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| Courtesy: Dreamworks/Universal |
It would be very easy for Puss in Boots: The Last Wish to coast along on its central selling point and immediate charm: Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek as suave, sassy, swashbuckling cats who when they aren't doing action-fantasy hijinks also behave pretty realistically like regular cats (doing the big-eyes thing and all that). Right there, that's enough to get cat people (like me - I have an orange guy at home who looks quite a lot like Puss) through the door. Considering that this is also the sixth theatrical film set in the larger Shrek-adjacent cinematic universe, one could be forgiven for wondering if it might indeed just decide that that inherent appeal is enough and leave it at that. But no - Puss in Boots: The Last Wish sets its sights much higher, and delivers a pleasant surprise. Yes, it definitely makes good on the promise of adorable cat behavior juxtaposed with its two stars' sassy bravado (which is also of course pretty realistic cat behavior, as my sassy guy Tom Tom would agree). But it also delivers a genuinely really good, ambitious, heartfelt adventure movie with great art style and some really cool, imaginative action sequences. This is a really well-made film, with a great sense of pacing and a well-balanced mix of humor, action, and heart, with the cat factor used just the right amount to enhance what would already be a good movie on its own, rather than being a crutch. This is a great animated adventure both for slightly older kids (it's definitely PG) and for adults who enjoy some whimsey and adorableness with their humor.
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| Courtesy: Dreamworks/Universal |
After a heroic fight with a giant monster costs him the eighth of his nine lives, Puss in Boots is forced to confront his own mortality: with no extra lives to spare, he feels that he can no longer be the swashbuckling rascal who laughs at death, and he reluctantly retires to a home for foster-kitties to become a housecat. But his old life soon comes barging in on his retirement, in the form of the Cockney crime syndicate of Goldilox and the Three Bears (Florence Pugh, Olivia Colman, Ray Winstone, and Samson Kayo, all giving excellent vocal performances that play like a fairytale sendup of a Guy Richie crime comedy), and he must put the boots back on for one more adventure, joined by Kitty Softpaws and their new dog pal Perrito (Harvey Guillén - Guillermo from What We Do in the Shadows, just as hilarious, sweet, and scene-stealing here). It is a mystical quest that could get him his nine lives back - but they are also being pursued by a fairytale crime boss (John Mulaney) and a sinister wolf assassin (Wagner Moura).
What follows is largely in the globetrotting-fantasy-quest narrative mold, taking them through various strange and perilous environments in pursuit of their goal, with quite a few action sequences as they cross paths with the various other factions who are after either them or on the same quest. But along the way there is also some character drama about Puss trying to come to terms with his mortality, and as a result more closely examining his life and identity. The fantasy and action aspects come with some very fun genre-skewering snark and satire, as one would expect from a film in the larger Shrekiverse (I don't know if anyone calls the Shrek cinematic universe that, I just made it up, but it sounds like it should be the real name). Puss and Kitty Softpaws' character arcs, on the other hand, are very sincere and heartfelt, and anchor the film with some legitimate moments of emotional resonance. It's not trying to be a philosophically-minded, heavy-topics kind of family film like Soul, but it gives the movie some unexpected depth and genuine sincerity which I really appreciated. The balance of tones really works, allowing it to be a breezy and fun watch that also keeps the viewer honestly invested.
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| Courtesy: Dreamworks/Universal |
The art style for the film is very strong, especially in some of its more fantastical landscapes and its action scenes. The main character designs are obviously pretty locked-in by this point, since this is the fifth theatrical film in which Puss in Boots has appeared, but the filmmakers give a slight twist on the visuals by using some subtle but quite effective cel shading accents (particularly in the fur patterns of Perrito, the bears, and the wolf), and they really have fun with the colorful and strange environments in the film's second half as the quest goes on. And naturally the animation is used superbly in the adorable-cat moments, such as a few times when Puss's fur puffs up as he feels the fear of his newfound mortality, or a delightful sequence in which he and Kitty go back and forth in a contest to see who can do the big-eye routine most adorably.
The place where the visuals most pop, however, is in the handful of big action scenes, which are really good. The action in the movie is very strongly inspired by anime of the classic hand-drawn variety, in terms of motion, combat style, and the use of stylized backgrounds. There is some very cool, fast and fluid swordplay, and a very strong sense for good framing and shot compositions to heighten the excitement. And crucially, the film shifts its frame-rate for the action scenes - not going high-frame-rate like Avatar: The Way of Water, but shifting to a deliberately slightly choppy 12-frames-a-second like Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse, which mimics hand-drawn cel animation despite still using the CGI character design, and gives the scenes a heightened kinetic impact. The opening sequence announces this animation style very boldly, as a goofy comic musical number that really lays on the cute-cat cheekiness turns into a giant-monster-fight with strong Shadow-of-the-Colossus-but-for-kids vibes. I absolutely expected the adorableness and the colorful fantasy environments when I went into the film, but I was quite surprised, and pleasantly so, by how much it really seeks to do something cool and different with its action.
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| Courtesy: Dreamworks/Universal |
Between the action, the genuine heart, and the genre satire, there is plenty in this movie that is clearly made for adults to enjoy as well as kids; it really is a movie with something for everyone. As far as the younger audience, it clearly is aimed at slightly-older kids and not super little ones; it definitely goes for that PG, with more violence to the fight scenes than I might have expected, a bit of language, and a genuinely pretty menacing villain in the wolf. I have no doubt that kids will love it - I definitely would have been all about this as a kid - but probably use some caution with really little ones. It definitely is a "family movie" and not a "kids movie" though, because it absolutely has those layers of humor and levels of themes for different age groups; kids will enjoy the sillier jokes, but adults will get a kick of older-skewing jokes like a straight-up Mad Max: Fury Road parody bit, and will appreciate the more thoughtful themes as Puss takes a more critical look back at his life and what kind of a cat it makes him. And of course, you will enjoy this movie even more if you are a cat person, because it definitely delivers a whole lot of cats-doing-cat-things goodness and very realistic cat animation used to very charming and funny effect.
As a cat-dad to an orange dude who loves a good bit of cheeky genre satire (I mean me, not my cat - I'm not sure how he feels about genre satire), I was pretty sure that this would be in my wheelhouse, but I didn't expect it to be as honestly solid an adventure movie as it is, nor quite as sincere. This was definitely one where I came for the adorable cats and stayed for the disarmingly good movie. I highly recommend this one. Bring your kids, bring your cats, or just check it out with friends; this is just a really fun time all around.
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