Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Director: Joel Crawford
Cast: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Harvey Guillen, Wagner Moura, Florence Pugh, Olivia Colman, Ray Winstone, Samson Kayo, John Mulaney, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Kevin McCann, Anthony Mendez
Sadly, Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas), the undaunted Spanish lover and hero, is now down to the last of his nine lives, a decade after the events of the first film. And as if that weren't enough, the unstoppable bounty hunter known as The Big Bad Wolf is after him. To restore all his precious lives, and escape an inglorious fate, Puss must pluck up his courage to embark on a dangerous quest into the Dark Forest to find the legendary Wishing Star. However, Puss isn't the only one seeking the map to the magical star. As the daring outlaw puts his skills to good use to stay one step ahead of formidable adversaries determined to get their hands on it, a crucial question arises: Does he have what it takes to face his most skilled and terrifying opponent and get his life back on track?
Fear is a powerful theme in this film, and nowhere is fear - or rather, overcoming the fear of death - illustrated more perfectly, than in the character of Puss in Boots, himself, as he must literally confront the embodiment of Death.
While Puss’s nature has been to regard himself as the fearless legend and hero, he does have one fatal flaw…that when confronted with fear, he is overcome by it. This is illustrated first when Puss is going to marry Kitty Softpaws, and it is in this moment, that Puss feels fear for the first time…and he is so overcome by said fear, that rather than going through with his marriage to Kitty, he runs away from her. When Puss is confronted by the literal incarnation of Death, his fear of death comes flooding in again and he abandons his sword and flees from Death, literally burying his identity as Puss in Boots forever, and taking on a new false life as a house cat named Pickles, living with Mama Luna in her cat sanctuary to hide from Death and all his fears.
I think that is the deeper lesson that Death wanted Puss to learn with his last life: that his life is precious, and he needs to respect and appreciate his lives and not just squander his life for the sake of being that great legend who laughs at death. Puss would not allow himself to feel fear and when he did feel those fears (as we see when he is confronted by his two fears....once when he was to marry Kitty and he felt fear for the first time and fled from her....and again, when he is confronted by Muerte and his own mortality.) he didn't know how to cope with that fear, so he fled from it and he was overcome by it.
When Death confronts Puss again, Puss runs away and succumbs to a panic attack, but this moment is different from the first, because when Perrito found Puss during the panic attack and comforted him, he gave Puss permission to embrace those negative emotions and not see himself as weak or cowardly or less heroic...that it was OK for him to feel fear, even though he is Puss in Boots. Kitty also comforts Puss when she tells him that she was not at their wedding either. She knew she could not compete with Puss’s first love – that of being a hero – but she was willing to wait and give her heart to Puss once he relinquished that identity.
That is why when he faces Death again, Puss no longer fears Death. He is willing to fight for the life that he has now because he has learned that while he can't cheat death, he can't hide from life because he fears death. He must live his life and be with the friends he cares about. He is willing to rekindle his friendship with "old friends", now that his fear of death has been overcome. It is only in the end, when Puss in Boots confronts Death for a second time, that he can look Death in the eye without succumbing to fear. He had relinquished his arrogance and pride, but he bravely told Death that he would always fight now, for the one life he did have… because he finally realized that his life was precious and worth living. In this moment, when Death is relinquishing his claim on Puss's life, Puss releases his held breath...releasing his fear of Death, as they parted on good terms.
I was not prepared for just how good this sequel to Puss in Boots was going to me. This movie SHOCKED me with how good it was. The animation was insanely stunning…easily some of the most creatively done animation that I have seen lately. The story was compelling, the characters were amazing. I enjoyed Puss's arc and his emotional journey, but I was invested in the other characters, as well, and I found myself caring about them too. Perrito surprised me with how endearing he was, as a character. I thought this character would annoy me, but he turned out to be this sweet, wise, endearing character and he, instead, made me cry. And OMG, the villain was freaking amazing in this movie. We've had some good villains from Dreamworks (Lord Shen from Kung Fu Panda 2 comes to mind, as well as Rameses from Prince of Egypt) but Death was EASILY one of the best animated villains I have seen...and that's across the board, not just for DreamWorks. For once, I did not feel like I was just watching a sequel or live-action remake that was just made to either make money or sell toys…or both. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish felt like a legitimately excellent movie...one that they clearly put a great deal of time and creativity and heart into making. I am sure it was a very difficult choice figuring out which movie was more worthy - between this movie and Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio – to win both the Golden Globe and the Oscar for Best Animated Feature at the last awards show. I would highly recommend this film.
© 2023 - Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved.
