about this animated Mel Brooks remake?
An Ambitious Failure
It seems almost impossible for such a high-profile project to fade away into relative obscurity, and yet that’s pretty much what happened. Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank was released on July 15, 2022, and grossed $42.5 million worldwide against a $45 million budget. Given its inability to capture box office gold, it’s no surprise the unsuccessful Mel Brooks remake wound up available digitally barely a month later, in August of 2022.
Ultimately, the movie was a victim of its own ill-thought-out concept. The animated Mel Brooks remake alienated grown-up fans of the source material with its kiddie animation style, and kids didn’t get all the risque jokes and callbacks to Blazing Saddles. In the end, Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank was an ambitious, high-concept experiment that failed spectacularly. Apparently, you can make Blazing Saddles today; you just can’t get anyone to watch it.
