Movie Review: “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”

Dreamworks has gifted us once again with a beautiful animated movie. This time it was a sequel to the famous and beloved character of the Shrek franchise, Puss in Boots! In this sequel, the protagonist is on a quest to find a star that grants only one wish. As a cat that has lost eight of his nine lives, he needs to compete with other characters to see if he can get his wish granted of having his nine lives back. After watching “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” several weeks after the theater release, all I could think about was: Why didn’t I see it sooner? Both the animation and the story were absolutely lovely. I fully recommend it if you want to enjoy a sweet yet profound story.

Many say it is not a movie for children, and I agree. This film touches on many psychologically deep subjects, such as death, fear, trauma, vanity, and more which children would not really understand. Overall, the colorful palette and animation could capture very young generations, but the thematics were aimed at an older audience. I sincerely appreciate the fact that animated movies today have a more profound story than just a simple fairy tale, adding more purpose to the artistry behind it.

“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” was a 3D stylized film, which is a very popular approach in modern movies like “Spiderman into the Spider-Verse”. Similar to an impressionist style in painting, I have to say it is a gorgeous approach to animation. However, when I first saw the trailer, I was surprised to see how Dreamworks pivoted from a realistic style in the original movie to a more stylized one. While watching the film, I genuinely enjoyed the visuals and was captured mainly by the effects from the character that played “Death”. Those visuals, combined with his voice and signature whistle, really made this character terrifying. Apart from that particular character, I found it curious how artists approached the magical light effect towards the end of the movie. It had a mix of cool neon lights to enhance the battle between good and evil.

Apart from the effects and deep thematics of the plot, “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” showed some excellent character development throughout the film. I like how even without watching the first Puss in Boots or Shrek movies, you can see the protagonist’s growth in a way that can truly inspire any spectator. However, the protagonist is not the only one that matures throughout the film; we can also see how Kitty Soft Paws, Goldi, and Perrito also had their significant development that went hand in hand with the main plot surrounding Puss. 

I recommend this film to anyone who wishes to see a new deep story with a beautiful animated style. Will the famous characters of the Shrek Franchise return to the big screen? Possibly, but for now, we can enjoy this movie in theaters or through ROW8, Vudu, Prime Video, Redbox, and Apple TV.