Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (A Film Review)

WARNING - Includes minor spoilers for Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

Cast: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek Pinault, Harvey Guillen, Florence Pugh, Ray Winstone, Olivia Colman, Samson Kayo and John Mulaney

Directed by: Joel Crawford

Runtime: 102 minutes

Rating: PG (parental guidance, some scenes may be scary for children)

Release date: December 21st, 2022

Lovers of the Shrek franchise will instantly remember the Spanish-accented, Zorro-parodied orange cat voiced by Antonio Banderas, who returns to the big screen in an all-new adventure that mingles with fantasy characters (Little Jack Horner, the Big, Bad Wolf, and Goldilocks and the Three Bears) as well as its predecessors in the Shrek franchise did. With this children's fantasy epic being released so close to Christmas, it's a wonderful film for all the family to see (although there are some scary scenes, be warned).

The premise of the film is, of course, about our heroic Puss in Boots, who discovers he's burned through eight of his nine lives. In a panic and being hunted down by bounty hunters (aka. the Big Bad Wolf, voiced by Wagner Moura of Narcos fame), he ditches his swashbuckling persona and begins to live a life as a normal cat in a rundown home called Mama Luna's Cat Rescue, where the titular owner (voiced by Da'Vine Joy Randolph) cares for him and dozens of other cats. That is, until he meets a mutt disguised as a cat, who goes by the name of Perro (voiced by Harvey Guillen) and is affectionately dubbed "Perrito"(which is Spanish for "puppy") by our battered hero. The two eventually escape the home when Goldilocks (voiced by Florence Pugh of Midsommar and Black Widow fame) and the Three Bears crime family (voiced by Samson Kayo as Baby Bear, Ray Winstone as Papa Bear and Olivia Colman as Mama Bear respectively) trespass on Mama Luna's home in order to find Puss. The unlikely duo run into Puss' old flame Kitty Softpaws (voiced by Salma Hayek) and while Puss and Kitty do have their grievances, the three of them team up to find the Wishing Star, in order to grant Puss one last wish.

The film carries you on tenterhooks from beginning to end, as Puss narrowly avoids death several times over, much to the chagrin of his enemies. It portrays the most accurate image in a children's film that I've ever seen in regards to fear. Blinding, unadulterated fear that's so crippling that you feel you can't move on, and even though Puss feels alone in his fear, he has Perrito and Kitty Softpaws to help him get up and keep going. There are a lot of main antagonists, but the one that is certainly the most terrifying is the Big Bad Wolf. With sharp red eyes that would most certainly burn a hole through you, and shiny, razor-edged twin sickles, this animated villain seems to be a direct symbolism of what Puss fears most: death.

For a lot of the movie, we seem to lose the bravado that Puss puts on most of the time throughout the Shrek franchise. Sure, there's been many near-death experiences for our favourite, fearless feline hero, but never before has he come so close to the Grim Reaper's sickle of death than this, and not only is it wonderfully done in this film through the storyboarding, CGI and visual effects, but it's wonderfully told through dialogue. You can tell so much of a story through animation, perhaps more than you can tell through live action, and this film is evidence of that. That's not to say that Puss isn't brave in this movie, because he is. Very much so. The best people have crippling fear in some form or another, but they choose to get up and push on, and they are brave in spite of their fear.

Not only is this film a great representation of our fears and being brave in spite of them, but it is also an adventure about family and friends, about trusting one another, and about selflessness in the face of a great opportunity that could easily be yours instead of blessing someone else. Also, this film had plenty of funny moments in between, which is on par for a kids' movie about a particular ginger cat with a rapier blade and definitely more than one brain cell. As per the rating, this film does require some caution, as there is more than one scary scene in this film (thanks to the Big, Bad Wolf) and it might be a little too terrifying for very young children, but children ages 12 and up will certainly enjoy this animated flick, as will adults.

Final verdict:

My rating for Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is 9.5/10. Wonderfully acted, scripted, and brought to life in a fascinating, colourful way through CGI and storyboarding.

As always, please support my Linktree and Patreon, and give tips and donations when you can!! It helps me keep writing as much as possible as I am wanting to turn this gig into a part time casual business outlet.

And if you're into fanfiction, check out my Wattpad page, WinterPhoenix123, where I have fanfiction ranging from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the CW's Arrowverse, Netflix's Shadow and Bone and HBO's House of the Dragon. I'm very passionate about writing female characters and my Wattpad page is my favourite outlet for doing so.

p.s. I'm going to try and post more often on my Vocal page to be able to generate more reads, but sometimes I just get so caught up with life that I forget to come up with content to post. I might aim for at least once or twice a week, but we'll see where we go.