Film Review: ‘Puss in Boots’ Coasts Through Familiar Animated Antics

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CHICAGO – Animated family films have made a pact with their audience. For our participation – and extra 3D glasses fee – they deliver the latest in computer generated eye candy, familiar voice talent and heroes that always win while making pop culture references. Antonio Banderas is “Puss in Boots.”

Rating: 3.0/5.0

Expanding on the feline swashbuckler from the “Shrek” series of films, “Puss in Boots” is a decent exercise of the animated pact, but doesn’t offer anything new or particular exciting. The generated atmosphere is gorgeous, truly a miracle of the modern age, but the filmmakers probably think this is enough. It took four writers to sweat out the adventurous screenplay, only to fall back on litter box jokes and a greek chorus cat who offers the oh-no-you-didn’t aphorism.

Set before his Shrek adventures, Puss in Boots (voice of Banderas) is introduced in all his roguish ways, loving and leaving his feline companion. He hears rumors about magic beans, being held by the grown-up Jack (Billy Bob Thorton) and Jill (Amy Sedaris). When he goes to steal them, he is outmaneuvered by a masked thief named Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek). They decide that teaming up is better than working apart, and they set off anew to steal the beans.

Puss comes upon his hometown, and the orphanage where he grew up. In flashbacks, we meet Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis), once the closest friend of Puss, who ended up betraying him. The egg man holds the key to the power of the magic beans, which naturally grows a climbable vine that reaches to the land of the giants. Humpty knows there is a goose that lays golden eggs there, and joins Puss and Softpaws in stealing the beans from Jack and Jill. When they finally procure them, golden eggs and retribution is next.

Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “Puss in Boots”

Puss (voice of Antonio Banderas) and Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek) in ‘Puss in Boots’ Photo credit: Dreamworks Animation

Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “Puss in Boots”