It’s not that easy to find a good G or PG-rated movie in domestic theatrical release.

It’s not that easy to find G or PG-rated movies period in movie theaters.

Why is that? Let’s go to the statistics.

In the Motion Pictures Association of America (MPAA) rating system, of theatrical movies released, G and PG movies comprise not quite 25 percent, R movies comprise approximately 25 percent, and PG-13 movies comprise nearly 50 percent.

Based on the years 1995 to 2023 (and as of the Oct. 9, 2023, deadline for this article), PG-13-rated movies comprised 48.50 percent, R-rated movies comprised 26.18 percent, PG-rated movies comprised 20.64 percent, G-rated movies comprised 3.79 percent; Not Rated comprised 0.76 percent, and NC-16 comprised 0.02 percent, according to the website The Numbers of Nash Information Services, LLC.

The North America domestic market is defined as United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Guam.

The MPAA rating system is:

Rated G: General audiences. All ages admitted.

Rated PG: Parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

Rated PG-13: Parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

Rated R: Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

Rated NC-17: Adults Only. No one 17 and under admitted.

We were on patrol for a good PG or G movie and the walk led to “Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie.”

“Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie” is the sequel to “Paw Patrol: The Movie” (2021), based on the Canadian children’s animated TV series, which began airing on TVOntario and Nickelodeon in 2013 and is in its 10th season.

The acronym Paw stands for “Pups At Work” or “Protect And Wag.” Cute, huh?

In “Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie,” a meteor crashes into Adventure City. The Paw Patrol, a mixed mutt group of adorable pups, find a new headquarters, that of an aircraft carrier. Of course, they do.

When Skye (voiced by McKenna Grace) touches the meteor and its crystals, she discovers that she and the The Paw Patrol can transform into The Mighty Pups with superpowers. Of course, they do. And this without gourmet dog food.

However, meteor expert and arch villain (When have the two become synonymous?) Victoria “Vee” Vance (Taraji P. Henson) wants the powers of the meteor crystals all for her own. Of course, she does. And, no, it’s not puppy love.

Vee conspires with Mayor Humdinger (Ron Pardo), former mayor of Adventure City, to battle the Paw Patrol for control of the meteor crystals. He’s a Humdinger, all right, especially when he grows to Godzilla size and stomps all over Adventure City.

The plot and action in “Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie” is unimaginative and routine. The animation is more what you would expect from a Saturday morning children’s animation show. Moreover, the animation in “The Mighty Movie” sequel doesn’t seem to be as good as that in the original “Paw: The Movie” release.

The saving, ahem, grace of “Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie” is a subplot about Skye (McKenna Grace). Skye seems to be left out of the puppy crew and is insecure, a state of mind she must overcome.

McKenna Grace (TV’s “The Handmaid’s Tale,” 2021-22; TV’s “Spirit & Friends,” 2022; “Young Sheldon,” 2018-2023) voices the character of Skye distinctively. The animation of the character is one of the standouts in the movie. A more prominent role for Skye would have improved the movie.

Taraji P. Henson has a lot of fun as Victoria Vance, with exaggerated exclamation and a terrific evil cackle of a laugh.

The star-studded voice talent includes James Marsden (Hank), Kristen Bell (Janet), Chris Rock (Kitty), Serena Williams (Yoga) and Kim Kardashian (Delores) and her children, North West (Mini) and Saint West (Meteor Man).

There’s also Finn Lee-Epp (Ryder) Marsal Martin (Liberty), Lil Rel Howery (Sam Stringer) Christian Convery (Chase), Alan Kim (Nano), Brice Gonzalez (Tot), Christian Corrao (Marshall) and Luxton Handspiker (Rubble).

Director Cal Brunker (Director: “Paw Patrol: The Movie,” 2021; “The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature,” 2017; “Escape from Planet Earth,” 2012) doesn’t bring a distinctive style to the movie.

