At The Movies: A cocky adventurer faces mortality in Puss In Boots: The Last Wish
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In this sequel to Puss In Boots (2011), Puss (voiced by Antonio Banderas) discovers to his horror that he is on his final life.
PHOTO: UIP
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Puss In Boots: The Last Wish (PG)
102 minutes, opens on Thursday
4 stars
The story: In this sequel to Puss In Boots (2011), Puss (voiced by Antonio Banderas) discovers to his horror that he is on his final life, having wasted the previous eight on reckless adventures. The terrified feline becomes a house cat and discovers the existence of the Wishing Star, a magical object that can give him all his lives back. He is joined by his nemesis and romantic partner Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek) and a cheerful new friend, a dog named Perro (Harvey Guillen). A sinister wolf, whom Puss suspects is a bounty hunter, is on his trail.
Puss became a breakout character after appearing in Shrek 2 (2004).
One reason was that unlike the other fairy-tale characters that populate the Shrek universe, the cat was instantly relatable. He was a parody of the Mexican swashbuckler Zorro, played by Banderas in the 1998 film and who would go on to be the voice of Puss.
Puss, wearing Banderas’ silky voice, brought out the campiness that was always there in the suave, hyper-confident Zorro.
If DreamWorks Animation had produced a sequel with more of the same Latin lover and thief with a heart of gold template, it would have made for a bankable if predictable film.
To its credit, the studio pushed the boat out just far enough on this project. Puss is gripped by the fear of death, which is integrated into the story in a way that is thoughtful and touching – without it making the whole affair too gloomy.
Puss’ over-the-top nature is nicely balanced by the sincerity of supporting characters. They include Kitty Softpaws (Hayek is also reprising her role), but her position as the foil may have been usurped by Perro.
Puss is joined by his nemesis and romantic partner Kitty Softpaws (voiced by Salma Hayek).
PHOTO: UIP
Perro is adorable in the way that awesomely stupid but well-intentioned dogs can be. In the social media age, he is the pet that gets on TikTok or Twitter because it is determined to carry a stick horizontally through a doorway too narrow for it, and keeps at it – over and over – patiently.
American actor Guillen, best known for his supporting role on the vampire sitcom What We Do In The Shadows (2019 to present), gives Perro a heart to match the hole in his head.
Hot take: Beautiful graphics, a strong supporting cast and a soulful maturity make this a worthy sequel to the 2011 hit.
