money Humor, action, charm: 'Puss in Boots: The Last Wish' is the cat's meow
That swashbuckling feline, aka the “macho gato,” is back charming audiences in “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.” And I can happily report, it’s the cat’s meow. Like the 2011 original, “Puss” is one of those rare kid flicks that entertains the pint-sized as much as it does their parents. It arrives loaded with colorful characters, magic carpets, sword fights and perilous falls, all for the kids. But the script adds another layer of humor brimming with cultural references keenly attuned to grownups.
Director Joel Crawford (“The Croods: A New Age”) goes for a darker vibe than the first film, as he and screenwriters Paul Fisher and Tommy Swerdlow send the sword-wielding Spanish cat (voiced by Antonio Banderas) into a do-or-die duel with his own mortality. Having burned through the first eight, Puss is down to his ninth, and final, life. In a laugh-filled montage, his doctor recounts those previous deaths ‒ shot out of a cannon was No. 5; bad shellfish was No. 6. Puss listens with dread in his eyes. He’s got to hang up his black Corinthian boots. Doctor’s orders.
“You’re too good-looking to retire,” Puss says, looking into the mirror, before reluctantly shuffling off to be a lapper at a sanctuary run by crazy cat lady Mama Luna (Da’Vine Joy Randolph). A bit depressed, Puss buries his signature outfit ‒ feathered cavalier’s hat, sword and boots ‒ in a grave outside the rescue, a place “where dignity goes to die.”
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Cue the existential crisis. The swashbuckling-turned-scaredy cat grows a long white beard and dons a collar with a bell and sports blue mittens on its paws. He spends his days hanging with his new pal, Perro (Harvey Guillén), an abandoned “therapy dog” disguised as one of Mama Luna’s cats. He’s the best new character, nearly prancing off with the movie. Death, in the form of the Big Bad Wolf (Wagner Moura), also arrives on the scene looking to claim Puss. But only if he can catch him.
The script cleverly weaves the spirit of several fairy tales and nursery rhymes, as Puss and Perro hit the road on what could be the cat’s last adventure. Several storybook A-listers show up along the way, including Goldilocks (Florence Pugh) and the Three Bears (Olivia Colman, Ray Winstone and Samson Kayo), and "Big" Jack Horner (John Mulaney). Making the situation stickier is the arrival of Puss’ spurned former flame, Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek Pinault), whom he hasn’t seen since the events of the last film.
The one-liners come fast, and the action excites from beginning to end, abetted by superb voice work from the entire ensemble. But without Banderas’ velvet vocals, the suave “stabby tabby” would never come alive. Ditto for Hayek’s Kitty Softpaws, who’s at once silky and street-smart, as she and Puss engage in a will-they-or-won’t-they-game of seduction.
The movie certainly throws a lot of characters at us, but ultimately the plot is simple. It’s a quest movie, and there will be self-revelations and lessons learned along the way. A wishing star has landed in the Dark Forest, and whoever finds it first is entitled to a wish. Puss wants all his lives back. The others harbor their own desires. It all boils over in an all-hands-on-deck finale that leaves you craving more. Which ‒ spoiler alert ‒ there probably will be.
‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’
Rating: PG for action/violence, rude humor/language, and some scary moments
Cast: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek Pinault, Olivia Colman, Harvey Guillén, Wagner Moura, John Mulaney, Florence Pugh, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Ray Winstone
Director: Joel Crawford
Writers: Paul Fisher and Tommy Swerdlow
Running time: 1 hour, 42 minutes
Grade: B+
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: 'Puss in Boots: The Last Wish' animated movie is the cat's meow
