The Paws of Destiny: The Legend of Timothy

The Paws of Destiny: The Legend of Timothy (Spanish: Las Patas del Destino: La Leyenda de Timoteo; French: Les Marches du Destin: La Légende de Timothée; Hindi: रोष के पंजे: टिमोथी की किंवदंती; Chinese: 愤怒之爪: 提摩太传奇; Hebrew: כלב סמוראי: אגדת סין) (formerly known as Ninja Samurai) is a upcoming Mexican-American-French-Israeli-Indian-Chinese 3D computer-animated family action adventure comedy film in the Mexican animation studios produced by Little Witch Pictures and Ánima Estudios, the French film production company, produced by EuropaCorp, the Indian film production company, produced by Reliance Entertainment, the Chinese film production company, produced by Fundamental Films, and the American film production companies produced by DreamWorks Pictures, Amblin Entertainment and Relativity Media. Based on the inspired by Samurai Jack by Genndy Tartakovsky, it is being directed by Chris Jenkins and Francisco Aragones and written by Michael Berg and Ron J. Friedman, and stars the voices of Tom Holland, Chris Evans, Idris Elba, Michael B. Jordan, John Goodman, Jackie Chan, Nathan Lane, Tony Hale, Lisa Kudrow, Yara Shahidi and Alec Baldwin.

It will be premiered on September 15, 2023 in Mexico and be released in the United States on November 12, 2023 by Universal Pictures, in RealD 3D and IMAX 3D release.

Plot
In a land inspired by ancient China, and almost entirely inhabited by cats, dogs and animals, Jeremy, a conniving high ranking official of the land's Huang Di (Emperor), desires to expand his giant palace. However, it resides right next to the impoverished village of China.

Cast

 * Tom Holland as Timothy, a bad luck beagle who aspires to be a samurai, based on Samurai Jack.
 * Chris Evans as Jeremy, a villainous ginger cat, based on Aku from Samurai Jack.
 * Idris Elba as Zheng Zhao, a tabby cat shifu who trains him to become a samurai, based on Master Shifu from Kung Fu Panda.
 * John Goodman as Wasabi Fukuhara, a sumo cat.
 * Michael B. Jordan as Mason Hong, a samurai mouse.
 * Jackie Chan as Druk Dhendup, a tuxedo cat who is the leader of Jeremy's army
 * Chan also voices Huang Di, a Chinese emperor grey cat who is the ruler of China, based on the emperor from Samurai Jack.
 * Nathan Lane as Charles, a slim cat.
 * Tony Hale as Ichigo, a clumsy cat.
 * Lisa Kudrow as Megum, a an optimistic female white cat.
 * Yara Shahidi as Stacey the Mother of Timothy, a female beagle.
 * Alec Baldwin as Cowboy Rocksteady, a gorilla.
 * Ariana Greenblatt as Aki, a young female cat who is Megum's daughter.

Development
The Paws of Destiny: The Legend of Timothy, then known as Ninja Samurai, was initially conceived by Blue Sky Studios and Walt Disney Animation Studios co-founder and ex-chief Michael Berg and Ron J. Friedman, inspired by the Cartoon Network animated show Samurai Jack by Genndy Tartakovsky. Originally intended to revolve around Samurai Jack defeats Aku, the story was changed to center around anthropomorphic animals in an effort to make the story more universal. The film was formally announced in September 2018, with Ánima Estudios handling international sales and Chris Jenkins also set to produce. The film was scripted by Michael Berg and Ron J. Friedman. Lionsgate acquired the U.S. distribution rights with Chris Jenkins attached to direct. Steven Spielberg also joined the production as a producer.

In April 2022, the film was re-announced after the first DreamWorks Pictures animated movie since Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas joined the production. Luc Besson's EuropaCorp announced it would help executive produce and finance the film. a first-look revealed Besson and Spielberg as producers. Chris Jenkins also left the project as director at this point, to be the showrunner on Surf's Up, and Francisco Aragones was promoted to director alongside Zack Isaac. Despite this, Jenkins still contractually receives credit for directing the film, as do the first Besson and Spielberg animated movie.

Animation
It was revealed that Industrial Light & Magic would take over animation duties, with its Van Nuys facilities handling most of the production, with additional assistance from its Los Angeles facilities. Much of the film was animated remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as were some of the voice recordings.

Music
In September 2018, Mark Mothersbaugh was announced to compose the musical score. the opening titles track "Ninja Samurai" (performed by will.i.am, Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube) and the end titles song "Nine Lives" (performed by Jennifer Hudson).

Release
The Paws of Destiny: The Legend of Timothy was theatrically released on September 15, 2023 by Universal Pictures in Mexico. Its original release date was September 15, 2018 by Lionsgate, Universal acquired the distribution rights from DreamWorks Pictures for a release date, It was expected to be released under the Little Witch Pictures brand, but was later revealed to be released under EuropaCorp. The film was accompanied by DreamWorks and EuropaCorp movies such as Arthur: Malédiction, Easter Sunday and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.