Dreamworks stays true to their fun and memorable characters. PHOTO CREDIT: shrek.fandom.com
“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” is the most recent animated feature to come out from Dreamworks Animation Studios.
It features the titular feline, played once again by Antonio Banderas, on a “light-hearted” adventure, where he finds out that he almost used up all of his nine lives. So, he sets out to find a mythical wishing star so he can restore them. On the way he is joined by his old flame Kitty Softpaws, played by Salma Hayek, and an optimistic dog simply nicknamed Perrito, played by Harvey Gullien, and on the way Puss reflects on his various lives and contemplates his own mortality. I am dead serious, the cartoon cat has an existential crisis.
I was initially uninterested in seeing the film, as I was under the belief that since it was more family oriented and a sequel as well that the creators would just phone it in and move on to the next project. However, things began to change when I heard all the buzz about it online and how great it was, with most citing the film’s heavy handed themes of death and mortality as a driving factor for its success.
That is something that I couldn’t agree more with. I am going to be very blunt here, we are all going to die some day, and I believe that we’ve all gone or are going through the process of coming to terms with that, and the way they captured and portrayed that with Puss’s arc is nothing short of incredible.
Throughout the entire film death is right over Puss’s shoulders, and as more things transpire we see it get to him, as he becomes more broken down and fragile, even to the point where he has a panic attack in one scene. It’s great to see the film treat these scenes with the respect that they deserve, as there are no jokes to undercut them.
Speaking of jokes, there are plenty in the film to help balance things out. They thankfully don’t delve into the territory of crude kiddie humor; some jokes even had me laughing out loud in certain instances, and it all really comes down to how the characters bounce off of each other.
All of the characters here are fun and memorable. The main trio of Puss, Kitty, and Perrito are really fun to watch as they navigate the various obstacles that come on their path, and work off each other well to create some really fun and sometimes very sweet moments.
Then there are the antagonists, three groups of them to be exact, and you may think that with that many characters things would be cluttered but actually it’s quite the opposite. Some of them are well-rounded characters while others remain flat which gives the film less work to do.
First up, there’s Goldie Locks and the Three Bears who make up a family of criminals, all suited with Cockney accents which makes them both intimidating and humorous at times. They have their own arc, and while I do think it’s a bit basic and cliché, I’d say it works out for the most part.
Next is Jack Horner, who some would say stole the show completely. He is completely blunt with what he wants and cares little when his henchmen are murdered in the most brutally humorous ways imaginable. Jack is just flat out evil and even he knows it, and it’s from this simplicity that makes him such an entertaining character to watch.
Finally then there’s Death, “straight-up” Death. He’s personified as a white wolf who wears a black cloak, and out of all the antagonists he’s the one who has the greatest presence. His beet red eyes, foreboding whistle and the sound of him dragging his weapons all shape him up to be a terrifying force to be reckoned with, especially when it comes to the fight scenes he’s in which are amazing.
All of the action scenes are beautifully done. Whenever one starts you can see the frame rate drop which gives way to more fast paced moments, with the cinematography and sound design perfectly complimenting it.
The overall style of the film is amazing too, with there being more bright colors which help make certain scenes and characters pop out more like they were in a storybook. It’s obvious to see that the animators here took a page out of “Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse” when crafting the film’s visual style, and I believe it worked wonders for it. Basically the cartoon looks like a cartoon. I like it.
Overall, I had a blast watching this, and while some parts were a bit predictable to me and some of the internet hype raised my expectations a little too high in some cases, this is a very energetic and touching film which I highly recommend seeing. I’d give this film nine cats out of ten, gave me existential dread. Watch the film and see what you think of it!
