My Movie Review on Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

Bueno Dias, my friends.

This is your charming film, TV show, and episode reporting amigo here with another review.

Today, for the 2nd and final installment of this year's "February Festivity", I'm gonna give you guys my take of "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish".

Here's the rundown of this tale:

In the wake of winning a monster battle, the legendary feline hero known as Puss in Boots discovers that he's down to the last of his 9 lives. With his days as a swashbuckling adventurer finally taking a toll on him, Puss has no choice but to retire and settle down as a lap cat.

However, when he discovers that the mythical Wishing Star exists, Puss goes on perhaps his greatest quest yet in order to restore the rest of his lives. Accompanying him on the journey is a therapy dog named Perrito, and Puss's ex-fiancee Kitty Softpaws, the latter whom has a wish of her own she desires.

Getting to the Wishing Star won't be an easy feat, though, especially since Puss and company have competition: Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and "Big" Jack Horner. As if that isn't enough, Puss is being hunted by a mysterious wolf who's particularly determined to end him once and for all.

In all honesty, I was originally going to wait until this movie came out on home video to make this review, even after I saw it in theaters a while back. But, I found myself feeling so excited from my overall experience, I just couldn't wait any longer.

In order to review the film, I decided to watch it a couple more times to ensure that my thoughts and feelings on this sequel were precise and accurate. The only problem was that it was too expensive to rent the film from anywhere, so I watched it via a free movie website to work around the situation. As for why I decided to make the review part of my "February Festivity", the main reason is because I thought the romance between Puss and Kitty made it perfect for the occasion.

Coming from a guy who saw "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish" three times now, I'm proud to say that this sequel is truly a masterpiece in its own right. And one of Dreamworks's best movies in years, that's for sure.

For instance, the direction by Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado, the story by Tom Wheeler and Tommy Swerdlow, and the screenplay by Swerdlow and Paul Fisher, were fantastic!

When it came to being a continuation of both the first "Puss in Boots" movie and the "Shrek" films, Crawford and company did an excellent job making this sequel faithful to its predecessors while also providing something new and unique. In this case, they captured why the Shrek franchise is so special while giving it an opportunity to grow and evolve, which is something that isn't often achieved. On top of this, the runtime and pacing of this sequel was an improvement over that of the first Puss in Boots film, because it didn't feel as straightforward or quick-paced compared to the latter.

Along with this, the humor throughout the film was deeply hysterical. Every gag and comedic bit came so naturally through their executions, and they carried an innocence that made them too irresistible to not laugh at. The dramatic, emotional, and heartfelt moments were well-done too, particularly because of how genuine and soul-tugging they were. Plus, the action sequences were a blast to see, and the suspenseful & tension-filled scenes put me on the edge of my seat.

The themes and morals were fantastic as well.

I loved how the filmmakers were teaching that we as people should never take our own lives for granted, and that we must make the best of our time in this world before eventually passing on. And conquer our fears, of course. It also teaches that we should be content and appreciative of the wonderful things we already have or gained, because if we aren't...our lives would lead into ruin.

The animation was astonishing, if I may add.

When I first found out that the visual style was going to be very different from its predecessors, and that it'd be inspired by "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" (which I apologize for not reviewing yet, by the way), I was rather unsure about the whole thing. Even after I saw a trailer or two for the movie. To my surprise, though, the animation turned out to be better than I expected!

Everything about the overall visualization truly had the look and feel of an illustrated fairytale, especially the kind done by artists who use paint or watercoloring for their pictures. Regardless of the difference in technology and approach, the sequel's visual style was incredibly faithful to its predecessors; it carried a balance of being both familiar and different, and it's rare for an animated franchise installment to accomplish such a feat. The character animation was smooth-flowing and eye-catching, the settings and colors were gorgeous, etc.

Plus, the music by Heitor Pereira was magnificent.

