I finally saw Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. It has been a long wait for the sequel to come out. There was a time when I was wondering if the sequel was still happening or if they were moving on from it like other movies in development.

I loved Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. I enjoyed the movie. It was funny and it had a great story, and I liked the animation style Universal and Dreamworks Animation went with. Sequels can be tough especially animated ones for multiple reasons. One thing that has a tendency to hurt animated sequels is when there are huge gaps between films. Sometimes it works and other times it does not. Pixar has been pretty immune to this rule, for example Toy Story, Incredibles, and Finding Dory. The only ones that have faltered were the Cars sequels which interestingly enough were the films that had the smallest gaps between films other than Toy Story 2 which was the smallest before the gaps were bigger between films. Puss in Boots came out in 2011. It has been eleven years since that movie came out and twelve years since Shrek Foreverafter. Puss in Boots was also the last film in the Shrek Franchise before the new film. There has been a big gap and multiple delays due to many factors including the pandemic. This was worth the wait. The film is doing well also and that was primarily what I was referring to with animated sequels. A lot of them end up making less than their predecessors and over time the audience loses interest. It is too early to tell where Puss in Boots: The Last Wish will wind up compared to the original. If anything I think it has renewed interest in continuing the Shrek franchise. There has been talks again about a Shrek 5. This seems to the be the film to renew interest in that franchise. Shrek was huge for Dreamworks Animation and is still one of the most successful animated franchises.

I really enjoyed this movie a lot. It was funny and I liked that it had a lot of references to the Shrek franchise. I enjoyed the first Puss in Boots but I did not think it was better than the Shrek movies and I mean that generally. Some of the Shrek films were better than others. I thought Puss in Boots was a good movie for the character. Watching the sequel made me realize the first film was missing something and that was the connection to the franchise that Puss in Boots was introduced in. This movie felt like a fairytale the way the Shrek films were, and it felt more connected to Puss in Boots’ origins. I am referring to the fact he was introduced in Shrek 2 and became wildly popular and costarred in the rest of the films in the franchise. His popularity is why he got a spinoff to begin with. This film still stands on its own for the character, but it had enough links to the bigger franchise that it is a part of. In a way, it is similar to how Marvel projects are. Some stand on their own but have enough to show they are all connected and part of the bigger universe. It was nice to see references and that made me realize that the first Puss in Boots movie was missing that. The Last Wish also felt like it was more routed in the fairytale world from the characters to the animation style and especially the jokes and references. Shrek was a big deal when it came out because it took a different approach to the fairytale world and that is what helped make the film successful which in turn lead to a franchise of films.

The cast was stellar. Antonio Banderas is great as Puss in Boots. Even after all this time, he still is the perfect fit for voicing the character. Salma Hayek was great as Kitty Softpaws as she was the last time. The new additions were great as well. John Mulaney voices Jack Horner who is the primary antagonist. He was hilarious as the character, and he did a great job. He was definitely one of the funnier villains in the series. Honestly, he was a really good villain. He definitely is memorable and will be a stand out for the franchise for a long time. Florence Pugh voices Goldilocks. Of course the three bears are there voiced by Olivia Coleman, Ray Winstone, and Samson Kayo. They all were fantastic and funny. Out of all those characters, the big standout is Harvey Guillen who voices Perrito a dog who meets Puss in Boots and he tags along with him and Kitty Softpaws. Perrito is very optimistic and always looks on the bright side. It was refreshing to have a character like that especially since the Shrek franchise can get a little dark at times since the humor was always a bit more mature. I enjoyed every moment Perrito was on screen, and I loved the optimism and positivity he brought to the movie and for the characters. Puss in Boots, Kitty Softpaws, and Perrito had a great dynamic and that really helped make the film so enjoyable.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish has a ton of jokes. I was laughing throughout the movie and for me that is rare. Even when I enjoy comedies animated or live, I don’t always laugh a lot. This was an exception, and it was a nice exception. One thing I liked about the jokes was this time around it felt like a lot of the jokes were focused on the source material since this is a take on fairytales. There were some good jokes with Goldilocks and the three bears. The basic plot of the film is the characters are after the wishing star. Whoever gets to the wishing star can make a wish. All the characters have their own reasons why they want the wishing star. They need a map to get to the star. The plot alone lends itself to dozens of jokes referencing fairytales and it is truly hilarious. The movie is also heartfelt which added another layer to making it so enjoyable.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is a great movie and sequel to a franchise that helped change the game with animated movies and putting a fresh spin on fairytales. The movie is hilarious and heartfelt and has a great message for all ages. The fresh animation gives it a fairytale feel which only enhances the experience of the movie. Without spoiling anything, this movie does set up things for a potential Shrek 5. After seeing this, I am only hoping they will hop on making Shrek 5 sooner than later. I also would not mind if they made a Puss in Boots 3 either.