Review #5 PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH (2022, Joel Crawford)

 

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Hard-living adventurer Puss in Boots has squandered eight of his nine lives, so sets off on a quest for the mythical Last Wish in the hope of reversing some of the old mileage.

Starring  Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Harvey Guillén, Florence Pugh, Olivia Colman, Ray Winstone

Written by  Paul Fisher, Tommy Swerdlow

Produced by  Mark Swift   

Duration  102 minutes

 

The PUSS IN BOOTS films are all about immortalising Antonio Banderas. Someone in the DreamWorks hierarchy decided that if Banderas isn’t going to make live action appearances as El Mariachi or Zorro anymore, then audiences will have to settle for him in cartoon cat form. And it’s probably the best decision the studio’s notoriously patchy animation division has ever made.

Rarely has there been such a direct animated avatar for an established star. TOY STORY’S Woody may somewhat resemble Tom Hanks, but it’s still clearly an actor playing a part. When it comes to Puss, he is Banderas – or, rather, the particular kind of action hero that Banderas so refreshingly unleashed upon the world in the late ’90s.

This like-for-likeness had not been seen so blatantly since Woody Allen as literally Woody Allen in DreamWorks’ ANTZ, and the trend reached its peak (I mean, nadir) with the same studio's SHARK TALE, which gave us fish Will Smith and shark De Niro and Scorsese. There are more examples, but let’s suffice it to say that a reliance on celebrity voices and lookalikes is a hallmark of DreamWorks’ contribution to the field of animation, for good or for ill (mostly for ill.)

The jewel in DreamWorks' crown – animated or otherwise – is, of course, SHREK. The original movie burst onto the scene with a mission to target Disney in the snarkiest ways possible, from the titular ogre literally wiping his arse with pages from a fairy tale, to the even less subtle move of calling the villain ‘Lord Farquaad’ and making him resemble former Disney CEO Michael Eisner, with whom DreamWorks co-supremo Jeffrey Katzenberg fell out back when they were both at the Mouse House. It’s also the most 2001 movie ever, with its MATRIX parody, Shrek fighting knights WWE-style and overuse of Smash Mouth’s ‘All Star’ (the definition of ‘over’ here being ‘any more than never’.)

SHREK made a ton of money and looked like being a genuinely fresh alternative to the Disney/Pixar monopoly. That impression lasted for about five minutes, it becoming apparent that SHREK was actually not all that subversive after all and was, in fact, happy to become a lazy franchise that followed tired tropes and relied on those celebrity voices/character models, stale pop culture references and climatic dance parties. Frequently, the films fall back on the dubious appeal of Eddie Murphy on autopilot (with family filter on) and Mike Myers delivering the Scottish accent he'd been trying to get into every project since SO I MARRIED AN AXE MURDERER.

However, as the SHREK films blundered through instalments like their green hero looking for more toilet paper, there was one shining light that shone through and eventually broke out.

Puss in Boots was introduced in a minor role in SHREK 2, before becoming more prominent in the third and fourth ones (and, by the way, a fifth is coming, in case your day was lacking some good news). The character’s popularity was such that Puss bagged himself a spin-off origin story in 2011 and now we have a sequel, THE LAST WISH.

From the start, the Banderas love is strong. The Goddamn thing opens just like DESPERADO, with our hero playing music in a cantina while battling villains. Since I would like to hope that the core audience’s familiarity with the oeuvre of Robert Rodriguez doesn’t extend beyond the SPY KIDS saga, WE CAN BE HEROES and that fucking one with Lava Girl or something, this is a targeted reference for the tag-along adults and is much appreciated.

And it doesn’t let up! Puss meets a grim reaper wolf whose ominous whistling to announce his arrival is a dead ringer for Charles Bronson’s chilling harmonica trill in ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST. The final standoff plays tribute to another Sergio Leone classic, FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE. In between, Puss experiences the malaise of a short-lived retirement in a home for over-the-hill kitties by zoning out to ‘The End’ by The Doors, emulating Martin Sheen in APOCALYPSE NOW; right after, he goes through his daily routine by way of REQUIEM FOR A DREAM-style hip hop montages.

And this is all before he teams up with the returning Kitty Softpaws, played by one-time Mrs Mariachi, Salma Hayek.

Picking out the mature movie references certainly helps sustain one’s interest in a children’s film, but that alone is not enough. Fortunately, THE LAST WISH is one of those rare beasts: a treat for all ages. The plot is propulsive and doesn’t lag too much into moralistic messaging; the supporting characters, like Harvey Guillén’s sincere puppy Perrito, manage to be endearing rather than annoying; it’s visually thrilling, even if it appears to succumb to that awful AVATAR 2 increased frame rate business during the most frantic scenes.

It even survives some woeful Cockney stereotyping. Goldilocks and her trio of bear companions are seeking the same wish-granting star, and push the cor-blimey-guvnor stuff with such commitment and verve that it goes all the way round again and actually becomes hilarious. Well, the naturally posh Olivia Colman and Florence Pugh had to commit, at least – Ray Winstone may very well have recorded his lines in his normal voice down the phone while watching the West Ham result come in on Final Score with his TV muted.

THE LAST WISH’S box office has been strong, so I’m all for the inevitable follow-up, and for keeping Hollywood’s greatest Latino leading man (sorry, Javier and Oscar) swashing buckles for as long as his voice can handle it.

Four stars out of five.

 

Valid use of the word ‘last’?  Part of the message here is that you already have what you wish for, if you pay attention to how lucky you are.

What would a movie called THE FIRST WISH be about? Probably something simple, like a fresh litter tray or one of those catnip mice to play with.

Previously:  THE LAST DUEL

Next time:  THE LAST EMPEROR

Check out my books:  Jonathanlastauthor.com