Movie Reviews

Movie Review: “Puss In Boots: The Last Wish” Is Simply Cat-Tastic


 

Puss in Boots discovers that his passion for adventure has taken its toll: he has burned through eight of his nine lives. Puss sets out on an epic journey to find the mythical Last Wish and restore his nine lives.

Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) finds himself at a loss when he realizes that he has lost eight of his nine lives. He reluctantly teams up with Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek) and a dog, Perro (Harvey Guillén), to find a wishing star so that he can restore all of his lives.

Antonio Banderas has always been great as Puss in Boots. I have not seen all the “Puss in Boots” films, but I have seen my fair share of “Shrek” films. He and Salma Hayek have always had great chemistry, so having them star in another movie together is nice. However, the third team member, the dog, stands out. Harvey Guillén, who is similarly significant in the TV series “What We Do in the Shadows,” brings a lot of heart to his character and comedic relief.

This film also has a pretty stacked supporting voice cast. Florence Pugh voices Goldilocks, who is also after the wishing star, along with the three bears – Mama Bear (Olivia Colman), Papa Bear (Ray Winstone), and Baby Bear (Samson Kayo). Comedian John Mulaney voices Big Jack Horner, a character from a nursery rhyme I had never heard before. There is also the Wolf voiced by Wagner Moura, who is quite menacing and scares Puss.

I must first applaud the animation style here. The creators used a painted type of animation that looks beautiful on screen. It gives the film more texture and helps it stand out compared to the typical 3D animated fare. The director, Joel Crawford, credits “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” and “Akira” for inspiration, and I would love to see more animated films in this vain.

Most of the “Shrek” films, including “Puss in Boots,” riff on well-known fairytales. There are some excellent jokes and easter eggs in the movie about that. However, the central themes of the film focus on mortality and ego. This worked in the film’s favor as what I first thought to be a cash grab turned out to be very well done and successfully tugged at my heartstrings.

I think “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” is a perfect movie to see with the family this holiday season. It has a nice story, a great voice cast, breathtaking animation, and funny jokes, and it will most likely make you feel gooey inside. I had an absolute blast with this film, which I was not expecting.

 

In Theaters Wednesday, December 21st

 

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William Calvert
William Calvert
1 year ago

My family loved this movie and your review.

James McDonald
Admin
1 year ago

Thank you.

Isabelle Anguiano

Isabelle is a film critic who was born and raised in Dallas. She graduated with a BA in Media Arts with a minor in Spanish at the University of North Texas. To Isabelle, nothing can beat going to the movie theater, it's her home away from home. And as a lover of all things TV and movies, she runs her own review blog at IsabelleReviewsMovies.com as well as contributes to IrishFilmCritic.com and ShuffleOnline.net.