Movie Review: Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

 

Michael's Movie Grade: A-

The most unique film in the Shrek franchise is also one of the best.

This movie has possibly the strongest storyline of the whole franchise. This is heavily due to how it is not afraid to enter darker and more serious territory than the previous films. Much of this film revolves around Puss being on his last life and having to face his own mortality. Though he has spent his whole lives laughing in the face of death, now he feels complete and utter fear. Looking into this side of Puss that we haven't seen before offers a whole new depth and relatability to the character. This is especially effective as Puss goes through a major and completely believable arc. He truly grows up as a character, yet at the same time no matter how much he grows, he still always feels like the same character. This is held together especially well by a wonderful vocal performance from the always great Antonio Banderas. However Puss isn't the only with a character arc. Despite the sheer number of characters in this movie, the majority of them have satisfying and well thought out arcs (this is especially true of Kitty Softpaws and Goldilocks). With this in mind the drama here is more effective than any of the previous films. You truly care about the characters and the film has some shockingly good emotional moments. I also love that this whole movie has a quite different feel from the other films in the franchise and it is amazing that even six movies in, a franchise can still feel fresh and try out new things. 

Yet none of this is to say that the humor is in any way lacking. Humor plays a major role in why the franchise is so beloved and this movie fully meets its predecessors in that area. This is a very funny movie. The opening scenes are especially hilarious and even if the previous deaths joke was shown in the trailer, it is even funnier here. Puss' wonderful self-congratulatory song also put a huge smile on my face. This picture combines wonderful slapstick with some of the great satire we have come to except from these films. However this movie can also have a really dark sense of humor as well. There is a surprisingly high death count here and most of these deaths are played for laughs. This might have seemed off-putting, if it wasn't so darn funny. Big Jack Horner is a villain with no redeeming qualities, and it is obvious that the filmmakers had a wonderful time writing for such a character as some truly hilarious comedy comes from his pure evilness. His interactions with a Jimminy Cricket type character are especially hilarious. And the interactions are made even funnier by Kevin McCann providing a very funny Jimmy Stewart impression as the cricket. 

The animation here is also wonderful. This movie goes for a real storybook feel that pays off wonderful. The action scenes in here look like they could have come right out of a storybook and it was simply a joy to look at. As well as this it adds to the fairytale type feel and makes the film even more effective. 

This is a truly wonderful movie and can hold its own among the best films of the franchise.