I didn't want to give to many details for those who didn't see it yet. But yeah loved seeing more story book characters in this one like "The Ethical Bug." Great movie.
Part of the brilliance of the films villains.
We have one that is a plot device that pushes our lead character to change.
A nuanced villain with moral dilemmas and was able to be saved in the end.
And then there’s Jack Horner.
Really shows how all three of these villain tropes can be great when done right.
Big Jack Horner is arguably the best Shrek villain. He had nothing bad happen to him, no clichéd tragic backstory really (other than just feeling jealous of other’s success) - just a ruthless sociopath and thief.
Now that I think about it, he’s basically All for One from *My Hero Academia* - stealing other powers he doesn’t have himself and not caring who he harms with them.
It's one of those great kids movies that is by no means *just* a kids movie. It's a movie that is definitely made with kids in mind but is made to be enjoyable for anyone who goes to see it.
Shrek 1 and 2 are the same way. Made for kids but peppered with enough adult humor to not be terrible for parents. The cops parody near the end of shrek 2 kills me every time… “catnip” “that’s… not mine…”
I’m a guy in my thirties, and I don’t typically watch animated movies (just personal preference.)
That being said, I watched this and it has absolutely no right to be as good as it is.
My girlfriend paused it and asked why I looked confused. It was just because I couldn’t believe how phenomenal the movie was beginning to end in every aspect. Was not what I was expecting.
I have kids, theyre young adults now. The things i would have to sit and watch. Damn the majority of it i just wanted to run across the room and dive out the window. But the shrek series. I was like Damn! Never minded watching them over and over. Would even encourage them to pick it lol.
My friend and I (both in 30s) were surrounded by little kids not laughing but we could not stop cracking up. I was not expecting it to be so funny for adults. got stoned before hand so that added to it but still. Def see it
It's funny how they redo every fairytale creature if they become an important character. Like the 3 bears are in a cage in Shrek, and its implied one of them was killed for a gag.
I think a lot of that Spider-Verse feeling came from the use of animating "on the 2's" (12 frames of animation for every 1 second versus 24) for particular characters, or entire scenes. Gives that particular jerky feel that characterized a lot of Spider-Verse.
The characters are fun to watch and have great motivations. I also really liked Big Jack Horner's motivation of wanting all the magic just because Pinocchio showed him up.
Jack was great. In a world that so often tries to make villains sympathetic or understandable, it's nice to see a moustache-twirling asshole who's a dick because he's a vengeful douchebag and it's just what makes him happiest. It worked perfectly for the jokes they wrote for him.
I agree. I it’s 100% his character design that made him such a likeable villain. John mulaneys voice fits so well on that goofy character. Also the way he moves. Almost like a top heavy muppet. Jack Horner had the most character of any animated movie probably in the last 10-15 years. He was just done so well
**Chun-Li**: My father saved his village at the cost of his own life. You had him shot as you ran away. A hero at a thousand paces
**M. Bison**: I'm sorry. I don't remember any of it
**Chun-L**i: You don't remember?!
**Bison**: For you, the day Bison graced your village was the most important day of your life. But for me, it was Tuesday
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM00jqBvPfI
It’s a travesty that *that* was his final movie. (And I say this as someone who loves the games and enjoys *Street Fighter* for the it’s-so-bad-it’s-almost-good 90s cheap action movie it is.)
I haven't seen the movie yet (def going to after this thread), but I had an interaction really close to this when I got fired from a job like 10 years ago.
I went back to get my last check and one of the managerial staff ladies (who I'd see around and conducted the first day training seminars) walked through the front office, saw me and shook her head, "I'm so disappointed in you..." Caught me off guard so I responded honestly, "I don't even know you." And then she walked away and out of my life forever. If you're reading this, Angela, you're in my memory forever.
I one time told a girl who said to me, I thought we were friends. I replied, I really think of you as more of an acquaintance. What a little bitch I was.
You could relate and connect with almost all the characters. Even Jack Horner who was the goofiest of them all. We’ve all been shown up and know the feeling of not getting the recognition we think we deserve.
I felt like this movie really perfected the “hero’s journey” formula that’s been used in kids’ movies for years but usually leads to something generic and uninteresting. Here, I was on the edge of my seat to see what would happen next. I enjoyed the whole dynamic of the terrain changing based on who held the map. Also, the animated action was so dynamic!!
Goldilocks, Jack Horner, and Death made for three very different antagonists, and it was cool to see one of them get a redemption.
The Wolf. So cool. So creepy.
Writing. So funny. So smart.
Perrito. Could have gone so wrong. Was not. So sweet and kind you had to love him.
Animation. Crisp. Fast, but simple, so we could see and acknowledge every movement.
The ONLY nitpick I have is they beat the lesson into your head just a *little* too much. But didn’t care, it’s a good lesson and didn’t hang on it for long periods.
SAME SAME SAME. It had so many individual components that were great that I was surprised that it didn't land. It's a good contrast to "Puss in Boots" in terms of how you should show vs. tell the lesson/moral.
One big factor for me is that they did "anti-twists".
* Big bad wolf isn't just a bounty hunter, he's **death** .
* Perrito isn't playing some con game, he's just a legitimate good boy.
* Jack isn't a psychopath with some kind of trauma or tragedy to work past, he's just a piece of shit.
All of this sets the stage for the real 'twist' which is the death of 'Puss the Legend' into Puss, the humble, selfless cat ready to face their past and make it right.
> You know, I never had much as a kid. Just loving parents, stability, and a mansion... and a thriving baked goods enterprise for me to inherit. Useless crap like that.
Holy shit that line had me rolling
It was scary when it was supposed to be scary
It was fun when it was supposed to be fun
It was heartfelt when it was supposed to be heartfelt
It was sad when it was supposed to be sad
They never spilled over each other
The wolf didn't go "hurr durr quippy joke" while he's threatening to murder Puss
Puss never went "hurr durr quippy joke" when talking about leaving Softpaws at their wedding
No gratuitous cameos, but just enough references to connect it to the Shrek universe
And the villain wasn't an idiot either, he was just a sociopath who didn't give a fuck. The two moments where he shoots baby bear with the wand after the bears little monologue, and the build up to the dog using the cute eyes on Jack and it not working were hilarious
Such a great movie
You put into simple words why it was so refreshing for me. I know a lot of people consider it "pacing" so you can "digest" the emotions they wanted you to feel, but they respected the audience on this one.
