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Film REVIEW: Puss in Boots: The Last Wish - ★★★★★

Updated: May 1, 2023


The stabby tabby is back! With Antonio Banderas once again voicing the silver-tongued swashbuckler – and an A-list cast including Salma Hayek, Florence Pugh, Olivia Colman and Ray Winstone.



Director: Joel Crawford


Writer: Paul Fisher, Tommy Swerdlow, Tom Wheeler

based on Puss in Boots by Giovanni Francesco Straparola


Stars: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Harvey Guillen, Florence Pugh, Olivia Colman, Ray Winstone, Samson Kayo, John Mulaney.


Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy

Themes: Sequel, Puss in Boots, Shrek franchise


When Puss in Boots discovers that his passion for adventure has taken its toll and he has burned through eight of his nine lives, he launches an epic journey to restore them by finding the mythical Last Wish.

The sequel to the spin-off film Puss in Boots (2011) and the sixth installment in the Shrek franchise.

The film received positive reviews from critics, praising its animation, themes, voice acting, humor, and portrayal of Death. Many reviewers considered it superior to its predecessor, as well as one of the best films in the Shrek franchise.


In Cinemas Now



MIX UP REVIEWS:


Nina (Age 10) - ★★★★★

"This movie is brand new and in cinemas now. Me and Ben saw it with our cousins who were visiting and we all loved it. It is such an adventurous movie and puts you into a completely different world of cats and bears and wolves and even dogs! The villains are such exciting characters and so is the legendary Puss in Boots! The villains star Goldilocks and the three bears with a scary appearance from the Big Bad Wolf. The wishing star and the map are the main points of this movie. But the wishing star can only grant one wish so the heroes and villains are fighting (much like they always do in fairy tales). The heroes star Puss in Boots, Kitty Soft Paws and the therapy dog, Burrito. One of the very ‘I want to rule the world ‘ villains is Big Jack Horner . Puss has died 8 times so he is down to 1 life left. That is why he needs the wishing star. Goldilocks wants a real family and jack wants to rule the world. At the end, Goldilocks decided that she already has the bears as a family so that’s her wish sorted without the wishing star’s help. On the map there is a different path for everybody. Everyone has a dangerous and deathly path. All except for Burrito, who has stuff like the meadow full of posies and the river of relaxation. Which I personally think would be the best path to go through. This is a exciting movie with great sounds and pictures, with everybody’s favourite Puss in Boots song ‘Who is your Favourite Fearless Hero’. It’s a great movie which I recommend to everyone."


Aria (Age 8) - ★★★★★

"I think that Puss in Boots was a 5 star movie! My favourite character was Goldilocks and the 3 Bears and I liked it because they went on an adventure."


Mila (Age 6) - ★★★★

"It was good. Kitty Soft Paws was my favourite character. I liked it because they worked together."


Sophie (Age 10) - ★★★★

"This was a great action packed film which was very funny! I enjoyed it better than the shrek films! I loved the part when Puss went to visit mother Teresa and she renamed him Pickles! Definitely worth a watch!"


Stewart - ★★★★★

"I didn't think anyone was quite expecting this film to be so excellent! Could very well be the best film in the Shrek franchise. Voice cast is excellent, Banderas leading the way. Animation has stepped up a notch and the whole adventure and message is brilliant. That wolf is terrifying though!"


Have you seen it yet?



 


Puss in Boots 2 buzz - Why is everyone talking about Puss in Boots: The Last Wish?


Every so often, a franchise sidekick becomes a star in their own right. Take Puss In Boots. The well-heeled feline started life two decades ago as a secondary character in Shrek 2, hired by King Harold to take out the titular ogre for a bag of gold (he’d have done it, too, if a furball hadn’t foiled the hit).


But there was something about that swashbuckling tabby. Voiced with a Latin purr by veteran smoothie Antonio Banderas, Puss was a street-smart, milk-lapping swordsman who made the kitties swoon. Heroic, yes, but often fast ‘n’ loose with the law and no stranger to a ‘Wanted!’ poster. Luckily, if Puss ever found himself in a tight spot, there was always the adorable saucer-eyed routine guaranteed to turn his opponents to butter.


