Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is the best animated movie in years

Memorable animated movies have felt hard to come by in recent years, and not since 2015’s Inside Out has one felt quite as impactful as Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.

The Shrek franchise has been on a downwards trajectory ever since the release of its third film, with what has felt like a non-stop conveyor belt of spin-offs and shorts clogging up any meaningful interest fans had left. Even the first outing starring Antonio Banderas’ heroic furball was little more than filler – more milking of the cash cow.

In short, when coupling a cover-your-eyes track record with an era in which franchise films of its kind are flopping across the board (think Toy Story 4 and Lightyear), this sequel had no right being as good as it turned out. But it did.

A powerful message reminiscent of the one conveyed in Eveything Everywhere All at Once is combined with a cast at the top of their game, stunning visuals and an entertaining story that can be enjoyed by viewers of all ages. It has all the ingredients for a classic.

The film pulls you in right from the off, with its eye-catching animation style – no doubt drawing inspiration from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – letting you know early on that this is a different kind of Dreamworks project. It’s bright, it’s vibrant, you couldn’t look away if you tried.

That hand-drawn style is utilised at all the right moments, ensuring its novelty never quite wears off. Every confrontation the titular character is involved in feels unique and purposeful.

His bouts with Wolf, a not-so-subtle representation of death itself, are particularly enduring. Whether it is the build-up itself, with Puss’ hairs standing on end and the villain seemingly appearing from nowhere, or their cartoonish dashes towards each other, it’s all put together masterfully.

The anti-climactic nature that Wolf’s story ends in is the film’s only real disappointment. From his terrifying taunting of Puss in a dusty old bar to the wielding of his deadly sickles from afar, the character had all the makings of one of the great animated antagonists.

Unfortunately, it all ends a little too quickly. Despite being the stronger villain both in a traditional sense and in terms of The Last Wish’s key themes, Wagner Moura’s character is dealt with prior to John Mulaney’s Big Jack Horner. Puss should have dealt with his main issue, one of learning to appreciate the life he has, last, rather than overcome it before facing another physical battle.

Those themes are dealt with excellently, however. It can’t be easy to create a computerised talking cat and have them connect with an audience, but that is the beauty of animation when it’s done well. We may not be ginger felines, but we know what it means to give thanks to the people we have in our life.

Classic fairytale films, the Disney Renaissance of the 1990s, Pixar’s golden era of the 2000s and Dreamworks’ best work has taught us one key thing – the greatest animated movies, although primarily catering to younger audiences, have at least a little something for everyone. Too many modern writers forget that, but you can feel that care was taken to ensure the latest Puss in Boots installment appeals across the board.

Of course, none of this could be achieved without a stellar group of voice actors – and boy, do we have one here. Banderas is brilliant, as you would expect, while Salma Hayek and Harvey Guillen perform admirably as his loyal sidekicks.

But the two stand-outs are Florence Pugh (Goldilocks) and Ray Winstone (Papa Bear). Their gruffy English accents are an absolute joy, injecting bags of fun into scene after scene, and their oddball crime family is an ingenious addition to the film.

The four-legged quartet provide both comedic relief and emotional arcs of their own which are in keeping with the overarching ideas that director Joel Crawford wants to convey. Meaningful side characters are overlooked in lesser movies, but they play a vital role here.

Heitor Pereira’s score is bang on the money as well. The sound design throughout the movie is near-perfect, with the Bounty Hunter theme (complete with eerie wolf whistling – and not the flirtatious kind) a stand-out. A Different Path for Everyone sends out plenty of early Pirates of the Carribean vibes too.

A joyful Spanish vibe echoes for much of the spectacle and some pop-come-Dubsteb touches in the likes of Horner Heist also add some original twists to both The Last Wish and the Dreamworks universe as a whole.

The movie’s conclusion is a fitting way to round things off – it feels like the right time to take a plunge and reignite the Shrek fire. If the writers are as brave with any follow-ups as they were in the creation of The Last Wish, there may not be a better time to do it.

A new dawn promises. Let’s hope the studio make the most of it, just like Puss in Boots plans to do with his one remaining life.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Feature Image: JoBlo