Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)

[Eric Prime]

Discuss

[Morieris]

My one criticism is the bit of slowdown at points, but the rest continues the animation trend this year of eschewing the notion that animation is solely for kids and I appreciate that.

 

A lot of animated movies this year somewhat focus on similar themes of death and family, found or otherwise, and the other two movies I'm thinking of (Wendell and Wild, GDT's Pinocchio), good as they are, are almost bloated in the concepts. This one is almost a touch scant. There's a happy medium somewhere, but that's truly nitpicking with this film.

 

It's beautiful, the fact that this will be nominated for an Oscar over DWD...life throws us a curveball sometimes, doesn't it, Florence? She did a great job, as did Harvey and Wagner (I've never heard of this gentleman before but godDAMN he killed it)

 

I'd have to give it one more watch before I decide if it's my favorite animated film of the year.

[Webslinger]

After a decade-plus hiatus from the universe the title character inhabits, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is a highly entertaining sequel that succeeds in feeling like a fresh new spin on its larger franchise’s tropes. The story mostly goes in directions that won’t be difficult for savvy viewers to guess, but it’s a funny and heartfelt affair whose comedic and emotional beats land gracefully all the way through. The stylistic shift to animation reminiscent of that of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is also very well-executed and helps the action-driven sequences feel more impressive and impactful. As always, Antonio Banderas is a delight in the titular role, and there’s fun vocal work from just about everyone in the star-studded cast. It may be slighter than the films that occupy the uppermost tier of this year’s animated offerings, but The Last Wish is a whole lot of fun and left me game for a further continuation of this character (And perhaps the wider Shrek universe? We’ll see, I guess.).

 

B+

[filmlover]

This was actually really charming and entertaining and funny, and an improvement overall from the first solo Puss in Boots adventure. I had no idea that a cartoon about a cat having an existential crisis is what I really needed for Christmas this year?  Antonio Banderas once again is a delight in the role leading a rather excellent voice cast (it must be said that even as animated characters, he and Salma Hayek still have terrific chemistry), and the Into the Spider-Verse style of animation works surprisingly well and allows for many beautiful images. I initially wasn't sure if a return to the Shrek world would work after more than a decade away from it, but after this, I would gladly welcome revisiting these characters once again. B+