Review: “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” is surprisingly great

“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” was released on December 21, 2022. It is the sequel to the original “Puss in Boots”. It is produced by Dreamworks Animation and directed by Joel Crawford.

Antonio Banderas reprises his role as the titular character, Puss in Boots. Other voice actors in the film include Salma Hayek Pinault, Florence Pugh, John Mulaney, and Wagner Moura. The movie has an amazing soundtrack composed by Heitor Pereira.

The first movie starring the beloved side character from the Shrek franchise, Puss in Boots, was originally released in 2011. Because of this, many people, including myself, were surprised to see that a sequel was being made. While I was optimistic, I was expecting an average movie. When the trailers were released, I became a lot more excited about the film. I went into the film with high expectations and the movie did not leave me disappointed.

The film has a lot of strong points. One thing that makes the movie amazing is the beautiful animation. It is made of both 2D and 3D animation. These two types of animation are almost seamlessly mixed together. Most of the 2D animated scenes are during the action scenes which makes the action scenes very memorable. Another thing that makes certain scenes very dynamic and interesting to look at, specifically the fights in the movie, is the varied frame rate. The frame rate is how frequently new images or frames are shown. A higher frame rate will look smoother while a lower frame rate will look choppier. A movie that uses varying frame rates effectively is “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”, which this film takes inspiration from. During the action sequences, the frame rate is slowed down to make the film look more like storybook illustrations. 

The voice-acting cast also brings a lot to the movie. Banderas gives another stellar performance as Puss in Boots. The voice actors for the antagonists also give amazing performances. Pugh does a good job as Goldilocks and Mulaney also does well as Jack Horner. However, the most memorable voice actor is Moura, who voiced the Wolf. His voice fits the character perfectly and truly helps add to the menacing atmosphere whenever the Wolf is on screen. 

The soundtrack composed by Heitor Pereira is also great. The songs add a lot to the scenes they score. It adds to action scenes, making them more energetic and frantic, and adds emotion to many scenes. One piece of music that is very memorable is “theme of the Wolf”. Whenever the Wolf shows up, it plays a piece of music. It sounds like a lullaby and is whistled by the Wolf. Whenever this piece of music is heard, it means that the Wolf is nearby and adds a menacing atmosphere to the scene. 

While there are many positives to this film, there are a couple of things that could be seen as negatives. The story is fairly simple and is in no way complex. While it does this simple story well, some may find it too simple and predictable. The pacing is pretty fast and at times, it feels as if the film is rushing through a scene to get to the next one. Many may find this pacing too fast and may not allow them to take in a scene before it gets to the next one; however, I believe that this adds to the frantic feeling of the film’s plot.

“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” is a charming and fun movie. It was entertaining and well-animated. If you have the opportunity to go out and see it, I highly recommend doing so while it is still in theaters.