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
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, whom 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".
Antonio Banderas as Puss in Boots, a swashbuckling cat fugitive from the law and a hero of San Ricardo who has lost eight of his nine lives. In Mama Luna's Cat Rescue, Mama Luna named him "Pickles".[7]
Harvey Guillén as Perrito, a friendly and naïve dog who is initially disguised as one of Mama Luna's pet cats and wants to become a therapy dog. Since the end of the film, he officially names the trio "Team Friendship".[8]
Florence Pugh as Goldilocks – known as Goldi, the leader of the Three Bears Crime Family who wants to use Last Wish to regain her biological family.[10]
Kailey Crawford as Young Goldilocks
Olivia Colman as Mama Bear – Papa Bear's wife, Baby Bear's mother and Goldilocks' adoptive mother.[8]
Ray Winstone as Papa Bear – Mama Bear's husband, Baby Bear's father and Goldilocks' adoptive father. [8]
Samson Kayo as Baby Bear – Papa Bear and Mama Bear's son, and Goldilocks' adoptive brother.[8]
John Mulaney as "Big" Jack Horner, a feared pastry salesman and crime lord who plans to use the Wishing Star to gain control of all magic. He has collected various magical items, creatures and people ever since being denied fairy-tale fame by calling himself "Little" Jack Horner as a kid.[10] His group of henchmen cooks is called "the Baker's Dozen".
Wagner Moura as the Wolf[b] / Death, a wolf who is initially presumed to be a bounty hunter before revealing his true identity to Puss, who he wants to personally kill as punishment for Puss wasting eight of his nine lives. He wields twin sickles that combine into a double-bladed glaive.[10]
Shrek and Donkey make non-speaking appearances in a brief flashback, as does Imelda from the first Puss in Boots.[8]
Production
Development
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]
Writing
The various stages of production used to depict the scene of Perrito comforting Puss, who is having a panic attack. From top to bottom: the storyboard, a screenshot of the unrendered footage, and a screenshot of the final film.
While wanting the film to retain the adult humor from previous entries, Crawford also wanted the film to have a darker tone, with Puss' mortality and fear of death being the film's main focus,[21] wanting to use the concept of Puss being in his last life to tell a story about how to enjoy life.[22][23] Swift felt the Shrek franchise being over 20 years old by the time the project entered production allowed the film to explore darker themes than its predecessors.[21] He drew inspiration from fairytales by the Brothers Grimm and how they were "cautionary tales that took you somewhere dark to make you appreciate the light".[24] This also influenced the decision to depict Death as a wolf, as wolves in Brothers Grimm's stories were depicted as "the personification of fear".[24] Other influences for the film include Spaghetti Westerns films, due to how those films managed to balance between different tones.[24]The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly was cited as a particular influence on the film's plot.[21]
Crawford said he wanted the film's comedy to be "edgy" in the vein of Shrek (2001), aiming to honor what audiences loved from previous entries, although still wanting to do something different with the franchise instead of retreading familiar ground.[22][25] He also was interested in including more characters from the franchise, but not at the expense of the film's story.[22] He also felt that "one foot of Puss in Boots is dipped in the Shrek fairy tale world, but another one is in the spaghetti western world", and aiming to balance both aspects influenced certain decisions for the film.[25]
For the film's opening sequence, the producers didn't want to simply re-introduce the character to general audiences, but also to "[introduce] the world to where the character is now" by establishing him as a celebrity, with the writers drawing inspiration from Mick Jagger.[21] Crawford wanted Puss to start the film as a "larger than life"-type of figure who comes to embrace his vulnerability.[26] Swift described the story as being about Puss "[having] to figure out who am I without all the things that people value in me?".[21] The idea of featuring a scene of Puss having a panic attack was conceived after the team deemed Puss expressing his vulnerabilities verbally as "insincere", whereas a panic attack was seen as a "natural point" for the character that would force Puss to "let down the facade of being a fearless hero". For the scene, Crawford and storyboard artist Taylor Meacham drew from their personal experiences.[26]
Animation and design
As with DreamWorks' previous film The Bad Guys (2022), the film's design was inspired by Sony Pictures Animation's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), to make the film look more like storybook illustrations, from an idea suggested by production designer Nate Wragg.[27][28][29] In February 2019, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse director Persichetti was set to direct Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,[18] before he was replaced by Crawford in March 2021.[20] Using new technology, the team at DreamWorks focused more on a painterly style design, to make the film look like a fairy-tale world, different than what it was in Shrek (2001) from their defunct studio Pacific Data Images.[30][21]
Analysis
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]
Heitor Pereira composed the film's score, replacing Henry Jackman from the first film.[33] Additionally, three original songs were made for the film by Karol G, Daniel Oviedo, Heitor Pereira, Paul Fisher, Dan Navarro, and Gaby Moreno. Karol G performs "La Vida es Una", co-written by herself and Daniel Oviedo and released on December 8, 2022[34] while Heitor Pereira co-wrote two songs titled "Fearless Hero", performed by Antonio Banderas and co-written by Dan Navarro and Paul Fisher, and "Por Que Te Vas", co-written with and performed by Gaby Moreno.[35] The soundtrack was released on December 16, 2022, by Back Lot Music, in addition to cover of the Doors' "This Is the End" performed by Dan Navarro.[36]Music from Shrek 2 was used in the film by Harry Gregson-Williams from the tracks "Obliged to Help" and "The End / Happily Ever After".
Release
Theatrical
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
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, then moved to Netflix for the next ten on July 13, 2023, and then will return to Peacock for the remaining four beginning in May 2024.[52]
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 $120.2million, 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
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]
Accolades
Accolades received by Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
^In promotional material, the character was referred to as "[the] Big Bad Wolf", though he is not credited as such in the film, and is separate from the character of the same name from the previous films in the main Shrek franchise.