Director: Joel Crawford
Cast: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Harvey Guillen, Wagner Moura, Florence Pugh, Olivia Colman, Ray Winstone, Samson Kayo, John Mulaney, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Kevin McCann, Anthony Mendez
Sadly, Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas), the undaunted Spanish lover and hero, is now down to the last of his nine lives, a decade after the events of the first film. And as if that weren't enough, the unstoppable bounty hunter known as The Big Bad Wolf is after him. To restore all his precious lives, and escape an inglorious fate, Puss must pluck up his courage to embark on a dangerous quest into the Dark Forest to find the legendary Wishing Star. However, Puss isn't the only one seeking the map to the magical star. As the daring outlaw puts his skills to good use to stay one step ahead of formidable adversaries determined to get their hands on it, a crucial question arises: Does he have what it takes to face his most skilled and terrifying opponent and get his life back on track?
Fear is a powerful theme in this film, and nowhere is fear - or rather, overcoming the fear of death - illustrated more perfectly, than in the character of Puss in Boots, himself, as he must literally confront the embodiment of Death.
While Puss’s nature has been to regard himself as the fearless legend and hero, he does have one fatal flaw…that when confronted with fear, he is overcome by it. This is illustrated first when Puss is going to marry Kitty Softpaws, and it is in this moment, that Puss feels fear for the first time…and he is so overcome by said fear, that rather than going through with his marriage to Kitty, he runs away from her. When Puss is confronted by the literal incarnation of Death, his fear of death comes flooding in again and he abandons his sword and flees from Death, literally burying his identity as Puss in Boots forever, and taking on a new false life as a house cat named Pickles, living with Mama Luna in her cat sanctuary to hide from Death and all his fears.
I think that is the deeper lesson that Death wanted Puss to learn with his last life: that his life is precious, and he needs to respect and appreciate his lives and not just squander his life for the sake of being that great legend who laughs at death. Puss would not allow himself to feel fear and when he did feel those fears (as we see when he is confronted by his two fears....once when he was to marry Kitty and he felt fear for the first time and fled from her....and again, when he is confronted by Muerte and his own mortality.) he didn't know how to cope with that fear, so he fled from it and he was overcome by it.
When Death confronts Puss again, Puss runs away and succumbs to a panic attack, but this moment is different from the first, because when Perrito found Puss during the panic attack and comforted him, he gave Puss permission to embrace those negative emotions and not see himself as weak or cowardly or less heroic...that it was OK for him to feel fear, even though he is Puss in Boots. Kitty also comforts Puss when she tells him that she was not at their wedding either. She knew she could not compete with Puss’s first love – that of being a hero – but she was willing to wait and give her heart to Puss once he relinquished that identity.
That is why when he faces Death again, Puss no longer fears Death. He is willing to fight for the life that he has now because he has learned that while he can't cheat death, he can't hide from life because he fears death. He must live his life and be with the friends he cares about. He is willing to rekindle his friendship with "old friends", now that his fear of death has been overcome. It is only in the end, when Puss in Boots confronts Death for a second time, that he can look Death in the eye without succumbing to fear. He had relinquished his arrogance and pride, but he bravely told Death that he would always fight now, for the one life he did have… because he finally realized that his life was precious and worth living. In this moment, when Death is relinquishing his claim on Puss's life, Puss releases his held breath...releasing his fear of Death, as they parted on good terms.
I was not prepared for just how good this sequel to Puss in Boots was going to me. This movie SHOCKED me with how good it was. The animation was insanely stunning…easily some of the most creatively done animation that I have seen lately. The story was compelling, the characters were amazing. I enjoyed Puss's arc and his emotional journey, but I was invested in the other characters, as well, and I found myself caring about them too. Perrito surprised me with how endearing he was, as a character. I thought this character would annoy me, but he turned out to be this sweet, wise, endearing character and he, instead, made me cry. And OMG, the villain was freaking amazing in this movie. We've had some good villains from Dreamworks (Lord Shen from Kung Fu Panda 2 comes to mind, as well as Rameses from Prince of Egypt) but Death was EASILY one of the best animated villains I have seen...and that's across the board, not just for DreamWorks. For once, I did not feel like I was just watching a sequel or live-action remake that was just made to either make money or sell toys…or both. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish felt like a legitimately excellent movie...one that they clearly put a great deal of time and creativity and heart into making. I am sure it was a very difficult choice figuring out which movie was more worthy - between this movie and Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio – to win both the Golden Globe and the Oscar for Best Animated Feature at the last awards show. I would highly recommend this film.
© 2023 - Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved.