Awww, who could write a bad review abut this little fella?
First off, I must echo the sentiments of fellow Beanie Rich, in that I also hate 3D. Quite why anyone would pay additional money for the privilege of washed-out colour and an uncomfortable weight on your nose is beyond me, particularly my fellow glasses-wearers. Seems to me that going to the cinema should be an enjoyable experience, and not a trial of both my patience and the maximum weight tolerance of the bridge of my nose.
Now that’s out of the way you would be right to conclude that I did in fact watch this week’s film in the colour and comfort of 2D, meaning that I cannot really comment on its use of the third dimension beyond spotting several obvious 3D gimmick moments.
Puss in Boots is a spinoff from the Shrek franchise, a series which has birthed one great film, one fairly decent one and two insults to intelligent move-loving audiences everywhere. What made people think that doing a spinoff from a tired, hit-and-miss series would be a good idea?
The answer (yes my question was cleverly disguised as rhetorical, but does in fact have an answer) seems to lie in its lead and titular character. Put simply, Puss (the character) is Antonio Banderas spoofing Antonio Banderas playing Antonio Banderas. OK, perhaps that wasn’t put so simply… basically its a spoof of Once Upon a Time in Mexico spoofing Zorro. Any better? No? Well tough.
Given that I mentioned his name a mere three times in the last paragraph, let’s talk about Antonio for a bit. The success of this film is mostly down to a great screenplay and Antonio’s delivery in equal measure.
Come with me if you want to drink milk...
The film centres around Puss and his childhood friend Humpty ‘Alexander’ Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis) attempting to realise their lifelong dream of following in Jack’s footsteps up the beanstalk, with the help of new friend Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek). Naturally things don’t quite go as planned, and hilarity ensues.
The usual Dreamworks treatment of fairy tales in the Shrek universe would lead you to expect this to be the cue for many-a forced satire of well-known fairytale characters. Not so here though, as the cast is delightfully uncluttered, leaving plenty of room for a rich and enjoyable story. I must congratulate them on this occasion for choosing qualtiy over quantity – a brave move when working with an animated spin-off, after all there are plenty of animated films that have flopped thanks to a terrible storyline.
Sure, there are plenty of cat-based stereotypes to spoof which certainly make for some fairly frequent giggles, but the real achievement is how Puss manages to come off as a very likable hero with a strong sense of justice and a way with the ladies. I would love to make a feline nomenclature-based play on words at this point, regarding his ability to get lots of… female cats, however this is a (reasonably) family friendly site so I’ll have to leave that to your imagination.
Without giving too much away, Puss in Boots is a very enjoyable change of pace from the Shrek films while still keeping some of the best elements of the formula that made the first one great. The characters all look and sound superb – meeting and even exceeding the high expectations that we now have, as an audience spoiled by so many excellent animated feature films.
A special mention must also go to the soundtrack, for which much of the music was done by the truly excellent Rodrigo y Gabriela - if you don’t know who they are, you really should check them out. I’ve been a fan of their irresistable flamenco guitar-and-percussion combination for years, and it was great to hear their music back in the cinema!
All in all, while I confess I began this trip to the cinema as somewhat of a sceptic, it didn’t take long before Puss in Boots won me over – definitely worth a trip to see it!
In 2D, naturally.
Coolbeans counter: 7.5/10
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