“Puss was a really cool, dynamic sidekick character at that time, and we just tried to infuse him with as much weird history as we could,” said Chris Miller, who based the character on Zorro and Indiana Jones. “He really stole a lot of scenes from Shrek 2 and had such a huge impact. We just used to ask ourselves: What would his story be…?

 

Puss in Boots sequel - Is this the first Puss spin-off?

The Shrek series wrapped twelve years ago – at least for now – but the cat was straight out of the bag with 2011’s origin story Puss In Boots. Outwitting a monstrous Jack and Jill, battling a giant golden goose and seducing Kitty Softpaws – not to mention scoring an Oscar nomination and $555 million at the box office – Puss proved himself a natural leading man.


But the expected sequel got stuck in development hell – until now. Set after the events of Shrek Forever After, Puss In Boots 2 hands the moggy a literal life-or-death mission while an all-star cast reimagines your favourite fairytale characters as mobsters and femme fatales.

 

Cast of Puss In Boots: The Last Wish - Which celebrity voices will we hear in Puss in Boots 2?


Antonio Banderas as the voice of Puss is non-negotiable: so much of the character’s raffish charm comes from the Spanish actor’s silver-tongued voice work. With Puss In Boots 2, he says, the evolving animation let him bring even more personality to the character. “You’re giving the animators your voice, session after session. It was for me the most spectacular of all, this time. I was in awe of the subtleness, the little expressions that they were able to capture. There are details of real acting in these characters, captured by the cartoonists.”


An outlaw in her own right, Salma Hayek (Eternals, Grown-Ups)’s Kitty Softpaws is the only catwoman capable of keeping up with Puss. “I love my character and I was so excited to have the possibility to be her again,” says the actress. “For Puss In Boots 2, Kitty is sassier, bossier, her stunts are even greater. We’re still bickering and there’s still tension between us.”


This time, the third wheel is therapy dog Perrito, voiced by Harvey Guillén (The Internship, The Thundermans).I think it’s important to have someone like Perrito in Puss’s life, because he can sometimes get cynical – not the friendliest cat – because he doesn’t have time for it, he’s an adventurer, he’s a hero. And we need someone to even those things out sometimes in our life. I would always leave the vocal booth so positive and full of life. Hopefully Perrito puts everyone in a good mood, because there’s just not a bad bone in his body.”

 

Puss in Boots 2 villains - Who voices the bad guys in Puss In Boots: The Last Wish?


We’ve seen a few crime mob matriarchs over the years – but none are meaner than Goldilocks, voiced in Puss In Boots 2 by Florence Pugh (Black Widow, Little Women). “When I saw the sketches, she looked like this incredible pixie pirate with these massive boots. And I said, ‘It looks like me!’ She was this feisty, grumpy, sassy little thing with a bo staff – I couldn’t quite believe that role had come my way.”


Even so, fairytale fans who remember the character trashing the Three Bears’ house in the traditional storybook may be wondering how Goldilocks came to be in charge of Baby Bear (BAFTA-nominated star Samson Kayo - Dolittle, Boxing Day), Papa Bear (career tough-guy Ray Winstone - Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) and Mama Bear (Oscar-winner Olivia Colman - Murder on the Orient Express, The Father).


“Goldilocks has this loveable family that are very threatening to the outside world,” explains Pugh. “We all know the story of how Goldilocks came into their house and wrecked it, so the fact they took her in all these years later, and she’s now the ringleader, makes it a very sweet and sincere family to watch. It’s something very unexpected.”

 

Puss In Boots 2 cameos - Doess Shrek appear in Puss In Boots: The Last Wish?


Mike Myers hasn’t voiced the cranky ogre for over a decade, so it’s an unexpected treat that Shrek will make a flashback appearance in Puss In Boots 2 – along with fellow classic characters Donkey and Fiona.


Just as exciting, it seems this extended-universe cameo has reignited the long-mooted Shrek 5. “There is probably gonna be another,” Banderas told Deadline. “Shrek is probably coming back.”

 

You already know you’re powerless to resist those big saucer eyes. So why fight it?



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