Puss in Boots: The Last Wish: The Sequel Nobody Expected to Go So Hard
Falcon Rating: 4.5/5
March 14, 2023
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is the sixth installment of the Shrek franchise, which follows Puss (Antonio Banderas) through his nine lives. Puss has never struggled or feared the thought of dying. However, as he finally dies for the eighth time, he begins fearing the unavoidability of life’s impermanence. Thus, Puss embarks on a journey to the wishing star to regain his nine lives and become a fearless hero who laughs at the face of death. This movie was unlucky with its timing, as it got released around the same time as blockbuster Avatar: The Way of Water. While this was a good film, it feels like a carbon copy of the first film, just with new characters. However, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is infinitely better than the avatar sequel. The journey is great, the characters are well developed, and the refined animation is terrific.
Although this is a sequel, you do not need to watch the first film to understand this new installment. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish may be the best animated film of this year, with an incredible animation style somewhat similar to Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse, but with a more watercolor paint look that makes everything appear gorgeously stylized.
The writing is solid, with the jokes landing quite a lot. There are also incredible character moments that help Puss develop from a narcissistic legend to an empathetic hero. The character Perrito, a dog who surprisingly provides wholesome moments, defies the stereotypes of canine companions obnoxiously appearing in children’s films. Character development is a constant throughout the progression of the plot, with each character having an in depth background and a meaningful arc.
However, antagonist Jack Horner is a weak character, with his relentless desire for power eliminating any potential character development. Fortunately, he doesn’t receive much screen time, and the few scenes he does have are pretty funny. There are also many new characters like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, who are also looking for the wishing star. There are some really good villains too, such as Death. Death is probably one of the best villains Dreamworks has created. A big wolf with blood red eyes, and everytime Puss sees him he has a panic attack. Death carries every scene he is in with an incredibly scary presence. It was great for audiences to see Puss’ reaction to his final sense of Death.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is an exceptional film. The journey is great, the characters are well developed, and the refined animation is terrific. Disney is going to have to improve, because as of now, Dreamworks is carrying animation. They don’t dumb down stories for the audience. Instead, they release movies that stay with you.
