Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is a 2022 American animated adventure comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures. The sequel to the spin-off film Puss in Boots (2011) and the sixth installment and soft reboot[6] of the Shrek film series, the film was directed by Joel Crawford, co-directed by Januel Mercado (in his feature directorial debut), and written by Paul Fisher, Tommy Swerdlow, and Tom Wheeler. Based on the character introduced in Shrek 2 (2004) and inspired by the fairy tale of the same name, the voice cast includes Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek reprising their respective roles as the titular character and Kitty Softpaws, with new additions to the cast including Harvey Guillén, Florence Pugh, Olivia Colman, Ray Winstone, Samson Kayo, John Mulaney, Wagner Moura, Kevin Mccann, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, and Anthony Mendez. Set after the events of Shrek Forever After (2010), the story follows Puss in Boots, who teams up with Kitty and Perrito to find the Last Wish of the fallen Wishing Star to restore eight of his nine lives. They race against other fairy tale characters seeking the same treasure, while a sinister wolf hunts Puss himself.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
- Paul Fisher
- Tommy Swerdlow
- Tommy Swerdlow
- Tom Wheeler
Mark Swift
Chris Stover
James Ryan
- December 13, 2022 (Lincoln Center)
- December 21, 2022 (United States)
102 minutes[1]
United States
English
Plans for a sequel to Puss in Boots began in November 2012 but languished in development hell until it was revived in November 2018, with Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri confirmed as an executive producer. It was announced in February 2019 that the film would be helmed by Bob Persichetti, head of story of the first film and co-director of Sony Pictures Animation's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018). However, Crawford signed on and replaced Persichetti as director in March 2021, along with Mercado. The story draws inspiration from Spaghetti Western films, with The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) cited as a particular influence. The film's style is inspired by Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. With new technology, the team was able to give the film a painterly style to resemble a fairy-tale story, diverging from the visual style of previous installments in the Shrek franchise.
Following delays due to a restructuring at DreamWorks, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish premiered at Lincoln Center in New York City on December 13, 2022, and was theatrically released in the United States on December 21. Since its release, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish has been hailed as a modern classic, acquiring acclaim from critics and audiences. It was also a box office success, grossing over $485 million worldwide on a production budget of $90–110 million and becoming the tenth-highest-grossing film of 2022. At the 95th Academy Awards it was nominated for Best Animated Feature, as well as receiving nominations at the Golden Globes, Critics' Choice Awards, and British Academy Film Awards.
Plot[edit]
While hosting a party in the town of Del Mar, legendary hero and outlaw Puss in Boots subdues a giant, but is subsequently crushed by a church bell. After Puss recovers, the town doctor advises Puss to retire because he has already lost eight of his nine lives. Puss initially refuses, but relents when he is wounded and disarmed while dueling a wolf, who he assumes is a bounty hunter, at the local pub. Traumatized by the event, Puss follows the doctor's directions to the house of Mama Luna, an elderly cat lady, and buries his clothes.
Months later, Puss meets an optimistic Chihuahua disguised as a cat, whom he calls Perrito.[a] Goldilocks and the Three Bears Crime Family soon arrive at Luna's home, looking to hire Puss to help them steal a map displaying the Wishing Star's location. They leave after finding his apparent grave. Puss decides to find the Star and wish to have nine lives again.
Perrito follows Puss to the factory lair of corrupt pastry salesman and magical artifact collector "Big" Jack Horner, who intends to use the Star to control all of the world's magic. While stealing the map from Horner, Puss encounters his resentful ex-fiancée Kitty Softpaws, who intends to take the map for herself. Goldi, the Bears, and Horner discover and chase the trio, during which Puss spots the wolf. They all end up in the Dark Forest, a pocket dimension that manifests illusions of travelers' memories. During the subsequent clash, Puss suffers a panic attack and flees after the wolf reappears, allowing Goldi to take the map from Kitty. After Perrito finds Puss and calms him down, Puss confesses his fears and remorse for abandoning Kitty before their wedding. She overhears him and tells Puss that she did not attend the wedding either, believing he loved himself too much to love her.
Reinvigorated, Puss and Kitty retrieve the map while Goldi and the Bears are distracted by a manifestation of their woodland cottage. Though Goldi kidnaps Perrito, Kitty rescues him. Meanwhile, Puss becomes trapped in the crystalline "Cave of Souls", where he sees reflections of his arrogant past lives, who ridicule him for changing his outlook. The wolf arrives and reveals himself as Death. Offended by Puss' failure to value any of his lives, Death intends to take Puss' final life personally. Horrified, Puss runs out of the cave towards the Star, leaving Kitty and Perrito behind.
During an argument with the Bears, Goldi reveals she intends to wish for a "proper", human family. Disheartened, the Bears nonetheless agree to help her. Reaching the star, Puss begins to make his wish until Kitty arrives, berates him for his selfishness, and reveals her wish to find someone she could trust. Goldi, the Bears, and Horner arrive, and a fight ensues for the map. Goldi briefly obtains it, but abandons it to save Baby Bear while Kitty traps Horner inside his magical bottomless bag.
