Hitting right at the holiday cinema rush, Dreamworks released the secondary “Puss in Boots” movie about the daring, fearless  feline hero of the land first appearing in “Shrek 2”. As a series revolving around fairy tales, the movie adapts the Italian short tale, “Puss in Boots” into a film. The reputable animation studio responsible, for DreamWorks Animation, blows over everyone’s expectations with an all-around great movie.

“The best part of the movie was when Puss had a panic attack and the little dog, I forgot his name. He was helping him. He put his little head on his lap and it was so adorable. It was normalizing panic attacks, I  get panic attacks. It was such a real moment,”  junior Aster Johnson said.

The movie follows the hero Puss in Boots after his eighth death, a term playing around with the myth that cats live nine lives. Without the safety net of revival for the rest of his life, he retires from his life of heroism at an old woman’s house to live as a regular house cat. Scared that his life will soon come to an end, the Spanish hero works through drastic measures to make sure he takes back his eight lives. Throughout the movie, the Big Bad Wolf, from the Three Little Pigs Fairytale, chases Puss as one of the main antagonists. Throughout, the movie refers to the Big Bad Wolf as the physical manifestation of death on a mission to kill Puss for carelessly wasting his eight lives. The film ends with Puss realizing the importance of living life with care and respect. 

“The animation was superb. The choreography mixed well with the animation that had the same animation from ‘Into The Spider Verse’. It was well done, well animated. The animators worked their butts off. There was a lot of good CGI. It wasn’t bad CGI it was amazing but it was mixed with this cartoonish even choppy level of animation. The one thing I would change about the movie, I would actually change the fact that we got robbed of muscular Puss,” Johnson said.

The animation of the movie reaches above and beyond clearly taking inspiration from the animation success of the critically acclaimed “Into the Spider-Verse”. It differs from “Into the Spider-Verse” as every scene of the film feels ripped out of a storybook or a painting of a fairy tale staying consistent in DreamWorks world of fairytales. The movie’s vibrant intertwining colors strike the eyes of the audience along with its smooth scene transitions and cinematography. The movie noticeably deviated from the realistic look of the first “Puss in Boots” movie that emphasized realistic-looking graphics popular during the 2010s.

“Definitely the end when puss realized that he didn’t need all his life back had to be one of the strongest points of the movie. Don’t get me wrong, I like the new type to an extent but it’s not as good as the original. Anyone can tell that Dreamworks is upgrading their movies from what they were before,” Junior Melissa Mayorga said.

“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” exceeds past expectations of animated movies with strong storytelling, visuals, and implementation of Spanish culture.  The end of the movie hints at the future “Shrek 5” film currently in development. Overall the film brings an enjoyable family experience with great visuals and a satisfying story.

The Chant’s Grade: A+