The entirety of Pereira's score showcased perhaps the very best of his career as a film composer. Not only did his melodies match perfectly with the fairytale setting and world, but they were emotionally-investing and alluring. As I took note of every music piece featured in this movie, I also found that they sounded strongly reminiscent of Western and Spanish films, which matched perfectly with Puss's Spanish persona and the story's tone. And I really can't lie, "Fearless Hero" was a deeply enjoyable musical number worthy of being listened to over and over again.

Finally, the voice acting, characters, and character development were spectacular.

11 years since the first Puss in Boots movie was released, Antonio Banderas showed that he didn't lost his touch playing the title character, and he gave perhaps the very best portrayal of Puss yet. The emotion he imbued for every moment with his character, along with his comedic-timings, particularly sounded like he did far more than just provide Puss's voice. Salma Hayek was also quite a scene-stealer in her reprisal of Kitty Softpaws, and she portrayed her character with an even greater amount of emotional depth and humor. To top it all off, both Puss and Kitty were as lovable as ever, their developments were extraordinary, and their chemistry & redeveloping romance was not only well-done but a brilliant reminder of why they're one of my favorite animated romantic pairings.

In addition to this, the new characters were fabulous additions to the franchise, and the people who portrayed them gave marvelous performances.

The character of Perrito was a wonderful addition to the Shrek franchise. When I saw the trailers, I thought he was going to be a mere comic relief who was there simply for providing laughs. But, I was surprised to find that he turned out to be far more than that. His role as a comic-relief was deeply spot-on, and the gags revolving around him were amusing, of course. What really makes Perrito stand out, though, is that he's proven himself to be a loving, insightful, and wise friend for those he cares for. The references of his past, and his positive attitude & wisdom, also show that Perrito is someone who grew from his tragedies and continued doing so, even despite the insistence from others that he deserves the wish. Harvey Guillen was amazing in the role, and his performance carried a warmth, innocence, and heart that further displayed Perrito's personality and character from the inside.

Likewise, and similar to a great many others, I deeply enjoyed the Wolf/Death. Granted, he didn't have as much screen time compared to the other major characters, but that's perfectly okay! He still had excellent personality, and he was fully-realized and well-developed in his own way. I particularly enjoyed how his role in the story unravelled as the film progressed, because rather than a mere bounty hunter and villain, he's revealed to be a literal force of nature. On top of this, Wagner Moura's performance as the character was wickedly entrancing, and he certainly knew how to make his debut in an animated film right.

On the subject of "Big" Jack Horner, I will admit that he wasn't someone I particularly enjoyed watching at first. However, it later occurred to me that the basic intention behind his character was to make him the most genuinely villainous of the 3 teams hunting for the Wishing Star, as well as have no redeemable qualities compared to the others. The filmmakers did an excellent job making Jack exactly as I described while still translating him as someone who's three-dimensional and entertaining. John Mulaney's portrayal of Jack was equally fabulous, not just thanks to his top-notch comedic-timings and the sense of humor he gave the character, but also because of the emotion and personality he put into his performance.

Lastly, Goldilocks and the Three Bears were an absolute delight every step of the way. Their chemistry as a family group was fantabulous, their personalities were stupendous, and their developments were exceptional. Out of all four characters, Goldilocks in particular was the one who grew the most, and it warmed my heart that she eventually realized the perfect family was right in front of her. The performances of Florence Pugh as Goldi, Ray Winstone as Papa Bear, Olivia Coleman as Mama Bear, and Samson Kayo as Baby Bear, were terrific as well. Or as Goldi would say, "Just Right".

In conclusion, "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish" was undeniably worth the 11 year wait. Not only was Dreamworks on their A-Game with this film, but it's the very best animated feature of 2022. The best part is that it carries zero signs of political-correctness and agenda-influence, which makes this sequel something all-the-more enjoyable and comfortable to sit through.

So, I rate "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish" a solid 5 out of 5 stars.