Get To Know Rex, The New Paw Patrol Pup Who’s About To Be Your Kid's Favorite

If you’re reading this, you’ve likely lost hours of your life to Paw Patrol. You’ve taken a side in the Chase-versus-Marshall debate. You have a long-standing grudge against Mayor Humdinger, a fictional cartoon politician with a bad mustache. Same, friend. And as someone who literally knows the theme song by heart thanks to my own son’s preschool-years obsession, take it from me: Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie is worth loading up your little fans for and taking them to the theater.

It goes without saying that kids will love the dinosaur slant here. But kids and moms alike will also be easily won over by Rex, the endearing pup at the center of the big-screen outing.

Scary Mommy has the exclusive first look at a new featurette that takes you behind the scenes to get to know both Rex and the actor who plays him, Hayden Chemberlen. Of course, if your kid is deep in the Nick Jr. canon, they’ll recognize Rex. He turned up in the Dino Rescue sub-series as the franchise's first pup who uses a wheelchair, a dino-obsessed Bernese Mountain Dog.

The movie, however, hands him a much bigger job. After a storm strands the Paw Patrol on an uncharted island full of dinosaurs, they find Rex, who has been marooned there for years and is now the resident expert on the prehistoric creatures. Watch the exclusive featurette below!

According to Chemberlen, he and his character have a lot in common. In his telling, they both use wheelchairs, and they’re both athletic, smart, and creative. He also grew up watching the show, which is the kind of full-circle detail that packs a surprising emotional punch.

That first shared trait Chemberlen mentions is something parents will clock immediately, because kids who use wheelchairs almost never get to be the expert in the room in a movie like this. Here, Chemberlen’s Rex knows the terrain, speaks the language, and, ultimately, helps save the day. But Rex isn’t a “lesson.” He’s just the coolest character on the island, who happens to have wheels.

McKenna Grace (back as Skye) and Terry Crews (voicing Alistair Stonewell) round out the featurette, walking through the pups' first encounter with Rex and his very large, very prehistoric friends. From that point in the featurette, things escalate fast. Mayor Humdinger starts mining the island for its resources (see aforementioned grudge!) and inadvertently sets off a dormant volcano, sending the pups into one of the biggest and wildest rescue missions they’ve ever attempted.

The movie’s A-list voice cast includes stars like Jennifer Hudson, Fortune Feimster, Jameela Jamil, and more. It also features a new Backstreet Boys single, "Bottle Up," which, hello, what a win for millennial moms.

Bonus? Paramount is giving parents a chance to celebrate the theater experience by offering early access “My First Movie” screenings on Saturday, Aug. 8 at 2 p.m. local time. Attendees get a 12x18 collector's print, a My First Movie certificate, and a commemorative button, while supplies last, plus interactive bonus content before the feature. Tickets are on sale now at pawpatrol.movie/seeitfirst.

If the timing doesn’t work out for your fam to attend a “My First Movie” screening, though, no worries; Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie gets a wide release six days later on Aug. 14. The film is rated PG for mild action and peril.

Watch the exclusive featurette to get everyone excited about what’s in store for the heroic pups... and for the new guy, who’s about to become everybody’s favorite.