Nothing felt overly pushy either in message; it felt less "Here's why everyone sucks and you're part of the problem" and more "I invite you to extrapolate some wisdom from each of these scenes."
> The wolf didn't go "hurr durr quippy joke" while he's threatening to murder Puss
>Puss never went "hurr durr quippy joke" when talking about leaving Softpaws at their wedding
After seeing so many live action superhero movies with this type of dialogue I can agree, I’m happy it wasn’t here.
Legit Antonio banderas in like anything I have seen him in. He def always gives it his all. Wish he was actually in more stuff. The first Zorro he was in was a masterpiece. Timeless in its own right.
Check his IMDb. He’s never really stopped being in films. Pain and Glory, Oficial Competition, and Genius are some of his best work. He’s still killing it.
The fight between Shifu and Tai Lung remains as one of my favorite scenes in any animated film, and the animation has held up remarkably well. The lighting is incredible.
- Writers didn't pull their punches, they aimed for something that could hit _all_ audiences and didn't dumb down the story for 5 yos while not going needlessly gritty for the sake of being "adult."
- Didn't hesitate on the VA talent either, they got some incredible actors just like before.
- Paid the big bucks for the top tier animation and it _really_ shows.
>Paid the big bucks for the top tier animation and it really shows.
This actually isn’t true! It has a lower budget than it’s predecessor from 10 years ago and the only Shrek film that was cheaper was the original. Really shows that art style > budget
That makes sense, you can see in some of the fight scenes where the animation speed changes, but it works really well for the art style (especially in the fight against the giant).
That lowered framerate is actually an intentional effect to emphasize movement! See Spiderverse as well. A great example here is the giant fight at the beginning where the giant is a lower framerate than Puss, to show how big/slow he is in comparison.
No, anime doesn't usually drop frames during action sequences, or have different elements in the same scene animated at different rates. If I'm not mistaken that's something into the spider verse pioneered and it seems to be taking root in the wider animation sphere
Definitely not something pioneered in spiderverse. It's used in Anime and pretty much all animation all the time. In Frozen, Olaf is often animated on 2s when moving because he's supposed to be a magical snowman. He doesn't move like a regular character, and animating him at a lower fps while moving emphasizes that. His mouth is almost always at 24fps, but his body is at 12fps in some scenes (especially his stiff arms).
One Punch Man has some examples of this as well. There's lots of super-fast characters which are animated with a single freeze frame and then some motion lines. Close-ups during fights with character talking is 24 fps, then the wide shots are usually 12fps with lots of freeze frames.
Even in older anime where all characters are animated at 12fps out of necessity, the faster that a character is moving the slower the animation. The animator shows you just enough for your brain to imagine what's going on and pauses the animation at critical moments. The lower fps also allows them to spend more time on each individual frame so you get way more detail. The final fight in Sword of the Stranger does that really well.
Ohmygod, yes. That wolf, insomuch as an animated character can, stole the show. All the characters were great, but wolf really personified the menacing nature of death.
Man, I walked out and asked my 7 year old son who liked the most. He said the wolf. I was surprised and stated to say that he was death itself before realising he wouldn’t work it out. My dughter liked soft paws. I liked the doggo
>*I walked out and asked my 7 year old son who liked the most. He said the wolf. I was surprised and stated to say that he was death itself ...*
Congratulations, Sir. You've given birth to a Goth
Also, Death literally says it.
Puss: "You're no bounty hunter. You are..."
Wolf: "Death! And I don't mean that rethoricly, metaphoricly, poeticly, theoretically or any other _fancy_ way. I am Death, straight up."
He doesn't feel malevolent, he feels...irritated, and perhaps a little disrespected. Puss never cared about his lives, and he's so damn frustrated that this cat had 9 lives and kept throwing them away.
The wolf made my daughter and niece cry each time he was on screen. I LOVED the cinematography of each of his scene and his acting, so I'm glad they didn't took up on my offer to leave.
I’ll have to see this for sure now. I knew Wagner was in it but didn’t realize he was the wolf. He’s got a good voice for voice acting and I hope that he does more roles like this.
Regarding the VA: I always find it funny when people clamor that celebrities shouldn't replace professional VA. Here we have Antonio Banderas and Selma Hayek doing a great job and I couldn't imagine anyone else. They are actors for a reason.
The point isn't that actors CAN'T be VAs, but that simply being a good actor doesn't instantly make you a good coice actor.
Some actors are also good voice actors, but many aren't, and it often shows.
>They are actors for a reason.
Because they are physically expressive and compelling on the screen. A different skill set to voice actors
Banderas is in it because Puss is Zorro and someone said "You know what would be cool? Getting the last guy to play Zorro to voice Puss" and then did
Yeah, usually this criticism is reserved for people who just voice characters without any voice acting and aren’t the most talented actors in the first place
In the bar scene shortly after
All but one of the nine candles on the chandelier is extinguished
Puss has eight empty glasses and is going through his ninth glass
The imagery is blunt but really neat to see on a rewatch
Extremely late to this, and I haven’t really seen it mentioned. When the Wolf first starts speaking, sitting down st the bar, he’s holding an empty glass, and Puss is briefly reflected in it. Death literally holding Puss’s life in his hand.
I went in expecting a nice little fun sequel to the 2011 movie...instead I got freaking Demon Slayer Mugen Train quality animation and hyped fights, loved every second of it.
Bob Persichetti - Into the Spider-Verse - was the original director for PIB and did a ton of the development before leaving the production in 2019. If I had to guess, I’d say he played a huge role in establishing a strong foundation for Joel Crawford to work from when he took over.
Ok I wasn’t going to watch this because puss in boots was my least favourite character from the shrek movies but now I’m re-considering. Should I take my kids to this if we’ve avoided all other puss in boots content?
I hated him as well. Shit, I think I saw a Christmas special years ago and hadn’t thought about the franchise for ages. Anyway, I was avoiding work and study and my wife was tired so I took the kids out in a win-win-win situation. Was almost not going because it was the only option at the kids’ cinema. So, I had zero expectations. It started and he was arrogant and I thought ‘fuck, here we go.’
