Movie Review: Puss in Boots
If there was to be any joy found in the entire Shrek series, it was Puss in Boots. While the movies declined precipitously in quality with each entry in the series, his presence was always welcome. Call it good writing, call it blind luck, call it an alignment of the stars, but somehow everything about the character, who joined the cast in the second movie, just felt right. He was adventurous, charming, and twice as funny with one wide-eyed stare than an entire Mike Myers/Eddie Murphy routine. I always felt he should have his own movie…and apparently, so did DreamWorks, as we now have the official spin-off Puss in Boots, with the roguish Spanish feline off on his own adventure.
I will admit, while I was excited to see the film made, Shrek Forever After left me highly dubious that DreamWorks could pull it off. I could already see an endless volley of unnecessary pop songs, karate-kicking grannies, and moments of groan-inducing comedy that had brought a once fine series to its knees (though to be fair, even the better Shrek films had their share of not-great moments). Five minutes after settling into my seat and popping on my 3D glasses I had my answer.
People, go see this movie. All fears I had about DreamWorks have been completely and utterly put to bed. While perhaps not the most beautiful film DreamWorks has put out all year (that honor still belongs to Kung Fu Panda 2), it is such an adventurous, joyful, heartwarming, and most of all genuinely funny work that I have no trouble recommending it to anyone…and yes, that includes people who hate cats. Everything about it, from the voice acting, to the writing, to the animation just flat out works.
The story begins before the events of the Shrek films. Puss (Antontio Banderas) is a down-on-his-luck bandit, wanted for a crime he didn’t commit. However, this doesn’t stop him from attempting a new crime of his own, namely stealing a handful of magic beans from the criminal duo of Jack and Jill (Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris). But as Puss finds out when the robbery goes sour, there are others who want the beans as well…master thief Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek) and his old friend Humpty “Alexander” Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis), who is the reason Puss is on the run in the first place. After putting aside their past differences, Humpty tells Puss he’s got the plan of a lifetime. The scheme? Get the beans, get them to grow into a beanstalk, and find the great treasure deep in the heart of the giant’s castle at the top of the clouds. In the end, though, the treasure may not necessarily be what they are really looking for.
Not every joke works and the “big twist” at the end is a little cliché and doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. I would say the 3D, while decently rendered, is hard on the eyes due to how “busy” the film can get. There, that’s the bad out of the way. The good is pretty much everything else. The cast is small, but is given plenty of time and space to flesh out their characters…Jack and Jill could have easily been simple goons, but even in their brief time on screen they not only get to be menacing and have some funny lines, they even get a subplot about a nervous Jack wanting to start a family. Unlike the endless parade of fairy tale send-ups of the Shrek films which ultimately made the movies more about the gags than caring about the plot, this goes the opposite direction by taking only the basic elements of the handful of fairy tales it sends up and makes a new ones of its very own, and it’s the interaction of Puss, Kitty, and Humpty that makes the story what it is.
A scene from Puss in Boots.
The animation is also fantastic; just because I said Kung Fu Panda 2 had a more original visual style doesn’t mean what’s here isn’t excellent. In close-up, every hair fiber on the various cats can be seen sticking out in all directions, giving them all a much more mussed and realistic look. There are several dance numbers…not shoved in during the credits with modern music and dancing, but woven into the plot and put together stunningly. Action flows neatly, facial expressions are…well, very expressive, and, let’s face it, cats certainly know how to look cute.
And, of course, the humor…some of it hinges on the anthropomorphic cats suddenly having “cat” moments (e.g., Puss walking down the street muttering to himself until he sees a shiny light on the road that he starts chasing after), but a good deal of it comes from the characters just being themselves. Humpty is a schemer and an inventor, but at the same time he’s hopelessly awkward; seeing an egg prance around in a leather suit is at the same time both amusing and endearing. And while I won’t go into detail here, Humpty almost steals the show from Puss with what is quite possibly the funniest scene in the history of DreamWorks. It comes completely out of nowhere, but is set up so well with such great facial expressions that it only further cements the film as one of their best. Hayek is perfectly charming as Kitty, and both she and Banderas play excellently off of each other.
What more can I say? If I can wholeheartedly and unashamedly recommend any film to see this year, it is Puss in Boots. There is no guilty pleasure at work here; this is simply a very well-done film. It has heart, it’s funny, and it’s the most fun I’ve had with a new movie in a long, long time
Seth Paul
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