Death arrives and challenges Puss to a duel. Having learned the value of life from his time with his companions, Puss forgoes wishing for more lives and accepts, temporarily disarming Death. Puss declares that he knows he can never truly defeat Death, but he will never stop fighting for his last life. Realizing Puss is no longer arrogant, Death begrudgingly spares him and leaves, though he and Puss acknowledge that they will eventually meet again.
Horner escapes the bag by eating a magic snack, which transforms him into a giant. Perrito distracts Horner to allow Puss, Kitty, and Goldi to destroy the map, causing the Star to collapse and consume Horner before launching into the sky and exploding. Afterward, Goldi affirms to the Bears that they are her true family. Goldi and the Bears decide to take over Horner's business. Puss rekindles his romance with Kitty. The two cats and Perrito steal a ship and set sail for the Kingdom of Far Far Away to visit "some old friends".[b]
Shrek and Donkey make non-speaking appearances in a brief flashback, as does Imelda from the first Puss in Boots.[8]
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
In November 2012, executive producer Guillermo del Toro shared director Chris Miller's intentions to take the titular character on an adventure to a "very exotic locale". He also said a couple of drafts for the screenplay were completed.[13] In April 2014, voice actor Antonio Banderas said work on the sequel had begun.[7] On June 12, 2014, the movie was titled Puss in Boots 2: Nine Lives & 40 Thieves.[14] In March 2015, Banderas said the script was under restructuring. He also hinted at the possibility of Shrek appearing in the film.[15]
By November 2018, Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri had been brought on board as an executive producer of both Shrek 5 and Puss in Boots 2.[16][17] In February 2019, it was reported that Bob Persichetti was set to direct the film while Latifa Ouaou, producer of the first film, would oversee the development of the sequel with Meledandri; Persichetti and Ouaou previously worked on the first film as head of story and producer, respectively.[18] On August 19, 2020, DreamWorks trademarked Puss in Boots: The Last Wish as the new title of the sequel, which was approved in December.[19] In March 2021, Joel Crawford replaced Persichetti as director, having previously helmed DreamWorks' The Croods: A New Age (2020), with producer Mark Swift, editor James Ryan, and screenwriter Paul Fisher returning as collaborators along with Januel Mercado serving as the film's co-director.[8][20] Along with Salma Hayek (now credited as Salma Hayek Pinault) reprising her voice role, new cast members were announced in March 2022, including Harvey Guillén, Florence Pugh, Olivia Colman, Ray Winstone, Samson Kayo, John Mulaney, Wagner Moura, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, and Anthony Mendez.[8]
Analysis[edit]
The film's subject matter and thematic merit have been lauded, receiving critical praise and discourse. It depicts Death as a living antagonist, chasing Puss for his final life. Puss does not defeat Death by combat, however, but instead by learning to accept the inevitability of death, while making sure to live life to the fullest and learning to let the people he loves have a part in his life. This metaphor has received critical evaluation and appraisal for its poignancy.[31][32]
Release[edit]
Theatrical[edit]
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish premiered at Lincoln Center in New York City on December 13, 2022,[37] and was theatrically released on December 21, 2022. It was originally scheduled to be released on November 2, 2018,[14] and later on December 21, 2018,[38] before it was removed from the release schedule altogether in January 2015 due to corporate restructuring and DreamWorks Animation's new policy to release two films a year.[39][40] Upon the project's resurrection, it was given a release date of September 23, 2022, in March 2021,[20] but in April 2022, the release date was moved to its current December 21 date, taking over the release of Illumination's The Super Mario Bros. Movie.[41] A one-day public screening occurred on November 26, 2022, in select theaters.[42][43]
The first thirty minutes of the film were shown at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 14, 2022. Critics noted the darker tone of the movie when compared to its predecessor and director Joel Crawford agreed with them, mentioning that Puss' "fear of death is the engine that drives the movie".[44][21]
The film also debuted a new animated logo opening for DreamWorks Animation, showcasing characters from The Bad Guys, How to Train Your Dragon, Kung Fu Panda, The Boss Baby, Trolls, and Shrek with a remastered rendition of the 2010 fanfare composed by Harry Gregson-Williams mixed with several notes from the 2019 fanfare composed by John Powell, produced by Suzanne Buirgy from Abominable and Kendall Cronkhite from Trolls served as the production designer.[45]
Home media and streaming[edit]
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish was released digitally on January 6, 2023, 16 days after its theatrical release.[46][47]
A 4-minute CGI animated short film, Puss in Boots: The Trident, was released as part of the digital release of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Collector's Edition on February 21, 2023, and later released on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on February 28.[48][49][50] The short sees Eric Bauza reprising his role as Puss from The Adventures of Puss in Boots.
