Puss in Boots

Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) made his first movie appearance in Shrek 2. Since he was such a loveable and memorable character in the series, Dreamworks decided to do a spin-off and give Puss his own movie. The movie is appropriately titled "Puss in Boots" and it tells the story of Puss' origin. Puss was raised in an orphanage in a small town called San Ricardo, where he meets and becomes best friends with Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis). They show how Puss goes from being the town hero to an outlaw looking for his next big score. Fast forward to the present and Puss crosses paths with his old friend Humpty Dumpty and a rival cat burglar, Kitty Softpaw (Salma Hayek), in pursuit of magic beans, held by Jack & Jill. This might sound a bit confusing, but they do a great job mashing up various fairy tales to tell a fun and entertaining story.

I loved everything about this movie and I highly recommend it to everyone. Dreamworks outdid themselves with “Puss in Boots” in every way possible. The animation was just as good, if not better, than the previous Shrek movies. Everything in the movie, from the landscapes to the fur on the cats to even the beanstalk, looked so realistic. I was impressed by the computer animation in the movie because it was so well done and they focused every small detail.

The music and the voices for the characters were perfect also. The music was energetic with a certain Spanish flare and epicness that you would expect to see in a movie all about Puss in Boots. The music really enhanced the chase scenes and the dance off between Puss and Kitty and added a lot more emotion. Antonio was the perfect Puss in Boots and reuniting him with Salma Hayek (as Kitty Softpaw) was a good idea because you can feel the chemistry and passion from “Desparado” and “Once Upon a time in Mexico” resurfacing in this movie. Also, Zach as Humpty Dumpty was a good choice because you could always hear the paranoid but quirky tone he does so well in all of his movie. Dreamworks picked these actors for parts because they knew what they were doing to make this movie as good as it could be.

Lastly, this movie was filled with lots of extras and will certainly be fun for all ages. Besides a 10 minute movie short, they included various games, trivia, featurettes, and behind the scenes footage to please any fan of the movie or anyone that wanted to learn about Puss in Boots. “Puss in Boots” has a great story and will not only be amusing to kids, but to adults as well. In following the tradition of the Shrek franchise, this movie is filled with adult jokes and innuendos the little ones will not understand, thankfully. I had a great time watching “Puss in Boots” and will happily watch it again with my niece anytime. For those reasons I am giving this movie an “A.”