Moviegoers shouldn’t have to rely on a sequel to a Shrek spinoff from 11 years ago for dazzling spectacle, but here we are. Just days after Avatar: The Way of Water Refined and stretching the photorealistic CG language of James Cameron’s original to greater heights (lows?), a damn cat-in-boats movie swings the action pendulum in entirely the opposite stylistic direction while staying on Cameron’s daring wavelength. Puss in Boots: The Last Wishthe latest animated film from DreamWorks, ruthlessly steals from the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Playbook, and guess what, thank goodness – the result is a fairytale-like adventure that complements real laughs with sparkling, impressionistic art.
I have absolutely no memory of what happened in 2011 Puss in Bootsnor the Netflix show The Adventures of Puss in Boots But I’m happy to report that a lack of Puss knowledge didn’t negatively impact my time watching an Antonio Banderas-voiced cat scampering around with his sword. When we speak to Puss, he’s a milk-drunk legend who realizes he’s wasted eight of his nine lives. Wolf, a physical manifestation of Death who wields and is voiced by two scythes narcoticsWagner Moura couldn’t be happier – all he wants is to kill the arrogant cat while he begs for mercy. But when Puss gets wind of a fallen star that can grant a wish, he teams up with Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek) and a little dog named Perrito (What we do in the shadows
Conversations from A Puss in Boots 2 began shortly after the success of the first film. Executive producer Guillermo del Toro teased in 2012 that a script was already in the works, and by 2014 Banderas was already in the works Make promises about the character’s return – possibly alongside Shrek. None of this happened, and DreamWorks saw creative team reshuffles. Finally Joel Crawford (The Croods: A New Age) took charge of the film, with Januel Mercado co-directing, with the MO completely rethinking what a CG-animated film needed to look like at DreamWorks.
“If the Shrek Movies were coming out, CG animation was in an interest ing area.” Last wish
As an animation fan, this has been a long time coming. spider verse‘s arrival in 2018 felt like a bullet-speed pebble lodged in the windshield of mainstream western animation. The cracks appeared immediately, and between DreamWorks’ The Bad BoysNetflix arcaneand Pixar is imminent Elementarythe rules could be completely shaken. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Giving the raw Shrek franchise a facelift in every way possible is cause for hope.
The Last Wish I’ve never seen a film that comes closest to imitating hand-painted concept art. On their way to the Wishing Star, Puss and company traverse prismatic backdrops — from bright pinks and green forests to the rustic interiors of a cat lady prison — that feel daubed by the artistic team. Their beast encounters use color, linework, and kinetic camera movements to bring viewers deeper into the battles and the like The way of the water, regularly shift frame rates to stimulate the senses. Puss, looking more oiled than ever, may animate for a second into a monologue about his legendary abilities “on the”, then finds himself in a cacophonous skirmish with a towering troll that the team animates “on the twos.” The sensation builds on the work of spider verse and, of all things, pulls the Shrek franchise into fine art territory. It’s breathtaking.
Is the movie really funny too? After a short visit shrek 1 and shrek 2I can’t say I went in The Last Wish with an open heart/joyful bones – pop culture hijinks and fairy tale riffs were dusty back then and petrified today. That Last wish Team, including acclaimed screenwriters Paul Fisher and Tommy Swerdlow, reinvent humor as much as animation. While the film offers a few nostalgic nods to Shrek, with brief cameos from Gingerbread Man and Pinocchio, and Jack Horner’s endless supply of fantasy fiction collectibles provides Mulaney with plenty to joke about, the film’s comedic style is more akin to it Groundhog Day
The Last Wish perhaps the best thing DreamWorks Animation, a studio not so well known for pushing the boundaries of the medium, has produced in the last decade. 2010 brought us the emotional thrill of How to train your dragon made easy and had 2011 Kung Fu Panda 2, a martial arts odyssey steeped in fantasy that director Jennifer Yuh Nelson has claimed as a top-notch action director (although Hollywood has never done it well). perhaps How to Train Your Dragon 2 tops the original with more action – I’ll leave that to the hardcore fans. The Bad Boys was definitely a step in the right technological direction earlier this year. I won’t get involved boss baby Discourse.
Be that as it may, the achievement gleams with hope. DreamWorks Animation, a studio that sprung from different houses, never found a foothold against Pixar and has struggled in the Minions’ shadow, may have found a new mode. If that level of artistry and cleverness is what the studio is bringing to future films, damn it, I’ll be in line shrek 5. There’s so much animation can do, and Hollywood seems finally ready to give its artists permission to do it.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is coming to cinemas now