The screenplay by Brunker and Bob Barlen (“Paw Patrol: The Movie,” “The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature,” “Escape from Planet Earth”) seems to merely go through the emotions. The plot is cliched, the dialogue is lackluster and there’s a lack of humor, puns and quips typical of animation feature films.

The story is by Brunker, Barlen and Shane Morris (story, “Frozen,” 2013). The movie is based on the television show created by Keith Chapman (creator, TV’s “Bob the Builder,” 1997-2018).

Mikros Image, Montreal, did the animation for “Paw Patrol: The Mighty Move” and “Paw: the Movie.” The animation is not up to what we’ve come to expect in animation feature films.

The score by Pinar Toprak sounds generic.

“Paws Patrol: The Mighty Movie” is, alas, not so mighty. Preschoolers may enjoy it. Parents and guardians may enjoy watching the little ones’ reactions to the movie rather than viewing the movie itself.

“Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie,”

MPAA rated PG (Parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.) for mild action, peril. Genre: Run Time: 1 hour, 28 minutes. Distributed by Paramount Pictures.

Credit Readers Anonymous:

The soundtrack includes “Down Like That” by Bryson Tiller, “Bark to the Beat” by McKenna Grace, and “Learning To Fly” by Christina Aguilera.

At The Movies:

”Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie” was seen in the standard format at AMC Center Valley 16.

An animation short film, “Dora and the Fantastical Creatures” (“Dora y las Criaturas Fantásticas”), that precedes ”Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie” is a look at the new “Dora” preschool series.

Theatrical Movie Domestic Weekend Box Office,

Oct. 13 - 15: “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” opened at No. 1 with $96 million in 3,855 theaters, exorcising “The Exorcist: Believer” from its one-week No. 1 run, dropping to No. 2, with $11 million in 3,684 theaters, $44.9 million, two weeks.

“The Eras Tour” documentary may become the top-grossing concert film ever, surpassing Justin Bieber’ s “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never” (2010) and Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” (2009); could pass “Joker” (2019), which grossed $96.2 million, and become the biggest October opening, and is the seventh-biggest opening of 2023, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

3. “Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie” dropped one place, $7 million in 3,707 theaters, $49.8 million, three weeks. 4. “Saw X” dropped one place, $5.7 million in 3,058 theaters, $41.4 million, three weeks. 5. ”The Creator” dropped one place, $4.3 million in 2,960 theaters, $32.4 million, three weeks. 6. “A Haunting in Venice” stayed in place, $2 million in 2,290 theaters, $38.9 million, five weeks. 7. “The Blind” dropped two places, $2 million in 1,165 theaters, $13.9 million, three weeks. 8. “The Nun II” dropped one place, $1.6 million in 2,128 theaters, $83.7 million, six weeks. 9. “The Equalizer 3” stayed in place, $960,000 in 1,524 theaters, $90.5 million, seven weeks. 10. “Dumb Money” dropped two places, $920,000 in 2,276 theaters, $10.6 million, five weeks.

Movie box office information from Box Office Mojo as of Oct. 15 is subject to change.

Unreel,

Oct. 20:

“Killers of the Flower Moon,”

R: Martin Scorsese directs Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, Robert De Niro, Jesse Plemons, John Lithgow and Brendan Fraser in the Crime, Drama, History film. Members of the Osage tribe in the United States are murdered during the 1920s’ oil boom, bringing an FBI investigation led by J. Edgar Hoover.

“The Canterville Ghost,”

PG: Kim Burdon and Robert Candler direct the voice talents of Toby Jones, Hugh Laurie, Freddie Highmore, Stephen Fry, Miranda Hart and Imelda Staunton in the animation comedy. An American family moves to Canterville Chase, a mansion haunted for 300 years by the ghost of Sir Simon De Canterville.

Movies opening information from Internet Movie Database as of Oct. 15 is subject to change.

Two Popcorn Boxes out of Five Popcorn Boxes