Der gestiefelte Kater

"Puss-in-Boots" is one of the funniest and most entertaining animated movies I have seen in recent times. Its not perfect by any means, as some parts seem to drag and at times the movie felt a bit too long for its own good, but on the whole it made for a nice viewing.

I remember a decade or more ago when CGI movies were an event to behold. Each release was noteworthy. Movies like the original "Toy Story", "Finding Nemo", "Ice Age", "Monsters Inc." and the first "Shrek". To that veritable gallery I would venture to add the spectacularly underrated "Final Fantasy". When I saw that movie back in 1999 (damn, I can't believe that was soo long ago...holly crap I'm getting old!), the potential of CGI movies was fully revealed. I thoroughly enjoyed the visionary creativity of that film, especially since it had a more mature, adult slant (something sorely lacking in CGI movies, especially in North America, where CGI movies seem to be exclusively aimed at a young audience).

Since then technology has advanced by leaps and bounds and so have CGI movies. Now it seems that there is one of them coming out every other week. This has not necessarily translated into an all-around positive effect, because while their quantity has increased, their quality has steadily declined. Adding 3D effects and cutesy side-kicks cannot make up for the lack of having a compelling story, an interesting plot and well developed characters.

This brings me back to "Puss-In-Boots". This movie has all that, a compelling story, a good message, funny characters and a lot of humour, including a healthy dose of those "in-jokes" intended for the adults in the audience, in most cases the parents who tag along with their kids to watch the movie. That makes it a truly good family viewing because not only will the children have a good time, but there is plenty for the adults to enjoy too.

"Puss-In-Boots" is the most entertaining CGI (animated) movie I've seen since "Despicable Me" and "Monsters Vs. Aliens". Not on par with the gem that was "UP", but a solid offering of funny!

"We found a bag of catnip on you!" jail guard. "Its for my glaucoma!", Puss.

Enough said...

This movie must have been one of the first to take a frankly secondary (but funny) character from an animated film and to give it a prominent place in a film of its own. Its a fad of animation studios that has not always been able to make good movies but has certainly helped to increase their profits.

The first appearance of this cat is during "Shrek" franchise, but in this film we can see Puss in Boots in a different way, mixing "Zorro" with elements of the traditional tales "Jack and the Beanstalk" and "Chicken of the Golden Eggs". I think it's not necessary to mention that cinematography and animation are excellent and everything looks quite beautiful and elegant. The performance of voice actors is good, with António Banderas and Salma Hayek in the lead. It's an entertaining movie, to please both young and adult, and will definitely be a good choice for a "family get together" evening.

Shrek had run its course, having forcefully pushed itself into a fourth film that was really too trying, but I suppose Puss in Boots, introduced in the second film of the franchise, proved to have nine lives, and extended his longevity through a spin off film of his own. After all, there are plenty of cat lovers out there, and his antics in the Shrek movies were undoubtedly the highlights when the Ogre and his pet donkey were getting really tired. Originally intended for straight to video, Puss in Boots proved to have what it takes for a big screen outing, and it didn't disappoint.

Dreamworks Animation may seem to have a stranglehold on making a mickey out of well known fairy tales, and this continues in its re-imagining of characters adopted for the Puss in Boots origin story, where we go into his background as an orphaned kitty cat brought up by Imelda (voiced by Constance Marie), only to disappoint his foster mum when he got betrayed by best friend Humpty Alexander Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis), a brilliant inventive and creative mind who had turned to a life of crime, staining the honor that Puss had gained through a heroic deed, banishing him forever as an outlaw and bandit.

The two major story arcs in this film enriched the narrative, one dealing with the past of Puss in Boots, while the other having him reluctantly team up with Humpty once again if only to get close to his new squeeze, the master thief Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek), to take on the very grown up and nasty Bonnie and Clyde inspired Jack and Jill (Billy Bob Thorton and Amy Sedaris), who are in possession of the fabled magical beans belonging to the other Jack (and the Beanstalk), where planting them at the correct spot would mean a path to the heavens to gain access to the goose that lays golden eggs, with repercussions of course that comes with a force of nature to be reckoned with.