The film was made available to stream on NBCUniversal's Peacock streaming service on March 10, 2023.[51] As part of their 18-month deal with Netflix, the film streamed on Peacock for the first four months of the pay-TV window, before moving to Netflix for the next ten on July 13, 2023, and returning to Peacock for the remaining four beginning in May 2024.[52]
The film grossed $6.9 million in home sales.[53]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish grossed $186.1 million in the United States and Canada, and $299.2 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $485.3 million.[4][5] It is the tenth-highest-grossing film of 2022.[54] Deadline Hollywood calculated the film's net profit as $120.2 million, accounting for production budgets, marketing, talent participations, and other costs; box office grosses and home media revenues placed it eighth on their list of 2022's "Most Valuable Blockbusters".[3] By March 2023, it ultimately became a sleeper hit, which was attributed to positive feedback, word-of-mouth, and minimal competition from family films.[55]
In the United States and Canada, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish was projected to gross $25–30 million from 4,099 theaters over its five-day opening weekend.[2] The film made $3.2 million on its first day and $2.9 million on its second, with The Hollywood Reporter noting that Winter Storm Elliot and the threat of a tripledemic surge in COVID-19 and flu cases could affect the box office in the subsequent days.[56] It went on to debut to $12.4 million in its opening weekend (and an estimated total of $26.2 million over the six days), finishing second behind holdover Avatar: The Way of Water.[57][58] Despite opening below projections, Universal's president of domestic distribution Jim Orr and box office analysts believed the film could make up ground in the coming weeks through word-of-mouth and schools being on holiday.[59] In its second weekend, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish grew 35% from its debut weekend, grossing $16.8 million.[60][61] Its third weekend, the film fell 19% with $13.5 million, which was the first non-holiday weekend in its run.[62][63] The film made $14.5 million in its fourth weekend and $18.9 million over the four day Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend (Friday–Monday) while also crossing the $100 million mark at the United States and Canadian box office.[64][65] Puss in Boots: The Last Wish was the tenth highest-grossing film of 2022 in the United States and Canada,[66] and completed its domestic theatrical run on April 20, 2023.[67]
Critical response[edit]
The film received critical acclaim, with praise for its story, animation, and voice performances.[68][69][70][71] On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 95% of 192 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's consensus reads: "Arriving more than a decade after the previous installment, the smart, sweet, and funny Puss in Boots: The Last Wish proves some franchises only get better with age."[72] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 73 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[73] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported 89% of audience members gave it a positive score.[57][74]
IGN's Rafael Motamayor gave a rating of 9 out of 10 and wrote: "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish mixes stunning animation with a poignant, surprisingly mature story to deliver the Shrek franchise's answer to Logan we didn't know we needed."[75] Christy Lemire of RogerEbert.com wrote that after a "roaring start", the film "sags a bit in the midsection as it becomes clear that we're in for a pretty standard quest." She did, however praise that the film manages to "convey messages of selflessness and teamwork in a way that doesn't feel heavy-handed or cloying", along with the voice performances and visuals.[76] Nate Richard of Collider gave the film an A−, saying: "Nothing in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish feels lazy, it more than justifies the long wait. It is not only one of the best animated films of the year, but it's one of DreamWorks' best, and one that will strike a chord with moviegoers of all ages. It's equal parts exciting and hilarious as well as earnest, it never feels like it is talking down to anyone. With The Bad Guys and now Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, it is more than safe to say that DreamWorks is back and (maybe) better than ever."[77]
Peter Debruge of Variety gave the film a positive review, saying the film was "DWA's best film since the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy."[78] Maxance Vincent of Loud and Clear gave the film four out of five stars, saying: "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is finally giving me hope that the Shrek franchise may not be dead yet. The film opens with one of the most thrilling action set pieces I've seen in an animated film all year (and probably the most thrilling one, since I won't watch another animated film before the end of the year), impeccably scored by Heitor Perreira as our titular character (Antonio Banderas) sings 'Who is our favorite fearless hero?' as he battles a giant. I was locked into the movie, and there was no going back."[79] Emma Stefansky of IndieWire also gave a positive review, enjoying the fact that the film "has no qualms about testing the expectations of its young audience while delivering a freewheeling tale about appreciating the nine lives we already have."[80] Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a positive review, finding the film "darker in tone but still extremely funny", even though it "falters when resorting to the frenetic action sequences seemingly designed for tykes' short attention spans." He also praised Banderas's and the supporting cast's voice work, claiming that "Too often, animated films feature supremely overpaid and overqualified voice casts whom children, and most adults, couldn't care less about. Banderas, on the other hand, is worth every penny."[12] William Bibbiani of TheWrap gave the film a mixed review, summarizing that "there are comic moments that land, and action set pieces that pop, but the overwhelming sensation here is a meditation on the inevitability of death."[81]