'Paw Patrol' pups star in their own feature film this August

I thought we had moved beyond the “Paw Patrol” phase in my household.

Oh, certainly, we had the Paw Patroller, the mobile tactical vehicle that a group of small dogs without thumbs somehow manages to drive.

We had at least three versions of my now-8-year-old son’s favorite member of the Paw Patrol, Rubble the bulldog, and a plush version of the unofficial leader, Chase the Police Pup.

I was under the impression that had all been set aside in favor of his latest favorite thing, the “Five Nights at Freddy’s” game and entertainment franchise.

But the look on his face as he began watching the trailer for the upcoming feature-length “Paw Patrol” movie told me otherwise.

For those without kids, you could probably suss out the overarching plot of the entire Nick Jr. series based solely on a poster for the show: a group of puppies, all with uniquely adorable attributes and a specific skill set, go about protecting their town of Adventure Bay and learn valuable lessons along the way.

I’m going to leave aside the fact that the residents of Adventure Bay — who are people, mind you, not dogs — have decided to leave all of their emergency services in the hands (paws?) of a group of small animals. The show is cute and the movie looks as though it will be equally as cute.

When the pups’ rival, the cartoonishly villainous Humdinger, goes from mayor of Foggy Bottom to mayor of nearby Adventure City and starts wreaking havoc with his team of cats, the Kitten Catastrophe Crew, the pups kick into action and get some help from a new friend, a dachshund named Liberty.

Will police pup Chase completely ignore the concept of law enforcement jurisdiction and try to arrest someone in a city where he doesn’t technically work? Sure sounds like it!

Will firefighting pup Marshall live up to every negative stereotype about Dalmatians being dumb and constantly do hilariously inept things that would get a regular firefighter kicked out of the department? Almost certainly!

Sorry, I can’t help myself. Some aspects of children’s shows really stand out as strange when you’re an adult. Anyone ever notice that almost none of the trains on “Thomas & Friends” ever do what they’re actually asked to do? That seems like an awfully inefficient way to run a rail yard.

In all seriousness, “Paw Patrol: The Movie” looks like it will be a nice, family-friendly adventure with characters I’ve come to enjoy (and poke mild fun at) over the past eight years.

Featuring members of the original television show cast alongside Iain Armitage, Kim Kardashian West, Randall Park, Dax Shepard, Jimmy Kimmel and Tyler Perry, “Paw Patrol: The Movie” will premiere Aug. 20 in theaters and on the Paramount + streaming service.