Puss In Boots

Reviewed by: Mitch Hansch

Released: 13th July 2011

Directed by: Chris Miller

Starring: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis

Certificate: PG     

The swash-buckling-feline-Lothario breaks free of the “Shrek” series for his own tale of adventure. “Puss in Boots” is delightfully amusing, incredibly charming, and perfectly voiced by the Latin lover Antonio Banderas. Try saying his name with out doing it in that smoldering accented way, see, it can’t be done. Even though the plot wasn’t enough to land on it’s furry feet, this is a near-purrfect (I see you rolling your eyes) family film with just the right amount of winks to us adults (one night stands and prison jokes).

We’re told the back story of how Puss in Boots went from loved orphan to outlaw. Raised in San Ricardo Spain, Puss becomes besties with the very smart and inventive Humpty Dumpty (Zach Glifianakis). When Humpty tricks the wide-eyed Puss to participate in a bank heist, it goes bad, with the blame is put on Puss. Years later the two reluctantly re-team for their childhood dream to acquire the magic beans and ride the beanstalk where they’ll search for the treasure of the goose’s golden eggs. Along for the ride is the alluring Kitty Southpaws, (Salma Hayek), who has equally excellent thieving skills and a friskiness to boot.

As the trio works together, we wonder if Humpty is a good egg or a bad egg as his intentions are constantly in question. That and the ogre-ish Jack and Jill (turns out they’re spouses and not siblings, I did not know that) are hot on their trail for the beans. Voiced by Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris, their ‘Jack wanting to be a father’ running plot gag didn’t do much for me. What did do a lot for me was the flair for action that the crisp animation delivers, even if it is a bit to close to this year’s superior “Rango”.

I definitely wouldn’t mind if “Puss in Boots” brought on a litter of sequels. Banderas’ Puss delivers silliness worth watching again, lets just hope next time the plot can deliver.