Antonio Banderas and other voice actors give animated movie much spirit
Puss ’n Boots is ready to tackle anything, as long as he can get his nine lives back, in the long-awaited sequel.
Antonio Banderas obviously had a lot of fun playing Puss ’n Boots again.
The Spanish movie star is the voice of the title character of “Puss ’n Boots: The Last Wish,” the long-awaited sequel to Dreamworks’ original “Puss ’n Boots” film (2011). Mr. Banderas was the voice of Puss ’n Boots in the first film as well as this one, and he again captures the character’s charm and overabundance of self-confidence.
His voice characterization is the main reason to see “Puss’n Boots: The Last Wish,” but the animated film has other things going for it as well. This is a rare case where a sequel is better than the original movie, and much of that is because of a great story with intriguing characters including Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Jack Horner (the voice of John Mulaney).
Fans of Marvel Studios’ “Black Widow” movie might recognize the voice of Goldilocks. It’s Florence Pugh, who, like Mr. Banderas, obviously had fun with the role and put a lot of spunk into it.
They and Puss and his pals are in search of a star that will grant them their wish, and since Puss is down to the last of his nine lives, he wants to wish for another nine.
Helping Puss is Perrito, a funny dog voiced by Harvey Guillén and Kitty Softpaws, who is voiced by Salma Hayek. Both actors make their characters distinct and memorable.
Viewers will notice the animation in “Puss ‘n Boots” is different from the original film and other movies in the “Shrek” universe of fairy tales. Normally animated movies today consist of three-dimensional images created on computers. This one is “2.5-D,” which goes for a more storybook look than a realistic one.
At times, the animation is choppy, and that adds to the fairy tale charm and the sometimes wild rhythm of this movie.
Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado co-directed the movie, and Tommy Swerdlow and Tom Wheeler wrote the story. Paul Fisher penned the screenplay.
The directors and writers created an imaginative but easy-to-follow journey for colorful characters, and the children at a recent screening responded with laughter throughout the film. But adults too will appreciate this fairy tale, which teaches that as you seek one wish, you might end up with a better wish. Just go where the road takes you.
email: dmason@newspress.com
