Puss in Boots 2: The Last Wish

Puss in Boots 2: The Last Wish
Original title:Puss in Boots 2: The Last Wish
Director:Joel Crawford
Release:Cinema
Running time:102 minutes
Release date:21 december 2022
Rating:
Puss in Boots discovers that his passion for adventure and his disregard for danger have cost him dearly: he has used up eight of his nine lives, and lost count in the process. In order to get back on his feet, our hairy hero literally embarks on the quest of his life. He embarks on an epic adventure to the far reaches of the Dark Forest in order to unearth the mythical Wishing Star, the only thing that can restore his lost lives. But when you only have one life left, you have to keep a low profile, be careful and ask for help. So he turns to his old partner and all-time best enemy: the bewitching Kitty Velvet Paws. Puss in Boots and the beautiful Kitty are aided in their quest, reluctantly, by Perro, a wandering, gallbladdered, sharp-tongued and unfailingly good-natured mutt. Together they will try to stay one step ahead of the dreaded Goldilocks and his Three Bears gang, a real family of mobsters, but also Little Jack Horner who has grown up, or the most ferocious bounty hunter around: The Wolf.

Mulder's Review

We had to wait eleven years to discover the sequel to The Pussycat (2011) and the result exceeds our expectations as this is quite simply one of the best films of this year, all genres included. Far from wanting to propose an animated film surfing on the success of the Shrek universe, the scriptwriters Paul Fisher and Tommy Swerdlow have proposed a more mature approach to the universe of fairy tales, far from the good feelings dripping with mawkishness of other American studios.

 It took real courage and nerves of steel to present the character of Puss in Boots as an ageing hero who is afraid to die, as his previous eight lifetimes of accidents of all kinds mean that he must now play it safe and avoid being under fire. Yet even as he tries to become just another cat in a foster home with a host of other cats (and even a dog in cat's clothing), his past will catch up with him and send him on one last memorable quest full of all manner of dangers.

It is interesting to see that time plays an important role in this film as it reminds the potted cat that life is fleeting. DreamWorks Animation presents a new adventure in the Shrek universe after more than ten years of absence and demonstrates once again the great care taken with the animation.  The Potted Cat will have to penetrate the black forest in search of a magic star capable of helping him find his lost lives. He will be assisted in this new adventure by his former partner, Kitty Soft Paws (Salma Hayek), with whom he almost got married, and Perro (Harvey Guillén), a shabby, talkative and relentlessly cheerful dog despite all he has been through. This impromptu team will not only have to deal with Goldilocks (Florence Pugh, and the criminal family of the Three Bears, Big Jack Horner (John Mulaney) and the terrifying bounty hunter, the Big Bad Wolf (Wagner Moura).

The great care taken with the animation is also reflected in the dubbing, with Antonio Banderas once again lending his voice to the Pussycat, as well as the voices of Salma Hayek, Harvey Guillén, Florence Pugh, Olivia Colman, Ray Winstone and Samson Kayo, in important secondary roles. Despite the eleven years that separate this new chapter from the previous one, we find intact the universe created by Dreamworks Animation around Shrek, of which the Pussycat is the most endearing. 

The screenwriters Paul Fisher and Tommy Swerdlow did not take the easy way out and offer us a perfectly paced film with incredible action sequences like the one at the beginning of the film. Puss in Boots 2: The Last Wish is not just about entertaining the audience, it's a lesson in how to be grateful to others and how to listen and help them. The film reminds us how fragile our lives are and that we must constantly make the right decisions in order to thrive and keep moving forward. We hope that we won't have to wait another decade to discover the third part, especially as the end of the film announces the return of an important character to our big screens.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Directed by Joel Crawford
Screenplay by Paul Fisher, Tommy Swerdlow
Story by Tommy Swerdlow, Tom Wheeler
Based on Characters from Shrek by DreamWorks Animation Puss in Boots by Giovanni Francesco Straparola
Produced by Mark Swift
Starring Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Harvey Guillén, Florence Pugh, Olivia Colman, Ray Winstone, Samson Kayo, John Mulaney, Wagner Moura, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Anthony Mendez
Edited by James Ryan
Music by Heitor Pereira
Production company : DreamWorks Animation
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date : December 7, 2022 (France), December 21, 2022 (United States)
Running time : 102 minutes

Seen on December 9, 2022 at Gaumont Disney Village, Room 1 seat L19

 

Mulder's Mark: