A One Mann’s Movies review of “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” (2023).
We all know that “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinnochio” is going to walk off with the BAFTA and the Oscar for the Best Animated Feature. But, to be honest, I preferred “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”. Packed with funny audio and visual sight gags, it was an entertaining return for the world’s most swashbuckling feline.
Bob the Movie Man Rating(s):
Plot Summary:
Puss (voiced by Antonio Banderas) is carousing as usual when his sudden death forces him to reappraise his life. It turns out that of his nine lives, he’s now used eight of them! And unfortunately, with perfect timing, Death (Wagner Moura), in the shape of a big bad wolf, is stalking him.
Certification:
UK: PG; US: PG. (From the BBFC: “Mild violence, threat, scary scenes, language, rude humour”).
Talent:
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Harvey Guillén, Florence Pugh, Olivia Colman, Ray Winstone, Samson Kayo, Wagner Moura, John Mulaney.
Directed by: Joel Crawford & Januel Mercado.
Written by: Paul Fisher & Tommy Swerdlow, from a story by Tom Wheeler.
Twitter Handle: #PussInBoots.
Puss (Antonio Banderas) face-to-face with the Grim Reaper (Wagner Moura). (Source: Dreamworks Animation).
“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” Review:
Positives:
- You really have to agree with me on this to like this film, but Antonio Banderas always cracks me up playing Puss. He only has to purr, like liquid honey, “I am Puuuusss in Boooots” and I crack a smile. And (ignoring Peter Bradshaw’s grumpy tirade in The Guardian) I thought this long-delayed sequel was a splendidly humorous romp that will delight kids and keep adults entertained as well.
- As in the original Shrek series, few fairy tale tropes are ignored as we rattle through the film. First we have Puss’s ‘retirement’ in the chock-full house of cat-lady Mama Luna (Da’Vine Joy Randolph). Then Puss getting a new sidekikc, in the form of cat-impersonating dog Perrito (Harvey Guillén). We see Puss’s reunion with his jilted paramour Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek) and their joint quest to find the magical wishing star. And comedy gold is mined through the pursuit of this trophy be the “Goldilocks” crime family (including the vocal talents of Florence Pugh, Olivia Colman and Ray Winstone – all good future “Pointless” answers!) and the evil Big Jack Horner (John Mulaney) and his expendable ‘Baker’s Dozen’ (LOL). Other delightful characters along the way include Jiminy Cricket (Kevin McCann) – never named as such and in the cast list as “Ethical Bug”, presumably for copyright reasons! McCann adopts a bizarre “Harvey”-style James Stewart voice that I found hilarious.
- Some of the animation I thought was simply glorious.
Negatives:
- From a kid’s point of view, at 100 minutes, I thought it was maybe a tad too long?. A 90 minute run time would have worked better I think.
- Younger kids may be scared by the wolf character. (Although my 6-year old granddaughter Eva took this very much in her stride).
- What really pissed her Mum off was the use of the word “crap” (twice). She told me “It’s the Shrek franchise with mainly kids in the audience. Why couldn’t they use any other word? It was so stupid. I’d take a star off for idiocy”. (I haven’t done that, but you, dear reader, may wish to do so).
Summary Thoughts on “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”
I thought this was a fun and entertaining comedy animation from Dreamworks. Definitely a crowd-pleasing hit.
[fblike]
Trailer for “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqrXhwS33yc .
I’ve come across the post pretty carefully. Many thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome. Thanks for commenting.
[…] Source link […]