Although lacking in any serious depth of plot, Puss in Boots provides precisely what is expected, inept entertainment value.
While it was certainly entertaining enough to hold a child’s attention, standards for children’s movies have risen in the past couple of decades. Films that used to be made purely for amusement have progressed into deeply written and meaningful stories that adults can appreciate as well. Although fun, this film was not that.
The film opens with the titular character in a seemingly joyous scenario, a party in his honor. That is, until the governor shows up to his not-so-humble abode, and it is revealed that the feline outlaw is not only trespassing, but vandalizing the home and generally disturbing the peace. All in good fun, of course.
After a forgettable song and dance number and a fairly anticlimactic brawl with the local authorities, as well as a mountain giant that was awakened by the tomfoolery, Puss loses his (spoiler alert) eighth life out of nine.
While Puss is drinking his sorrows away in a milk bar (more tavern, less Korova), he has an encounter with a Big Bad Wolf-type bounty hunter wielding dual sickles. A duel ensues and Puss is decidedly defeated by both the bounty hunter and his newly acquired fear of death.
These events lead him into a brief existential crisis, complete with a name change, during which he grows a fairly rad beard and inherits an archetypal dumb but loveable unwanted sidekick.
Our hero is seemingly defeated, until his opportunistic true colors are awakened by a clumsily placed plot device, a chance to find a map that leads to a star that will grant a single wish.
With the prospect of getting his life count back up to nine–who knows why he wouldn’t just wish for more than that?–he embarks on a journey full of decent-at-best gags and predictable “twists.”
Of course, there’s a love interest, not even sure it’s worth mentioning. Puss becomes a good guy, and the good guys win. All is well.
Here’s the rub, it’s a fun movie. While it may not be more than a fun movie, it doesn’t need to be. The film does its job, and if you’re not looking for Tarantino-level storytelling, which is not something you should be looking for from a Shrek spinoff, you’ll have a perfectly enjoyable time.
It’s well animated, the voice acting is fine, the action sequences are exciting, and it doesn’t lean into fan service too often.
If I had to choose “see it” or “don’t see it,” I suppose I would choose “see it.” That being said, see it with your kid or maybe when there’s just really nothing else you feel like watching.
Tim Blalock
Editor-in-chief