Paw Patrol Live! Review

Paw Patrol, Paw Patrol we'll be there on the double.. Now that I've got your attention (and that song stuck in your head for the new few hours) let's talk Paw Patrol Live! This year the pups are touring two shows; Race to the Rescue and The Great Pirate Adventure. Check your local arenas to see which tour is stopping near you. The Great Pirate Adventure was the show near us and I was quite surprised by the performers and by the complexity of the storyline. Would this be too hard for my toddler to follow?

Paw Patrol Live! The Great Pirate Adventure Review

It's Pirate Day in Adventure Bay and everyone is preparing for the special activities including Cap'n Turbot who has been tasked with taking a photograph of the illusive, Pirate Parrot. True to form, he gets himself into trouble and has to call the Paw Patrol. This is when our adventure beings!

Paw Patrol Live! The Great Pirate Adventure Characters

As previously mentioned Cap'n Turbot opens the show and his mannerisms, tone of voice and all around franticness were spot on to the cartoon character. Other characters featured in this live show are:

Mayor Goodway (with Chickaletta in her purse)
Mayor Humdinger 
Ryder
Marshall
Chase
Sky
Rubble
Rocky
Zuma
Tracker (introduced in the 2nd half)

*Everset is not a part of this show. Makes sense as she is up in the mountains but still may bum out some fans.

Mayor Goodway, Cap'n Turbot, Mayor Humdinger and Ryder are non-costumed characters while the pups are half-costumed. The pups are on all fours with their attendant inside as low as possible though they are visible almost the entire time. The pups costumes are complex in that their eyes and mouths move and they are large enough to be seen from higher up seats. Chickaletta is positioned inside Mayor Goodway's purse the entire time and aside from a few squawks is not given much time in the show.

Paw Patrol Live! The Great Pirate Adventure Storyline

When it comes to storylines, this show was much different than Nick Jr. Live! Move to the Music. Paw Patrol Live! The Great Pirate Adventure expands on a plot line from an episode of Paw Patrol and was actually quite complex in all of its moving pieces. 

​After the pups go to rescue Cap'n Turbot they discover a map for the treasure of pirate Long John Larry. Mayor Goodway, Ryder and the pups think this treasure would be perfect to showcase at Pirate Day in Adventure Bay and have it on display at their museum however, Mayor Humdinger thinks the treasure will look even better in HIS LIVING ROOM. 

Mayor Goodway, Ryder and the pups take off to find the treasure before Mayor Humdinger and Cap'n Turbot goes back on his quest to take a photo of the Pirate Parrot. That's THREE offshoots of the main plot line to follow.

After the pups leave the stage, Mayor Humdinger enters and he leaves and we're back to the pups or we check in on Cap'n Turbot. It was a lot to follow. Normally episodes of Paw Patrol do not include songs but since this was an extended show (running time was about 90 minutes with a 15 minute intermission) they created songs for the live show and they were welcomed break from all of the dialogue.

While one of my complaints from Nick Jr. Live! Move to the Music was lack of a storyline, Paw Patrol Live! The Great Pirate Adventure may have too much storyline. My toddler enjoyed seeing the pups live but I could tell she was getting a little bogged down during the 2nd half, even after an intermission of running around the arena. She perked back up at the discovery of the treasure and the end of the show as they sang a closing song and shot out confetti. 

To encourage audience participation, prior to heading to each new landmark on the map clues appear on a screen and the audience is asked what each icon is; images included a fish, a tree, and other easily identifiable icons.  

Paw Patrol Live! The Great Pirate Adventure Souvenirs

Like any other live show Paw Patrol Live! The Great Pirate Adventure sold souvenirs. This time around, I noticed t-shirts were marked with Paw Patrol Live! however sizing started at 3T! They also sold plush pups that had a tag for Paw Patrol Live! and even though she isn't in the show, they did have Everest available for purchase. Fun food items I saw were take home cups that came with free lemonade refills and popcorn and cotton candy that came in a Rubble or Marshall hats respectively. These hats did not have a Paw Patrol Live! marking on them, just the symbol for the pups.

I love a good photo op and Paw Patrol Live! The Great Pirate Adventure had a pirate ship backdrop with a Chase cutout positioned in front of it that families could have their child sit or stand next to and purchase a print out of the picture which also included an emailed digital file. The print out is given to you in a themed paper frame which makes for a great memory reminder and can be easily placed in a frame or photo album.

Paw Patrol Live! The Great Pirate Adventure Overall Impression

I was super impressed with the non-costumed characters; Cap'n Turbot, Ryder,  Mayor Goodway and Mayor Humdinger were fantastic performers. They had their energy, mannerisms and voice (Mayor Goodway was SPOT ON!) down. These performers must have watched hours of Paw Patrol to get their character down.

The pups costumes were also impressive. Their attendants maneuvered these mechanical costumes with ease and while their voices weren't entirely true to the cartoon characters they were still a lot of fun to watch.

The show was longer than I expected. Even with a 15 minute intermission there were times when the show felt long and slow moving. I think that's because they had such a complex storyline and a lot less songs than say Nick Jr. Live! Move to the Music or Disney's Disney Junior Dance Party Live! on Tour. I believe those shows were more geared to a younger crowd; toddlers and even babies and Paw Patrol Live! The Great Pirate Adventure was more for preschoolers and up.

It was still hands down a fun day and my older girl keeps asking if we can see the "Paw Patrol show" again so I'd say she liked it, A LOT!
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