A genuinely funny, visually striking adventure film that had me rooting for the film’s core trio and had me laughing throughout.
WRITTEN BY NIAMH BROOK / FEBRUARY 15, 2023
I remember going to see the first Puss in Boots. I was 12 years old and was on an extremely cringe year 8 double-date at my local cinema back in Portsmouth. I couldn’t tell you anything about the plot of the strange Shrek sequel. I barely watched it in the cinema and in the decade that has passed, I’ve never felt the need to watch it again. I don’t think I ever will.
I didn’t think I’d ever watch heroic feline with a cracking pair of shoes on the big screen again but after seeing countless rave reviews and snippets of the latest instalment Puss in Boots: The Last Wish all over Twitter, I once again dragged my begrudging boyfriend along to see what all the fuss was about.
What really struck me about Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is its tone. The film is clearly marketed for children but was seemingly made for adults. With mature themes, mature jokes and oddly, swearing, I was genuinely laughing when watching the film, something that rarely happens in a screening. Once more, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish may be the first animated film to honestly depict the truly terrifying sensation of a panic attack, with Puss battling the intense pressures both he and society have put on himself. With a refreshing take on toxic masculinity, the film could act as a great tool not only opening up conversations with kids, but adults too.
One thing I did find strange is the film’s use of swearing. Words like crap and bugger and a lot of bleeps with a clear indication of what the word would be, e.g. s*** for brains. Now, as a 23-year-old with a potty mouth this was great, but I couldn’t help but feel for all of the parents in the screening probably cringing each time another bleep came out of the surround sound.
The animation in the film was stunning and clearly took a leaf out of the Spiderman: Into the Spider-verse book of animation. Bold colours and gorgeous shot composition - you could genuinely have a coffee table book full of the shots from the film.
All the star-studded cast were on top form, working with a great script that genuinely had me on the edge of my seat from time to time. As a huge Miss Flo fan, I was thrilled to hear her animated performance but her cockney accent was, at times, a bit hit or miss for me.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish was great. A genuinely funny, visually striking adventure film that had me rooting for the film’s core trio and had me laughing throughout the hour and forty minute run time. Its always a strange turn of events, when a lack-lustre cash grab film gets an incredible sequel over a decade later but if this is going to be the new normal, I wonder what film we’ll get next? Turbo, perhaps.
STAR RATING
