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Kitty Softpaws (L) reunites with Puss in Boots. Photo courtesy of Dreamworks Animation
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 11 (UPI) — Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, in theaters Dec. 21, is a family fairy tale treat for the holidays. The film pushes animation further and has clever new takes on storybook characters for both kids and adults.
Puss (voice of Antonio Banderas) loses his eighth life in his latest adventure. To preserve his ninth life, Puss retires.
But, word of a Wishing Star with one last wish to give calls Puss back into action in the hopes he can wish for another nine lives. Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek) returns for this adventure and they meet many new characters along the way.
Big Jack Horner (John Mulaney) still sticks his thumb in pies but he’s become a crimelord, and he’s after the wishing star too. So are Goldi (Florence Pugh) and the three bears (Ray Winstone, Olivia Colman and Samson Kayo), who make plenty of “too much, too little, just right” jokes.
Puss in Boots isn’t limited to the Grimm fairy tales that inspired Shrek. Not only does it incorporate Mother Goose characters too, but also Easter eggs from Lewis Carroll, L. Frank Baum and more.
Puss himself dates back earlier than the Brothers Grimm, though they did include him in their stories too. Modern pop culture is also fair game, and a certain niche of movie buffs will appreciate a particular Nicolas Cage movie reference.
Jack makes irreverent jokes about his villainy. After centuries of children’s stories, let alone decades of family movies, a villain can’t very well behave one-dimensionally without at least commenting on it.
Puss and Kitty also let a dog, Perrito (Harvey Guillen), tag along. Perrito’s endless optimism in the face of adversity makes him endearing to both the audience and his animated companions.
Cat lovers will appreciate jokes about litter boxes, sleeping huddles and spray bottles. For all his bravery, Puss is still a feline.
There is a dark streak to some of the story. A montage of Puss’s previous eight deaths is absurd enough to make the comedy palatable, but talk about Perrito’s abusive owners is more poignant.
The Last Wish has a good message, though. Each character’s wish reveals what they think they’re lacking, and it’s clear to the viewer granting that wish won’t solve their problem.
Fortunately, the heroes realize the lesson before it’s too late and it’s clear the villains do themselves in for not heeding the wisdom.
The animation draws inspiration from Japanese anime and stop motion aesthetics in the action scenes. The camera whirls around the action ambitiously, but never too frenetically.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is a top three entry in the Shrekverse. It may not top the first two Shreks but it’s got a lot more to offer than some of the other sequels and spinoffs.
Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001 and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012. Read more of his work in Entertainment.
