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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 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.
It is likely that if DreamWorks Animation has produced a sequel with more of the same Latin love and thief with a heart of gold template for this film, 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 Hayek’s Kitty Softpaws (the actress is also reprising her role), but her position as the foil may have been usurped by Guillen’s Perro in this sequel.
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