Puss in Boots: The Last Wish review: A surprising delight
Review Overview
Cast
8Creativity
8Visuals
8David Farnor | On 10, Apr 2023
Director: Joel Crawford, Januel Mercado
Cast: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Harvey Guillen, Florence Pugh, Olivia Colman, Ray Winstone, John Mulaney, Wagner Moura
Certificate: PG
It’s been almost 20 years since Shrek 2 stomped into cinemas, turning DreamWorks Animation’s self-aware fairytale comedy into an inevitable franchise. Since then, he’s appeared in a solo spin-off film, the other two Shrek sequels and even a Netflix series – but with the quality of those outings varying greatly, you’d be forgiven for thinking that his nine lives have by this point run out. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish leans into that feeling with all the bombast and aplomb of its leading feline.
The film picks up with Puss realising that he only has one life left, and his burnout leads him into a full-on midlife crisis, with the last cat standing haunted by his eight former lives. His anxiety, inferiority complex and lack of self-esteem are preyed upon by a figure who’s none other than death itself – in the form of a bounty hunter wolf, voiced with tombstone gravitas by Wagner Moura.
As Puss experiences fear for the first time, he retreats from his legendary persona, where he ends up accompanied by Perrito, a little dog voiced by What We Do in the Shadows’ Harvey Guillen, whose upbeat, wide-eyed excitement and optimism is a reminder to focus on the happy things in life. Throw in the return of the slinky, sarcastic Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek Pinault) and a bunch of fairytale characters – including gangster Little Jack Horner (John Mulaney) and Goldilocks and the three bears (Florence Pugh, Ray Winstone, Olivia Colman and Samson Kayo) – and you have the framework of a family adventure, involving the hunt for the mythical Wishing Star.
All the knowing wisecracks that follow are what longtime Shrek audiences will have come to expect, for better or worse, but they feel fresh and funny here – partly thanks to the time passed since Puss’ last outing, but mostly becaus the film grounds it in Puss’ internal existential wranglings. Antonio Banderas’ performance, balancing boisterous ego and growling vulnerability, is the beating heart of the whole endeavour, able to bring depth and charisma at the drop of a feathered hat.
But the surprising star of the film is the visuals, which are conceived and executed by the directors and animation team with wit, energy and style. Following in the same vein as Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, they blend 3D and 2D layers with a painterly flourish and gorgeous use of fabrics and textures – heightening the tension, humour, character and heart with inventive imagination. By the time the final showdown arrives, it all collides with so much creativity that, like its hero, the Puss in Boots franchise has an unexpected new lease of life.