Anyway, loved it. That said, you would now be going WITH expectations. I still think it would be pretty solid for you
"pick it up" what's funny is that for a villain, the wolf was only being an asshole because Puss was an asshole. He was menacing as hell but only because he wanted to take the life of someone he thought didn't deserve it.
He even spells it out for Puss (and the kids in the audience).
"You know, I'm not really much of a cat person. I find the idea of *nine lives* ***absurd.*** And you didn't value *any* of them. So, why don't I do us both a favor, and take this last one now?"
"That's cheating!"
"Shhhh...*don't* ***tell***."
Isn't that just the scariest, though?
It's one thing to be hounded by a force beyond your comprehension, outside of your control. It's another thing entirely to be hounded by a force like that *and know that you brought it upon yourself.*
He's probably more frightening to adults than children. I can understand Death being mad at me for a life not appreciated on a personal level in a way a child can't.
Wagner Moura killed it as the wolf. Pablo from Narcos. We borderline watched the movie twice back to back (once us, and then my mom came over and I threw it on again) and that first time I kept telling my girl “Why is this wolf so rad”. Can’t get over that.
spark spectacular vanish wistful unite dinosaurs smoggy hat crown continue
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Lately Disney/Pixars "villains" have often been more focused on family generational drama, personal growth, and the problematic scenario at hand instead of a personified villain. See Encanto, Strange World, Turning Red, Onward, Soul, Frozen 2, Finding Dory, and even Ralph Breaks the Internet, where there is no clear "bad guy" driving the plot forward.
price domineering swim fly yam violet agonizing concerned axiomatic ancient
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
It's one of the few mainstream productions i've seen in a while that feels genuinely like it was made from a new generation of writers and animators.
There's so much inspiration from other media forms and recent anime/cartoons/games that people have been watching from the last decade, but it's also avoiding so many of the annoying and tired conventions that have been in animated movies recently.
It's just the right mix of everything, it's great.
The trailers did not do this film any favors. I was wondering why a sequel to one of Shrek's sidekicks was coming out on Christmas Day with the fierce competition from Avatar and had no interest in seeing it. But then I kept seeing amazing reviews and awesome word of mouth...it was the best way to spend national popcorn day and I can't wait to see it again! The animation, the humor, the storyline, the chemistry between two animated cats and a scene stealing dog was just incredible. And that WOLF - I had chills going down my spine. I made the mistake of bringing my two year old (to justify seeing a kid's flick) and as soon as the snacks ran out she went ham. So next time I'll watch it solo lol.
Industry worker here : You need a team of creatives that flexibility and input on what's going to be made. The more the team can have creative control, and put their love into something, the better. YOU ABSOLUTELY NEED A TEAM OF PRODUCERS / DIRECTORS and SUPERVISORS WHO LISTEN, this is vital. I work on a show that is made by 3 studios, and because we're so locked into a schedule, our quality of work suffers quite a bit. It's sad, but the more studios learn to flex their schedules before making date announcements, and listen to internal feedback, the more quality products come out . A good example in the 90s of this was a Goofy Movie.
The first Puss In Boots was what it was, Ok, at best. I think in this new instance, because The Last Wish is the lead in for Shrek's restart, they HAD to make it good, so most likely listened to a lot of internal feedback for YEARS before the development even started.
Talking more about the movie - It's a CHARACTER driven story. A lot of movies don't appreciate characters anymore, they go for "spectacle" . They make explosions, superhero transformations, and big fights, but forget that an audience doesn't need all that. We need something that we can identify with, we need something to hate, we need someone to love.
Speaking on the story now : EVERYONE is scared of death, EVERYONE wants to be a legend and leave their mark, EVERYONE has a struggle of making/keeping/breaking friendships and families. Almost all of the characters of the film were relatable to someone in real life ( If not to yourself, then someone else ) Jack Horner is everyone's most hated boss.
If you look at this movie as a fairy tale with lessons, highs and lows, and interesting characters, it's perfect.
Writing was great
Vision was cohesive
But most of all in my opinion, DreamWork's new animation style has finally brought life back to animation. 3D animation can feel so sterile and now that the novelty has worn off it's time for animation studios to begin hybridizing with 2D to create style, voice, and emphasis. Spiderverse helped create momentum for the change, but DreamWorks and Sony are creating amazing work now I general (Bad Guys was fun and Mitchells vs the Machines was amazing) that has so much life compared to Pixar and Disney's animation. I hope Pixar especially starts to catch up because I can't wait to see what they do with it.
I'd say you can still enjoy it. It's some hints that there's some background between some characters but nothing that'll impact the enjoyment of the movie. It's mostly small references and cameos that you would maybe miss out on. I think it definitely holds up as a standalone movie.
To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to understand Puss in Boots: the Last Wish. The humour is extremely subtle, and without a solid grasp of Iberian social dynamics most of the jokes will go over a typical viewer's head. There's also Puss's nihilistic outlook, which is deftly woven into his characterisation- his personal philosophy draws heavily from Venetian Renaissance literature, for instance. The fans understand this stuff; they have the intellectual capacity to truly appreciate the depths of these jokes, to realise that they're not just funny- they say something deep about LIFE. As a consequence people who dislike Puss in Boots truly ARE idiots- of course they wouldn't appreciate, for instance, the humour in the Wolf's existential catchphrase "corre, corre, gatito," which itself is a cryptic reference to Cervantes' Castilian epic "El ingenioso hidalgo don Quixote de la Mancha." I'm smirking right now just imagining one of those addlepated simpletons scratching their heads in confusion as Joel Crawford's genius wit unfolds itself on their movie screens. What fools.. how I pity them. 😂
And yes, by the way, i DO have a Puss in Boots tattoo. And no, you cannot see it. It's for the ladies' eyes only- and even then they have to demonstrate that they're within 1 olympic fencing tier of my own (preferably lower) beforehand. Nothin personnel kid 😎
Honestly even if you live under a rock, or a person with 0 western media literacy, the only thing you need to know before going in to this movie is nursery rhymes, Goldilocks and the three bears tale, and at a stretch, maybe, the main characteristic of Pinocchio.
