Puss in Boots: The Last Wish; a Triumph in Animated Movies

“Fear me, if you dare!”

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish; a Triumph in Animated Movies

Ryan Schwieger, Staff Writer and Photographer

Dreamworks is revered as one of the pinnacle companies in animation. With classic series such as Shrek, Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda, their movies have touched the hearts of millions of kids and adults alike. 

 

Shrek in particular is arguably their most iconic and successful franchise, spawning 6 movies, several spinoff projects, attractions, books, and games, raking in over 3.8 billion dollars in box office alone. 

 

Despite its presence in pop culture and still massive popularity, there hasn’t been a mainline Shrek movie in 11 years. So when the next movie was finally announced amid the budding rumors of a 5th Shrek movie, audiences were surprised when it was announced to be instead a sequel to the Shrek spin-off movie, Puss in Boots.

 

While Puss in Boots is a beloved character in the franchise, his spinoff movie was a good albeit average experience at best, earning a 68% from fans on Rotten Tomatoes. The expectations for this movie were good, but few expected it to be a masterpiece. 

 

That couldn’t be farther from the case.

 

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish ranks as one of the most enjoyable and memorable movies of 2022, and was a perfect film to round off the year. 

 

While every aspect of the movie was enthralling, the animation and characters are what really stole the show. 

 

Some of the animators and directors of this film also worked on the critically acclaimed Into the Spider-verse, with their distinctly low-frame and hand-drawn aesthetic leaking its way into this movie, creating a dazzling piece of eye candy. Joel Crawford, the lead director, wanted a “fairy tale painting look,” of which they achieved with few faults. 

 

The characters also stole the show, with not a single character in the movie lacking unique traits and enjoyable plotlines. Puss is back at it once again as our fearless hero, however instead we get to see a not-so fearless side of him, turning him from a fun-to-watch champion with little flaws to a multi-faceted and deep character that shows significant change throughout the movie. Puss’s friends and foes all receive the same treatment, with enough dynamic range and development to keep the audience hooked. 

 

Although each character has received praise, the secondary villain of the show, the mysterious wolf figure, has dominated audiences. With many declaring him as one of the best villains of dreamworks/animated history, a claim that can be backed up with his enthralling persona and his fantastic voice acting from Wagner Moura. 

 

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is a fantastic journey of friendship and rouge-like danger that can be enjoyed equally by kids and adults. It once again proves that the world of Shrek contains enough creativity and ideas to continually provide audiences with new and exciting films.