पुस इन बूट्स

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!

"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...

Puss In Boots may be a little cliche and the twist may not make a whole lot of sense, but that doesn't mean that this movie isn't entertaining, action packed and funny.

I was able to see the San Francisco premiere for Puss N' Boots last night. I would say the audience was about 50% children and 50% adults. The movie was shown in 3D and I would definitely recommend it.

The star of the movie was definitely Banderas's Puss. If you liked the character from previous movies, you will not be disappointed. Salma Hayak as Kitty Softpaws was decent enough although not very memorable in any way. And finally, Zach Galifianakis's Humpty Dumpty will be a polarizing character in my opinion. If you thought Rumpelstiltskin from Shrek Forever After was a tad on the annoying side, I think you'll feel the same way about Humpty Dumpty.

Anyways, the story is good. The integration of former players in nursery rhymes and fairy tales is seamless. And the comedy is standard Shrek-style delivering lots of laughs for children and the occasional adult-only joke (some very funny).

The visuals are stunning. And the music is fantastic. It almost felt like an action-packed spaghetti western with a Latin flavor. I definitely enjoyed myself. I also talked to quite a few people afterwords and the consensus was that the children all loved it and the adults kept using the word "cute" in so many different ways to describe their feelings about the movie.

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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