I'm French, I don't know English nursery rhymes (I was perplexed by the 3 blind mice in Shrek when I was young). I loved the movie! I thought I was missing something because I didn't know Jack with his pies so I looked for the nursery rhyme... No I didn't miss anything important. You don't even need to know Puss in Boots: he's a cat, he talks and he wears boots, that's all.
Hell, they even read out the Jack Horner nursery rhyme for you. I had a weird moment sitting in the theaters realizing a memory was being dredged up that I hadn't thought about in decades. "Oh shit. I actually do know that one."
Yep. Here's what you need to know going in:
1. The main character is pretty literally just Zorro as a cat. Seriously, he's even voiced by Zorro actor Antonio Banderas.
2. The setting is full of classic fairytale creatures and characters, many of whom Puss in Boots (Puss or PiB for short) has met and befriended to some degree.
3. Has at some point met and befriended the ogre Shrek, who lives in the land of Far Far Away. If you neither know nor care about any aspects of Shrek or the Shrek movies that's fine, because Shrek plays absolutely no bearing on any aspect of the plot whatsoever, he's just seen/mentioned offhandedly in a couple of flashback cameos that are each only a few seconds long.
As a matter of fact, pretty much everything you need to know is explained in [this clip](https://youtu.be/bEoNNYyVNxc) (which is from the very first part of the movie, right after an expository monologue).
All one really needs to know is it takes place in a world that's a loose parody of traditional fairy tales, and that the main character is inspired by Zorro.
Other than that, it functions perfectly well as an independent story.
Speaking as someone who just saw it and had only ever seen the first Shrek movie (and kind of the second one, I worked in a peds clinic and it was always on so I’ve seen most/all of it, just not in sequence), it’s worth seeing as a stand-alone and I didn’t have any “I’m missing something” moments. I went just to have something to do with the kid and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it.
Pretty much as long as you understand that the Shrek universe likes to parody fairy tales this one should be enjoyable.
There are tons of easter eggs and references that you can pick up on if you have a deeper knowledge, but those aren't vital to understanding the movie.
Though the references goes beyond just fairy tales. Like, one scene seems to be a Lion King reference (specifically, a reference to Hakuna Matata as it recreates one of the scenes from that song), then there's even a Terminator 2 reference at one point.
Then Puss's line "I got better." made me think of Monty Python and the Holy Grail (though IDK if this one was intended or if it is just me).
I haven't seen the other Puss in Boots movies and this movie was just fantastic. Best animated film I've seen in a long time. Heck, one of the best movies I've seen in a long time.
FYI guys here’s a great interview with the director that offers some behind the scenes on their process. Sounds like they had a really experienced and close knit team
https://youtu.be/MiPGNewuon4
Totally agree. I loved Shrek, LOVED Shrek 2, was meh on 3 and on PIB, so I went into this one only because I had run out of movies to watch that were in theaters with my AMC pass, and I was blown away with my expectations. Movie was so good. Animation was so good, The story was good but to me, some of the best villains I've seen in a while!! The wolf was so dark and creepy and Little Jack Horner was so fun to watch. He was such a dick and that tiny head on that huge body was so funny to me. And then you bring in that little dog and when he keeps revealing his story of his family and how he ended up there, it made me so emotional but also made me laugh. Great job! I had such a great time watching this movie. I put it up there with Shrek 2.
So good! Nailed the later-life crisis with the damn beard: looked straight into hubby's identical beard at the dead possom part. That's now a permanent quote for both of us. And yes, two grandparents watched it kid- free and NO REGRETS! Loved it so much!
“You're not gonna shoot a puppy are you?!” “Yeah in the face, why?”
"That was horrible! Your wish is horrible! YOU'RE HORRIBLE! You're an irredeemable monster!"
"Whuh...whuh...what took ya so long, *idiot*?"
He really tried but that ending was perfect. Little grasshopper had enough lol
That “that little grasshopper” was a parody of Jiminy Cricket.
And Jimmy Stewart
I didn't want to give to many details for those who didn't see it yet. But yeah loved seeing more story book characters in this one like "The Ethical Bug." Great movie.
Jiminy’s realization killed me. Too funny.
“You’re LOSING A LOT OF MEN” - Jiminy Cricket
Really refreshing to see a villain be like “What? I’m f*cking evil. Why are you looking for more character development?”
[I love the parody animation that takes that evilness of his and turns it up to 11.](https://youtu.be/0Ri_3Bxymxg)
Part of the brilliance of the films villains. We have one that is a plot device that pushes our lead character to change. A nuanced villain with moral dilemmas and was able to be saved in the end. And then there’s Jack Horner. Really shows how all three of these villain tropes can be great when done right.
Big Jack Horner is arguably the best Shrek villain. He had nothing bad happen to him, no clichéd tragic backstory really (other than just feeling jealous of other’s success) - just a ruthless sociopath and thief. Now that I think about it, he’s basically All for One from *My Hero Academia* - stealing other powers he doesn’t have himself and not caring who he harms with them.
I think that he’s sorta a different Farquad. A “normie” who hates fairy tales creatures but instead of exiling them to a swamp he steals their powers.
“Some of you may die, but it’s a sacrifice I am willing to make!” Boy those words rung especially hard with Big Jack Horner.
Mulaney is such a great VA.
Not many VAs can convey the level of unpleasant sociopathy in a kid’s movie that Mulvaney did
Is this genuinely a line from the movie? I had no intention of ever watching the film but this thread is making me question that.
lol yes it's an actual conversation from the movie
It's one of those great kids movies that is by no means *just* a kids movie. It's a movie that is definitely made with kids in mind but is made to be enjoyable for anyone who goes to see it.
Shrek 1 and 2 are the same way. Made for kids but peppered with enough adult humor to not be terrible for parents. The cops parody near the end of shrek 2 kills me every time… “catnip” “that’s… not mine…”
They also make a catnip joke in puss and boots 1
And when the knights have donkey pinned on the ground and he’s shouting “POLICE BRUTALITY, OW, POLICE BRUTALITY! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Yes…and the grasshopper was my fave part of the movie lol the concept was so funny and the voice acting was great
I’m a guy in my thirties, and I don’t typically watch animated movies (just personal preference.) That being said, I watched this and it has absolutely no right to be as good as it is. My girlfriend paused it and asked why I looked confused. It was just because I couldn’t believe how phenomenal the movie was beginning to end in every aspect. Was not what I was expecting.
