If you could have one wish with the limits of no more wishes, what would it be? Would it be stardom, winning the lottery, bringing back a loved one, or even something else? To be honest, I do not know off hand what it would be, but that is at the center of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.
Directed by Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado eleven years after the first spin-off film from the Shrek series where the title character (Antonio Banderas) is celebrating another victory but finds out from a doctor that his “death” afterwards spent the eighth of his nine lives. As he tries to retire, he finds out about a magical start that can grant one wish to the one who discovers it. Unfortunately, his “wanted” status along with others who are hot on its trail like former rival Kitty Softpaws (Selma Hayek Pinault) and some new rivals voiced by John Mulaney, Florence Pugh, Ray Winstone, and Olivia Coleman. There is also a dog that attaches himself to Puss in Boots (Harvey Guillen) who just wants to have a new friend.
Since the first appearance of the character, Banderas has always been spot-on as Puss in Boots, and Hayek cannot do any better as Kitty Softpaws. With the new voice talents, I especially enjoyed that of Pugh as Goldilocks in a story that I truly enjoyed. For an animated film, the plot is not too far out there with a solid mix of comedy and emotion that should keep the attention of the entire family.
Visually, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is stunning with a mixture of two distinct styles that blends VERY well. Even though I was able to screen the movie from home with a very good setup, I still would love to be able to see this on a much bigger screen to be able to take it all in. The writers even are able to expand the Shrek universe by finding more and more characters that are new to the stories but known to all of us, keeping it fresh and new unlike the “Ice Age” series that I refer to from time to time as the example of overstaying a franchise’s cinematic welcome. Given all of this, I have no problem recommending this film to be seen on a Saturday afternoon showing in the theaters.