What worked for Puss in Boots were the strengths of its story arcs, the major set action pieces, the voice cast really providing that level of flair to the many flamboyant characters in the film as well as dramatic, emotional depth to key characters, and who can forget the comedy. There are plenty of sight and verbal gags, and innuendos galore that hardly a moment goes by without something naturally hilarious happening, and does so quite subtly without screaming and forcing their way down your throat. Which I had found the later Shrek films guilty of doing just that.

Antonio Banderas provides the voice for Puss in Boots, and it's quite convenient that the character gets modelled after Zorro through a series of identifiable elements from costuming, behaviour as well as style, a character that Banderas himself have played twice in live action films. Puss continues to drawn upon established abilities especially that of its iconic hypnotic eyes, which somehow in a self-fulfilling fourth wall prophecy, will have any audience in stitches as well as held in captivating aww/awe. Zach Galifianakis voices the misunderstood character Humpty Dumpty to perfection, providing that balance of villainy and sympathy, while I suspect that the animators would have had a field day with Humpty especially with the plenty of movement gags that he got himself into, and playing upon none too subtle fat jokes on the character, resulting in the character stealing the scene most of the time. Hayek on the other hand did just enough providing her sultriness to the incredibly sexy feline that looked like, erm, Batman in costume.

Hitting the right notes consistently throughout the film, here's a pussy cat that's both a lover and a fighter and a film that can appeal to both young and the not too young at heart alike. The producers of Shrek and Kungfu Panda may have found itself another character that has enough legs to carry off yet another franchise on its own, but please don't let it merge or include characters from Shrek too soon, as this kitty deserves a rogues gallery and supportive allies of its own. Recommended!

11/10! an instant classic for both children and adults! this is one of THE funnest flicks i have seen in a long, long time. as with Shrek, the humour works on different levels. we laughed straight for the first third of the movie, and also towards the end. it was so imaginative and well thought out that it just makes you really respect the minds and hearts behind this production! i found Antonio banderas incredibly charming and his delivery was seamless and hilarious. he truly 'carries' the movie well! yes, this is absolutely worth seeing in the theatres and in 3D! (oh and for those claiming it's not a perfect story line, remember it's an animation! so just go and enjoy it for the light-hearted movie, feel-good flick that it is :) puss in boots will charm you!!

Like many others, I was getting fed up with the Shrek movies. The characters, the way they were structured. It all made it obvious something fresh and new was needed to spice up the series and make things interesting and fun to see again. The way they did this was by releasing this spin-off, which involved just the popular Puss in Boots character, from the previous 3 Shrek movies, voiced again by Antonio Banderas.

So basically this movie is being set in the same Shrek universe but without some of the familiar tropes and characters. This allows "Puss in Boots" to do its own thing and picks its own course. The movie definitely differs in style, humor and its buildup, from all of the Shrek movies. And this is a good thing really. It makes this movie like a much needed breath of fresh air for the entire franchise. However I'm still now more interested in seeing a "Puss in Boots 2" than a "Shrek 5".

Simply said; this is a very entertaining movie. It's a movie that lets you sit back and make you enjoy the ride. It's filled with some great new and fun character, good humor and some nice action in it as well.

The story is not great but it definitely serves its purpose. It provides the movie with plenty of action and adventure elements. Besides, it also provides the the origin- and background story of the Puss in Boots character, which I'm sure lots of people would be interested in.

Absolutely no other characters, from any of the previous Shrek movies, appear in this movie. This means that this movie introduces a whole lot of new characters but luckily not too many though. Basically only two are really important; Kitty Softpaws, the love interest and Humpty Dumpty, the villain, voiced by Salma Hayek and Zach Galifianakis. And they are welcome as characters in this movie. Especially Humpty Dumpty, who is of course absurd to have as a villain, works out really well and entertaining for the movie and Zach Galifianakis did a great job voicing him.

It's still mostly being a kids movie but that of course does not mean it's not fun for adults to watch as well. There are some jokes and references, which only the adults will get, while there is still plenty of silly and slapstick comedy in this movie to amuse the youngest kids. In other words; it's a good family movie!

Visually and technically these movies are also only getting better and better. Especially the movements for all of the characters also seem more fluent than ever, which allows them to do a lot of convincing fighting and battling in this movie, sometimes even the two combined.

Simply a very entertaining movie, that more than serves its purpose and is a real much needed breath of fresh air, after already 4 Shrek movies.

7/10

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