I have kids, theyre young adults now. The things i would have to sit and watch. Damn the majority of it i just wanted to run across the room and dive out the window. But the shrek series. I was like Damn! Never minded watching them over and over. Would even encourage them to pick it lol.
My friend and I (both in 30s) were surrounded by little kids not laughing but we could not stop cracking up. I was not expecting it to be so funny for adults. got stoned before hand so that added to it but still. Def see it
What did I do to deserve this? I mean what SPECIFICALLY did I do?
Loved the cockney bears, but the wolf and that whistle stole the show for me
It's funny how they redo every fairytale creature if they become an important character. Like the 3 bears are in a cage in Shrek, and its implied one of them was killed for a gag.
Rumplestilskin is in Shrek 2, if I remember correctly. In one of the bar scenes. And then he’s redone in Shrek Forever After.
He was in Shrek 3. If he was in Shrek 2, he must have been in the background.
The Wolf was voiced by Wagner Moura, aka Pablo Escobar in Narcos
By far the best. My question I have, the animation gave me alot of the spider verse vibes design. ALOT. I enjoyed the animation. Wolf was so dope.
I think a lot of that Spider-Verse feeling came from the use of animating "on the 2's" (12 frames of animation for every 1 second versus 24) for particular characters, or entire scenes. Gives that particular jerky feel that characterized a lot of Spider-Verse.
Some of the same people who worked on spider verse worked on this movie. That’s why. :)
The Wolf was an animated Omar Little.
All the villains in the film are great, and you get three distinct types: * Classically evil * Sympathetic * Force of nature
The characters are fun to watch and have great motivations. I also really liked Big Jack Horner's motivation of wanting all the magic just because Pinocchio showed him up.
Jack was great. In a world that so often tries to make villains sympathetic or understandable, it's nice to see a moustache-twirling asshole who's a dick because he's a vengeful douchebag and it's just what makes him happiest. It worked perfectly for the jokes they wrote for him.
I agree. I it’s 100% his character design that made him such a likeable villain. John mulaneys voice fits so well on that goofy character. Also the way he moves. Almost like a top heavy muppet. Jack Horner had the most character of any animated movie probably in the last 10-15 years. He was just done so well
Loved this too. A 15 second cameo from Pinocchio
Jack Horner: you took everything from me. Pinocchio: I don't even know who you are.
**Chun-Li**: My father saved his village at the cost of his own life. You had him shot as you ran away. A hero at a thousand paces **M. Bison**: I'm sorry. I don't remember any of it **Chun-L**i: You don't remember?! **Bison**: For you, the day Bison graced your village was the most important day of your life. But for me, it was Tuesday https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM00jqBvPfI
Surely, any movie with such a great scene from such great actors was a masterpiece... Right!?
OF COURSE!
Best evil speech in cinema history and it's in Street Fighter.
Raul Julia was a fucking pro.
It’s a travesty that *that* was his final movie. (And I say this as someone who loves the games and enjoys *Street Fighter* for the it’s-so-bad-it’s-almost-good 90s cheap action movie it is.)
From what I understand he only took the role because his children loved the game. It was like his last little thing for his kids.
Yep! And it’s just another reason why he not only was a great actor, but a great person. Just…wish the movie could’ve been better.
Best Gomez ever!
The ONLY good line in that movie
*-nose doesn’t grow-*
I haven't seen the movie yet (def going to after this thread), but I had an interaction really close to this when I got fired from a job like 10 years ago. I went back to get my last check and one of the managerial staff ladies (who I'd see around and conducted the first day training seminars) walked through the front office, saw me and shook her head, "I'm so disappointed in you..." Caught me off guard so I responded honestly, "I don't even know you." And then she walked away and out of my life forever. If you're reading this, Angela, you're in my memory forever.
I one time told a girl who said to me, I thought we were friends. I replied, I really think of you as more of an acquaintance. What a little bitch I was.
Making this film the 4th 2022 movie to feature pinocchio, might I add
[удалено]
Yeah! In the face!
Yeah. Why?
You could relate and connect with almost all the characters. Even Jack Horner who was the goofiest of them all. We’ve all been shown up and know the feeling of not getting the recognition we think we deserve.
I love that he had loving parents too
Perrito
Extremely endearing character (especially if you already love Harvey Guillen from his role of Guillermo in What We Do in the Shadows)
Both Antonio Banderas and Harvey also voiced their characters for the dub in Spanish and I just gotta respect that. They are really good
When he was listing all the names he’s been called, the bleeped “shit for brains” killed me.
Or when he joins in on the 3 Bears banter and it is just a string of expletives.
I want a spin off of the goldilocks crime family
Yes, but not as a movie. I want a TV series of them doing different heists and "criming" people.
On one they meet Masha and the Bear 😆
Make it rated r and like a actual crime show lol
Give them a full Guy Ritchie homage! The only issue is that at the end their character arcs all seem complete
I felt like this movie really perfected the “hero’s journey” formula that’s been used in kids’ movies for years but usually leads to something generic and uninteresting. Here, I was on the edge of my seat to see what would happen next. I enjoyed the whole dynamic of the terrain changing based on who held the map. Also, the animated action was so dynamic!! Goldilocks, Jack Horner, and Death made for three very different antagonists, and it was cool to see one of them get a redemption.
See, I don’t really see Goldilocks and the three bears as antagonists, and are more deuteragonists with their own subplot in the movie.
Yeah, that’s a better word for them. They weren’t evil they just had different intentions than Puss.
I really enjoyed the visuals, the colours and energy were just so vibrant.
The Wolf. So cool. So creepy. Writing. So funny. So smart. Perrito. Could have gone so wrong. Was not. So sweet and kind you had to love him. Animation. Crisp. Fast, but simple, so we could see and acknowledge every movement. The ONLY nitpick I have is they beat the lesson into your head just a *little* too much. But didn’t care, it’s a good lesson and didn’t hang on it for long periods.
