Review of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, directed by Joel Crawford

I remember when I first heard about this movie, it was with my undergraduate coworker who was claiming that this was going to be one of the best movies of that year. None of us believed him at the time, but then I had to watch this movie for work and had the opportunity to see it before it came out in theaters.

And man, when I saw this movie, I started believing him. This was actually a kids’ movie that toed the line of being more serious, but had a lot of heart in its plot. After seeing disappointments now like Kung Fu Panda 4, which sucked the joy and life out of the franchise, I have such an appreciation for an old school franchise movie done well.

That said, I ended up seeing the movie a few more times after that initial screening. Once was when my mother and I had to take the nephews and niece to a screening of it, courtesy of my AMC A List discounts, and the other was when I recently (at the time of typing this) decided to revisit the movie.

Some movies never get old, and this can be one of them. Let’s get into the review before I start rambling too much though, alright?

Puss in Boots grapples with the fact he is at the end of his nine lives, going on an adventure to keep on going.

This movie begins in the town of Del Mar, where the legendary Puss in Boots crashes a party. While he’s there, a giant comes after the partygoers, wreaking havoc and destruction all throughout the building and town. Always up for a moment to play the hero, Puss in Boots takes him down, but loses a life while being crushed by a church bell.

When he wakes up at the doctor’s office, the doctor advises him that he is on the last of his nine lives. Puss in Boots refuses to acknowledge this and goes to the bar, but when a wolf comes in looking for him, he realizes that he’s a lot more vulnerable than he has ever been before.

Following the directions of the doctor, he decides to head to the home of Mama Luna. She’s an old woman who takes in lots of cats, and he buries his clothes along the way in a shallow grave. There, he resigns himself to a life of a house cat, and befriends a dog, Perrito, who disguises himself as a cat.

He doesn’t want to be friends with the dog, but Perrito can be persistence. The crime family of Goldilocks and her three bears show up looking for Puss, having followed his scent there, as they want his help stealing a map that leads to the Wishing Star. They find his grave and leave, but Puss gets the idea that he can use the star to wish for more lives.

So Perrito and Puss set out on a new adventure. First up they need to steal the map from Big Jack Horner, who wants to take over the world with magic. It’s there, while stealing this map, Puss runs into Kitty Softpaws, who’s also looking for this map. She comes with them as Horner and the Bears show up, but they flee into the Dark Forest.

Throughout all of this chaos, Puss keeps seeing the wolf in the distance, and he believes that’s going to be the beginning of the end for him when the wolf caches up. In the Dark Forest, Puss has a panic attack after seeing the wolf, and Goldi steals the map from them, changing the terrain. Jack Horner has also been chasing them, sacrificing his underlings in the name of getting the map.

Puss has a moment with Perrito explaining how he regrets hurting Kitty, who admits she didn’t show up to their wedding either. They steal the map back, but then Goldi kidnaps Perrito, leaving Puss trapped inside of a cave where he has to deal with the loss of his past lives as they mock him.

The wolf then shows up and explains that he is actually Death, and it’s time for Puss to go to the next world. He’s been mad that Puss is cocky about his nine lives and didn’t actually enjoy life. Puss escapes the cave, but leaves behind Kitty and Perrito in the process. Goldi also saddens the bears by telling them she was going to wish for a human family.

Kitty stops Puss right before he makes his wish, then everyone, including Jack Horner, and there’s a massive fight to get it. Death then shoes up and asks for a duel against Puss. He agrees and seems to fail in his quest for survival when Death overtakes them. In a monologue, he admits that he will keep fighting for his last life, which Death accepts and then leaves.

Horner, having been previously trapped inside of a magic sack during the fight, turns into a giant. Perrito takes on the task of distracting him as the rest destroy the map, making the Wishing Star collapse, and Horner gets consumed by it.

Goldi makes up with the bears, telling them she’s their family, and they take over Horner’s business. Kitty and Puss decide to give love another chance, then sail away to the Kingdom of Far Far Away.

Overall Thoughts

Like I said before, I was really impressed with this movie. It’s technically a kid’s movies, but it introduces a lot of important themes that kids should be thinking about as they get older. It may not be subtle at times, but it’s worth it.

Anyways, I recommend watching this if you have not already because of how it can be touching. There are some moments that are actually genuinely funny for a kids movie, even for adults, and the animation style is really interesting to watch how some scenes unfold on the screen.

All in all, this was a high quality production, and deserved the accolades and praise it got. I think you might like it if you give it a chance!

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