In Movies: “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”

It’s been 11 years since Puss in Boots starred in its first picture and fifth inclusion Shrek series of films. And at Joel Crawford’s Puss in Boots: The Last Wishnow we see that the orange tabby still has it impressively.

I love it when successful franchises feel comfortable enough to experiment with their themes and stories when they don’t have to worry about box office performance. by Peter Hewitt Bill & Ted’s fake trip (1991) was a clever metaphor for limbo and the afterlife, while The Last Wish actually not much different.

Along with one of the most colorful, exciting opening sequences I’ve seen in a while, Crawford’s animated fantasy may be one of the best animated efforts since 2022.

As we all know in legend, cats have nine lives, and our protagonist Puss (voiced as usual by Antonio Banderas) is informed by a local animal doctor that he has officially used up eight of them since his wild life as a vigilante on the run . .

The doctor’s best advice is to consider retiring and switching to a “cuddle cat” for a nice, older human. Initially offended by the suggestion, Puss changes his mind when he meets a fearsome, cloaked wolf (Wagner Moura), who more or less knows Puss’s mortality.

Now suddenly feeling vulnerable, the feline reunites with old flame Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek) and a misunderstood pup named Perro (Harvey Gullien) to find the particular star to make a legendary “last wish” for more lives.

As someone who hasn’t seen a new animated family film since probably the first one Puss in Boots spin-off, but recently becoming an aunt, I now have a renewed appreciation for family entertainment.

The Last Wish it’s nothing super subversive or irreverent, but it’s also fun in a traditional fairy tale way. Puss and Kitty have a great camaraderie where you can tell Banderas and Hayek are having fun with their voice acting.

Florence Pugh, John Mulaney and Wagner Moura are wonderfully sinister as the villains. There are token references to adult classics that parents will recognize. and the live fake animation for some sequences in the same vein as Sony’s In the verse of the spider (2018) brings a fresh look to view.

Although I found Gullien’s Perro a little too similar to Josh Gad’s Olaf at Disney Frosted (2013), The Last Wish would do just fine for families who enjoy cats, Shrek-adjacent humor and plenty of classic fairy tale references.

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