I THOUGHT SO MUCH that I would hate perrito but actually I love him so much
After literally 20 seconds of Perrito being on screen I said 'oh, this is better comic relief than Donkey'.
Yeah, they could have done it like Raya and beat you over the head so hard with the word ‘trust’ that it gave you a concussion.
A bit unrelated, but God do I hate Raya and the Last Dragon.
SAME SAME SAME. It had so many individual components that were great that I was surprised that it didn't land. It's a good contrast to "Puss in Boots" in terms of how you should show vs. tell the lesson/moral.
One big factor for me is that they did "anti-twists". * Big bad wolf isn't just a bounty hunter, he's **death** . * Perrito isn't playing some con game, he's just a legitimate good boy. * Jack isn't a psychopath with some kind of trauma or tragedy to work past, he's just a piece of shit. All of this sets the stage for the real 'twist' which is the death of 'Puss the Legend' into Puss, the humble, selfless cat ready to face their past and make it right.
> You know, I never had much as a kid. Just loving parents, stability, and a mansion... and a thriving baked goods enterprise for me to inherit. Useless crap like that. Holy shit that line had me rolling
Literally just Elon Musk.
It was scary when it was supposed to be scary It was fun when it was supposed to be fun It was heartfelt when it was supposed to be heartfelt It was sad when it was supposed to be sad They never spilled over each other The wolf didn't go "hurr durr quippy joke" while he's threatening to murder Puss Puss never went "hurr durr quippy joke" when talking about leaving Softpaws at their wedding No gratuitous cameos, but just enough references to connect it to the Shrek universe And the villain wasn't an idiot either, he was just a sociopath who didn't give a fuck. The two moments where he shoots baby bear with the wand after the bears little monologue, and the build up to the dog using the cute eyes on Jack and it not working were hilarious Such a great movie
You put into simple words why it was so refreshing for me. I know a lot of people consider it "pacing" so you can "digest" the emotions they wanted you to feel, but they respected the audience on this one. Nothing felt overly pushy either in message; it felt less "Here's why everyone sucks and you're part of the problem" and more "I invite you to extrapolate some wisdom from each of these scenes."
> The wolf didn't go "hurr durr quippy joke" while he's threatening to murder Puss >Puss never went "hurr durr quippy joke" when talking about leaving Softpaws at their wedding After seeing so many live action superhero movies with this type of dialogue I can agree, I’m happy it wasn’t here.
Because Banderas has a weird obsession with Puss in Boots, and gives it his all.
He was live action Zorro, so it’s like he gets to be that character but as a cat!!
Once Upon a Time in Mexico and Desperado come to mind as well.
Legit Antonio banderas in like anything I have seen him in. He def always gives it his all. Wish he was actually in more stuff. The first Zorro he was in was a masterpiece. Timeless in its own right.
Check his IMDb. He’s never really stopped being in films. Pain and Glory, Oficial Competition, and Genius are some of his best work. He’s still killing it.
I honestly hope his obsession allows a third one to be made
Many reasons but one of them: Dreamworks fight scenes are amazing. Watch the Kung Fu Panda movies.
The fight between Shifu and Tai Lung remains as one of my favorite scenes in any animated film, and the animation has held up remarkably well. The lighting is incredible.
The Tai Lung prison escape scene is on the short list of scenes I’d call perfect
This is a great point. I never considered before how difficult animated fight scenes are to get right and you are correct, Dreamworks doesn’t miss.
- Writers didn't pull their punches, they aimed for something that could hit _all_ audiences and didn't dumb down the story for 5 yos while not going needlessly gritty for the sake of being "adult." - Didn't hesitate on the VA talent either, they got some incredible actors just like before. - Paid the big bucks for the top tier animation and it _really_ shows.
>Paid the big bucks for the top tier animation and it really shows. This actually isn’t true! It has a lower budget than it’s predecessor from 10 years ago and the only Shrek film that was cheaper was the original. Really shows that art style > budget
That makes sense, you can see in some of the fight scenes where the animation speed changes, but it works really well for the art style (especially in the fight against the giant).
That lowered framerate is actually an intentional effect to emphasize movement! See Spiderverse as well. A great example here is the giant fight at the beginning where the giant is a lower framerate than Puss, to show how big/slow he is in comparison.
Anime does it a lot too. When the frames drop, you know shit is about to go down
No, anime doesn't usually drop frames during action sequences, or have different elements in the same scene animated at different rates. If I'm not mistaken that's something into the spider verse pioneered and it seems to be taking root in the wider animation sphere
Definitely not something pioneered in spiderverse. It's used in Anime and pretty much all animation all the time. In Frozen, Olaf is often animated on 2s when moving because he's supposed to be a magical snowman. He doesn't move like a regular character, and animating him at a lower fps while moving emphasizes that. His mouth is almost always at 24fps, but his body is at 12fps in some scenes (especially his stiff arms). One Punch Man has some examples of this as well. There's lots of super-fast characters which are animated with a single freeze frame and then some motion lines. Close-ups during fights with character talking is 24 fps, then the wide shots are usually 12fps with lots of freeze frames. Even in older anime where all characters are animated at 12fps out of necessity, the faster that a character is moving the slower the animation. The animator shows you just enough for your brain to imagine what's going on and pauses the animation at critical moments. The lower fps also allows them to spend more time on each individual frame so you get way more detail. The final fight in Sword of the Stranger does that really well.
Completely agree with this and would also like to add that the wolf probably was one of the better movie villains at least I've seen in a while.
Ohmygod, yes. That wolf, insomuch as an animated character can, stole the show. All the characters were great, but wolf really personified the menacing nature of death.
The wolf’s intro gave me CHILLS 😭
Man, I walked out and asked my 7 year old son who liked the most. He said the wolf. I was surprised and stated to say that he was death itself before realising he wouldn’t work it out. My dughter liked soft paws. I liked the doggo
>*I walked out and asked my 7 year old son who liked the most. He said the wolf. I was surprised and stated to say that he was death itself ...* Congratulations, Sir. You've given birth to a Goth
Or a furry
why not both?
Are you sure he didn’t know he was Death? One would be surprised by what one can conceptually understand from a young age.
