'Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie': Canadian movie is the most popular film in North America right now

Canadian movie sensation, Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie, became the most popular film in North America after last weekend's impressive response at the box office, bringing in $22 million in its opening weekend, beating out Saw X and The Creator.

For co-writers Bob Barlen and Cal Brunker (who also directed the movie), they said it's been "wonderful" to see the positive response to the film, the second Paw Patrol movie.

"We've got hundreds and hundreds of artists, and production people who have been working on this movie for years, mostly in secret, all of us with our heads down and trying to make the best movie we could," Brunker told Yahoo Canada. "So it's such a thrill when you finally put this thing out into the world that the response has been so great and that everybody's seen all this great work by the team."

"It was wonderful to sit in with audiences and actually hear the kids cheering. ... Kids let you know if it's working for them or not, so that's been a huge thrill."

"We make these movies for audiences to watch and so it's very gratifying and really fun to see theatres full of kids enjoying themselves," Barlen added. "I saw it on the weekend with my nieces and nephews. and after the screening all the kids in the theatre were dancing in the aisles, ... so they had a good time."

Going on a journey with a hero character

One aspect of Brunker and Barlen's work with Paw Patrol that really stands out is that there is a real commitment to character development and telling a character-driven story, something that's not always a focus in children-specific content.

In this case, Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie really leans into the character Skye, voiced by Mckenna Grace, with a story set around the pups getting super powers after a meteor crashes into Adventure City.

"You can have tons of great gags and a lot of funny stuff, but if there's not an emotional core to a movie, it just doesn't connect, we find," Barlen explained.

"So that's really something that every step of the way, as we plan it, from the writing all the way on through, we are trying to make a movie that will connect on a level of some emotion for any viewer, whether they're a young person or older."

"For me, as a movie fan, the times when I feel most connected to a movie is when I can empathize with the journey of a character," Brunker added. "If I think about the times I've been really moved, I feel like I'm going on this struggle with this character, and their success becomes my success."

"That's always been something at the core of what we're doing, to try and have a character be the way in, the connection for the audience. That's why in this movie, Skye gets her powers by herself, because we want you, the audience member, to go through that. What would it be like to get powers for the first time, and exploring that. We make a conscious effort to not make that be the group having that happen at the same time, but to take our hero of the story and have her do that on her own."

With the Paw Patrol films having involved high-profile cast members, including Chris Rock, Kim Kardashian, Serena Williams, Kristen Bell and more, the cast also informs how Brunker and Barlen shape their characters. That includes Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie villain Victoria Vance, a.k.a. Vee, voiced by Taraji P. Henson.

"The villains being fun is always a huge part of what we're aiming for and in this movie, having the character Vee and the character of Humdinger together was something that we got excited about early on," Brunker said. "They're this kind of odd couple pairing [that gives us] a lot of opportunity for comedy"

"When we found Taraji and she was interested in playing the role, we actually rewrote the character when we saw what she could do and what she was capable of. We started to craft that around what she was bringing to the table, because she really brought it to life and we wanted to make sure that we could kind of lean into everything that she did well."

A spectacle to 'justify a trip to the movie theatre'

But while character is critically important in Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie, the team behind the film left no stone unturned in terms of making this an action-packed spectacle that will impress both kids and adults.

"We're trying to build in these set pieces that are going to be spectacular to see and ... really justify a trip to the movie theatre," Brunker said. "There are so many things to watch at home now that we feel a huge obligation to go, if you show up to the movie theatre we're going to give you a real ride there."

Barlen added that when it came to making their second Paw Patrol movie, they didn't want to just create something that was a copy of what had been done before.

"We really wanted to push everything further with bigger action sequences, more effects, and the fact that we picked a superhero movie genre to do that in really gave us just an enormous sandbox to play in, in terms of doing all the fun stuff that we love seeing at the movies," he said.

"We love big Hollywood movies and spectacle, and that's one of the great reasons to go to the theatre."

Third 'Paw Patrol' movie teased as 'bigger' than 'Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie'

Another aspect of making the Paw Patrol movies that Brunker and Barlen take very seriously is the knowledge that for a lot of young kids, Paw Patrol: The Movie or Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie are the very first time some children will be seeing a film in a movie theatre. That was even the case for Brunker's two children.

"That's something we certainly are honoured by and take seriously," Brunker said. "Even though they're for a younger audience, we really try and make something that we think is great for ourselves and for the parents to have an experience with their kid."

"It's obviously got to be appropriate for the youngest ages, but we try and make something that's going to bring everybody together when they're at the movie theatre, and be able to engage in conversation when they go home. Hopefully we're creating core memories here."

A third Paw Patrol movie is set to be released in 2026, with Brunker and Barlen stating they've been working on it for about a year. It's currently in a script stage with artists on board.

"It'll be bigger than number two," Brunker teased. "It's really exciting and I think the success of number two has really emboldened the team to try and outdo ourselves again."

Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie is now in theatres