DreamWorks has long been a force to be reckoned with in animation, with financially successful properties like Kung Fu Panda and Trolls. Shrek is DreamWorks’ most beloved franchise, and the company has been able to flawlessly continue the ogre’s legacy by creating spin-offs centered around his sidekick, Puss in Boots. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish has proven to be a sleeper hit, with $555 million in box office earnings and an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Film.
This story follows Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas), who has lived many lives as a fearless hero and, being that he is a cat, has had a few lives to spare. Inevitably, he takes a stunt too far and finds himself left with only one remaining life. With death always on his tail, he can no longer be the fearless cat he once was. Instead, he must live the life he has always feared: that of a domestic cat.
Exchanging boots for kitty mittens and unlimited toilet privileges for a shared litter box, Puss prepares for a quiet retirement. Then he hears about the Wishing Star, a magical object hidden somewhere in the Forbidden Forest that will make dreams real. It is not long before Puss straps on his cape and rapier and quests for the star. During his journey, though, he encounters other iconic fairy-tale characters, such as Goldilocks (Florence Pugh) with her Three Bears (Olivia Colman, Ray Winstone, and Samson Kayo), Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek), and Jack Horner (John Mulaney), who are all out for the same prize. Diving back into his dangerous lifestyle, Puss has to team up and trust those around him to have any chance at another life. Jack simmers as the main antagonist, who is angry at the world for his lack of fame. Driven by this anger, he wants the Wishing Star to make him the most powerful and recognized creature in the world.
Even though Jack is evil, director Joel Crawford tunes the humor to make sure he’s not too scary. Many jokes throughout the film are geared toward adults, usually coming from Perrito (Harvey Guillén), whose dialogue is sometimes bleeped out for comedic effect.
Aside from the feelings this movie elicits, the screenplay is as entertaining and interesting as the characters themselves. The animation style has a hand-painted look, similar to some scenes from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The noticeable brush strokes and swirling color make the film feel like watching a painting in progress. The landscapes are especially pleasing to the eye.
While I have praised Puss In Boots: The Last Wish heavily, I do have one worry. The film ends with an overt suggestion that the future may yield another Shrek movie. DreamWorks, so far, has done a phenomenal job at upholding the Shrek legacy, but with so many sequels and remakes saturating the film industry, I would hate to see another classic franchise driven into the ground. If Shrek 5 is your plan, DreamWorks, maybe slow your roll just a tad.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
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