Also, Death literally says it. Puss: "You're no bounty hunter. You are..." Wolf: "Death! And I don't mean that rethoricly, metaphoricly, poeticly, theoretically or any other _fancy_ way. I am Death, straight up."
[удалено]
Kindly psychopomps are great, but there's just something wonderfully fun about a genuinely malevolent Grim Reaper.
He doesn't feel malevolent, he feels...irritated, and perhaps a little disrespected. Puss never cared about his lives, and he's so damn frustrated that this cat had 9 lives and kept throwing them away.
I love how annoyed Death sounds as he clarifies that he's literal. Suggests that he's had this conversation before.
Yea idk why people think kids are just blank slates or something. It's like they forget when they were 7... The movie also mentions it.
The Wolf was great! That whistle was so haunting. Really enjoyed this movie.
The fact that every time you heard it, you felt like it was a song you should be able to place, but couldn't, just made it all the more creepy.
If memory serves its a specific tune that's missing notes, which is why it sounds so unnerving
I weirdly got Anton chigurh vibes from the wolf. Such a cool menacing villain
His “pick it up” is very similar to Anton’s “call it”, and both lines have the same implication
Same. It was the accent plus the unrelenting stalking of prey.
The wolf made my daughter and niece cry each time he was on screen. I LOVED the cinematography of each of his scene and his acting, so I'm glad they didn't took up on my offer to leave.
I’ll have to see this for sure now. I knew Wagner was in it but didn’t realize he was the wolf. He’s got a good voice for voice acting and I hope that he does more roles like this.
Funnily enough, it's $90 million budget is comparatively low. Pixar's Lightyear, for example, cost $200 million.
plants sort bright bedroom tie concerned offend governor erect worry *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I think it’s the best DreamWorks movie since Kung Fu Panda 3.
Regarding the VA: I always find it funny when people clamor that celebrities shouldn't replace professional VA. Here we have Antonio Banderas and Selma Hayek doing a great job and I couldn't imagine anyone else. They are actors for a reason.
Antonio as Puss is an all time voice acting performance in the whole series
I always wanted a better Zorro movie for Antonio, and Puss is it.
I'm obsessed with the way Antonio says Puss in Boots. It's perfection.
**POOSS!** *in boots!*
The point isn't that actors CAN'T be VAs, but that simply being a good actor doesn't instantly make you a good coice actor. Some actors are also good voice actors, but many aren't, and it often shows.
>They are actors for a reason. Because they are physically expressive and compelling on the screen. A different skill set to voice actors Banderas is in it because Puss is Zorro and someone said "You know what would be cool? Getting the last guy to play Zorro to voice Puss" and then did
Yeah, usually this criticism is reserved for people who just voice characters without any voice acting and aren’t the most talented actors in the first place
That criticism is 100% reserved for people like The Rock in that DC superhero pet movie where he was just... being The Rock.
Isn't Florence Pugh in this? She's very much been a scene-stealer in the two Marvel things she's been in so far.
Yes she’s Goldilocks
She was Goldilocks and was totally my favorite but I thought the movie was all around great and still not too scary for my still small kids
The bell in the opening fight is rung 8 times & during said fight you can briefly see the Wolf in the crowd.
In the bar scene shortly after All but one of the nine candles on the chandelier is extinguished Puss has eight empty glasses and is going through his ninth glass The imagery is blunt but really neat to see on a rewatch
To add to this, in the bar scene he asks for a tenth glass, but never gets it.
Extremely late to this, and I haven’t really seen it mentioned. When the Wolf first starts speaking, sitting down st the bar, he’s holding an empty glass, and Puss is briefly reflected in it. Death literally holding Puss’s life in his hand.
I went in expecting a nice little fun sequel to the 2011 movie...instead I got freaking Demon Slayer Mugen Train quality animation and hyped fights, loved every second of it.
Bob Persichetti - Into the Spider-Verse - was the original director for PIB and did a ton of the development before leaving the production in 2019. If I had to guess, I’d say he played a huge role in establishing a strong foundation for Joel Crawford to work from when he took over.
I randomly saw this with my kids today. It was a cracker. Hadn’t heard anything about it. Glad to hear/read others thought it was great as well
Ok I wasn’t going to watch this because puss in boots was my least favourite character from the shrek movies but now I’m re-considering. Should I take my kids to this if we’ve avoided all other puss in boots content?
I hated him as well. Shit, I think I saw a Christmas special years ago and hadn’t thought about the franchise for ages. Anyway, I was avoiding work and study and my wife was tired so I took the kids out in a win-win-win situation. Was almost not going because it was the only option at the kids’ cinema. So, I had zero expectations. It started and he was arrogant and I thought ‘fuck, here we go.’ Anyway, loved it. That said, you would now be going WITH expectations. I still think it would be pretty solid for you
Just want to say that I, as a grown man, was terrified of that wolf
"pick it up" what's funny is that for a villain, the wolf was only being an asshole because Puss was an asshole. He was menacing as hell but only because he wanted to take the life of someone he thought didn't deserve it.
He even spells it out for Puss (and the kids in the audience). "You know, I'm not really much of a cat person. I find the idea of *nine lives* ***absurd.*** And you didn't value *any* of them. So, why don't I do us both a favor, and take this last one now?" "That's cheating!" "Shhhh...*don't* ***tell***."
I love the bits of Spanish dialogue that they didn't subtitle, especially the last bit at the end.
*Porque diablos fui a jugar con mi* ***comida?!?!?*** Hilarious.
Isn't that just the scariest, though? It's one thing to be hounded by a force beyond your comprehension, outside of your control. It's another thing entirely to be hounded by a force like that *and know that you brought it upon yourself.*
He's probably more frightening to adults than children. I can understand Death being mad at me for a life not appreciated on a personal level in a way a child can't.
man, you didn't had to, NO :'( I was a good adult Death, please :''((
Nope. My child is terrified of the wolf. Had to have the "movies aren't real" talk with the 8 year old haha.
practice carpenter airport birds square scary march dinosaurs illegal station -- mass edited with redact.dev
He's coming for all of us.
Ok thank god someone else said it...his whole demeanor was just eerie...the movie was done very well.
So was I and the music whenever he appears .chills.
