Puss in Boots
Rating: 8/10
Cast: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis, Billy Bob Thornton, Amy Sedaris
Director: Chris Miller
Fresh from his starring role in the Shrek films, Puss in Boots finally gets his own spin off tail (apologies - I mean tale) in this computer animated outing, unleashed in time for Christmas.
Set before Puss met Shrek and Donkey, it tells of how the Ginger haired man Spanish kitty cat came to be an outlaw. Puss is a wanted beast after his part in a robbery with his pal Humpty Dumpty (Galifianakis) but is determined to clear his name by tracking down the legendary magic beans.
However, they're currently the property of Jack and Jill (Bob Thornton and Sedaris) but that doesn't stop the kitty trying to get possession of them. But what Puss hasn't reckoned with is the appearance of a female feline, Kitty Soft Paws, who tries to snatch the beans.
When Puss learns Kitty is allied with Humpty, the trio teams up to steal the beans, make a beanstalk and steal the Golden Goose and live happily ever after...
Puss in Boots is a riot fest. Sure, it's nothing fabulously new or original in terms of groundbreaking animation or story telling but it is good old fashioned fun, with a mix of lunacy thrown in for good measure. Clearly the writers have been on the catnip to get a story like this together.
With lines like "What can I say? I was a bad kitty" as Puss leaves a one night stand behind, it's clear you're going to get some tongue in cheek scripting and a humourous feel to this origin story which explains how the cat got the boots and became the hero.
But once again, Dreamworks has shown why its animation arm is so good - the backgrounds and scenery shots which frame Puss' antics are so gorgeous on the eye (thanks to the real 3D effect as well) and so breathtaking, it's just yet another reason to celebrate a golden age of deft and ambitious animation.
Hayek and Banderas make a neat duo (again) and Galifianakis is a good foil in Humpty; but the winner here is the overall pieces of the puzzle.
Whether it's throwaway lines, visually dazzling moments, gags
which are thrown in for amusement (stand by for the return of Puss'
wide eyed cuteness - but in a whole new context) or just sheer
lunacy, there's much to love in this unfurling of the near purrfect
myth of Puss In Boots.
