Eleven years have passed since the release of Puss in Boots, the original Shrek spinoff film based on the wildly popular character of Puss. Considering the first one wasn’t very well received, one may wonder if a sequel is even necessary at this point. But it seems with the release of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, this charming Spanish feline may have a few lives up his sleeve. Will this film be the end of the lives for Puss or perhaps the start of many more?
Directed by Joel Crawford, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish tells the story of Puss (Antonio Banderas), a swashbuckling boots-wearing tabby cat, who unexpectedly dies after getting crushed by a church bell after a flamboyant duel with a giant. Upon awakening, the doctor advises him that it may be time to hang up his hat and boots, as he’s now on his ninth and final life. Puss arrogantly scoffs at this suggestion, but then acquiesces after being humiliated in a near-death defeat in a bar duel with a wolf.
With his tail between his legs, he fakes his death and secludes himself with a local cat lady. Months later, he reemerges as an overly friendly and naive Chihuahua, who thinks he’s a cat, Perrito (Harvey Guillén), befriends him. But Puss and Perrito soon fly the coop when Goldilocks (Florence Pugh) and her three bears (Olivia Colman, Ray Winstone, Samson Kayo) find them, coerce Puss to help them find the illusive Wishing Star.
In a time when most animated films look homogenous, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish pushes the limits and stands out for its incredible visual design and animation. The art style has oil painting-like overlay, enhancing a fairy-tale aesthetic and setting, and it’s a refreshing feast for the eyes. The innovation continues to the animation itself, with the use of a reduced frame rate during in action scenes—inspired by Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse—feels effective, immersive, and visually fresh, making the action sequences pop. Standout scenes include the opening fight featuring CGI/2D hybrid animation with Puss sliding across rooftops and the vibrant action scenes in crystalline cave, which will take your breath away.
The Shrek series is known for its clever takes on fairy tale characters and this film is no exception. All the characters and villains are well-developed and top-notch. Antonio Banderas continues to captivate as the suave Puss, but the layers of his insecurity and fear of death add new depth and richness to the character. New tagalong Perrito is lovable, adorable, and pure, whose virtue serves as a critical plot point later one.
You would think by the sixth film in the Shrek series that the well of nursery rhyme characters would have run dry, but that’s far from the case. The film has a vast array of seven new villains and the filmmakers expertly manage to dedicate enough screen time to all so that they have interesting and satisfying character arcs. Big Jack Horner (John Mulaney) as an hulking, sniveling, over-the-top villain twist is on the traditional nursery rhyme character. His henchman Ethical Bug (Kevin McCann) is a humorous take on the Talking Cricket from Pinocchio. Goldilocks and the Three Bears are phenomenal, especially Goldilocks’ emotional journey confronting the definition of family. Lastly, it has been a long time since we had such a standout villain in animation the absolutely terrifying wolf (Wagner Moura) plays his role perfectly.
This film continually surprises with exploring such profound themes: death, what gives life meaning, what do you want to dedicate your life to, the meaning of family. Puss’s arrogance and hubris are torn down during the first scene, breaking him and forcing him to confront the fact that he has just one life left and asking throughout the film: What is he going to do with that life? Death is a direct foil to that and something that he can’t disregard and ignore, but must confront head on. As mentioned before, Goldilocks has an equally satisfying arc, as do many of the other characters such as Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek Pinault).
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is a surprise smash hit that sets the bar for what to expect from animated films. DreamWorks could have phoned in a lazy sequel, but instead pushed the film artistically, storywise, character-wise, reinventing the entire Shrek franchise in the process.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish hits theaters December 21, 2022.
★★★★★
