Time and again I have commented on how DreamWorks Animation is poised to overtake Disney-Pixar as the king of high-quality animated blockbusters, and with franchises like Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, and How to Train Your Dragon, few would disagree with me. With Paramount getting ready to distribute DreamWorks Animation’s newest entry, selling Puss in Boots to a large and diverse audience represented anything but a gamble. Ever since Antonio Banderas lent his voice and personality to the confident and confrontational feline that first met audiences during the Shrek films, loyal moviegoers have been anxiously awaiting the character’s first solo adventure. From a marketing perspective, animated films represent a veritable cash cow in terms of licensing and partnerships, so various and prevalent promotions guaranteed a strong a widespread popular interest. With an A-list cast coming together to help breathe new life into a familiar character, there were tremendous expectations surrounding Puss in Boots, and I could only hope that the film was prepared for such a challenge.
With such a bankable lead character, I was decidedly disappointed in the finished product of Puss in Boots, as the films squanders a majority of its humor potential by investing in a nonsensical and utterly ridiculous story filled with half-baked characters. Speaking purely on animation quality alone, Puss in Boots is utterly gorgeous, with lighting and textures showcasing cutting edge computer graphics that don’t require any 3D effects for enhancement. When it comes to the voice cast, Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek absolutely shine bringing distinct personalities and senses of humor to the characters, an enjoyable quality that is only enhanced when the two interact with each other on screen. Unfortunately, that is where the appeal of Puss in Boots ends, as the “Jack and the Beanstalk” story angle relies so heavily on the fairy tale theme made famous by the Shrek films that it all feels tired and overused…once Zach Galifianakis’ one-dimensional Humpty Dumpty character appears, it’s game over. Don’t get me wrong, Puss in Boots is entertaining, but it is nowhere near as funny or memorable as its predecessors; if the film is to grow into a true franchise, things will have to get much stronger next time around.
Overall Recommendation: Medium