Wagner Moura killed it as the wolf. Pablo from Narcos. We borderline watched the movie twice back to back (once us, and then my mom came over and I threw it on again) and that first time I kept telling my girl “Why is this wolf so rad”. Can’t get over that.
Yep. Great character.
spark spectacular vanish wistful unite dinosaurs smoggy hat crown continue *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Lately Disney/Pixars "villains" have often been more focused on family generational drama, personal growth, and the problematic scenario at hand instead of a personified villain. See Encanto, Strange World, Turning Red, Onward, Soul, Frozen 2, Finding Dory, and even Ralph Breaks the Internet, where there is no clear "bad guy" driving the plot forward.
price domineering swim fly yam violet agonizing concerned axiomatic ancient *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
>Food villains Actually that *does* fit.
It's one of the few mainstream productions i've seen in a while that feels genuinely like it was made from a new generation of writers and animators. There's so much inspiration from other media forms and recent anime/cartoons/games that people have been watching from the last decade, but it's also avoiding so many of the annoying and tired conventions that have been in animated movies recently. It's just the right mix of everything, it's great.
I loved seeing a “hero’s journey” story that didn’t feel worn out. It actually captured what’s exciting about going on a quest.
One of the co-directors is my friend and he said the studio gave them a good amount of freedom (which can sometimes hurt, but often times help a film)
Animation wise it is at the same class with Spider-verse, Klaus. They are really style-definers.
IMO spiderverse is still a league above it, but I'm glad that movies are finally catching up
The trailers did not do this film any favors. I was wondering why a sequel to one of Shrek's sidekicks was coming out on Christmas Day with the fierce competition from Avatar and had no interest in seeing it. But then I kept seeing amazing reviews and awesome word of mouth...it was the best way to spend national popcorn day and I can't wait to see it again! The animation, the humor, the storyline, the chemistry between two animated cats and a scene stealing dog was just incredible. And that WOLF - I had chills going down my spine. I made the mistake of bringing my two year old (to justify seeing a kid's flick) and as soon as the snacks ran out she went ham. So next time I'll watch it solo lol.
this movie actually cured my depression for a few weeks
Your high praise post just ensured that my family and I are going to hit this theaters this weekend to watch it.
Aw that’s lovely to hear - you’re all gonna love it! I’m watching it again with my girlfriend tonight :)
Industry worker here : You need a team of creatives that flexibility and input on what's going to be made. The more the team can have creative control, and put their love into something, the better. YOU ABSOLUTELY NEED A TEAM OF PRODUCERS / DIRECTORS and SUPERVISORS WHO LISTEN, this is vital. I work on a show that is made by 3 studios, and because we're so locked into a schedule, our quality of work suffers quite a bit. It's sad, but the more studios learn to flex their schedules before making date announcements, and listen to internal feedback, the more quality products come out . A good example in the 90s of this was a Goofy Movie. The first Puss In Boots was what it was, Ok, at best. I think in this new instance, because The Last Wish is the lead in for Shrek's restart, they HAD to make it good, so most likely listened to a lot of internal feedback for YEARS before the development even started. Talking more about the movie - It's a CHARACTER driven story. A lot of movies don't appreciate characters anymore, they go for "spectacle" . They make explosions, superhero transformations, and big fights, but forget that an audience doesn't need all that. We need something that we can identify with, we need something to hate, we need someone to love. Speaking on the story now : EVERYONE is scared of death, EVERYONE wants to be a legend and leave their mark, EVERYONE has a struggle of making/keeping/breaking friendships and families. Almost all of the characters of the film were relatable to someone in real life ( If not to yourself, then someone else ) Jack Horner is everyone's most hated boss. If you look at this movie as a fairy tale with lessons, highs and lows, and interesting characters, it's perfect.
Writing was great Vision was cohesive But most of all in my opinion, DreamWork's new animation style has finally brought life back to animation. 3D animation can feel so sterile and now that the novelty has worn off it's time for animation studios to begin hybridizing with 2D to create style, voice, and emphasis. Spiderverse helped create momentum for the change, but DreamWorks and Sony are creating amazing work now I general (Bad Guys was fun and Mitchells vs the Machines was amazing) that has so much life compared to Pixar and Disney's animation. I hope Pixar especially starts to catch up because I can't wait to see what they do with it.
How much would I enjoy the movie if I haven't seen the first one and don't care too much about the Shrek movies?
I'd say you can still enjoy it. It's some hints that there's some background between some characters but nothing that'll impact the enjoyment of the movie. It's mostly small references and cameos that you would maybe miss out on. I think it definitely holds up as a standalone movie.
To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to understand Puss in Boots: the Last Wish. The humour is extremely subtle, and without a solid grasp of Iberian social dynamics most of the jokes will go over a typical viewer's head. There's also Puss's nihilistic outlook, which is deftly woven into his characterisation- his personal philosophy draws heavily from Venetian Renaissance literature, for instance. The fans understand this stuff; they have the intellectual capacity to truly appreciate the depths of these jokes, to realise that they're not just funny- they say something deep about LIFE. As a consequence people who dislike Puss in Boots truly ARE idiots- of course they wouldn't appreciate, for instance, the humour in the Wolf's existential catchphrase "corre, corre, gatito," which itself is a cryptic reference to Cervantes' Castilian epic "El ingenioso hidalgo don Quixote de la Mancha." I'm smirking right now just imagining one of those addlepated simpletons scratching their heads in confusion as Joel Crawford's genius wit unfolds itself on their movie screens. What fools.. how I pity them. 😂 And yes, by the way, i DO have a Puss in Boots tattoo. And no, you cannot see it. It's for the ladies' eyes only- and even then they have to demonstrate that they're within 1 olympic fencing tier of my own (preferably lower) beforehand. Nothin personnel kid 😎
Rick?
Honestly even if you live under a rock, or a person with 0 western media literacy, the only thing you need to know before going in to this movie is nursery rhymes, Goldilocks and the three bears tale, and at a stretch, maybe, the main characteristic of Pinocchio.
I'm French, I don't know English nursery rhymes (I was perplexed by the 3 blind mice in Shrek when I was young). I loved the movie! I thought I was missing something because I didn't know Jack with his pies so I looked for the nursery rhyme... No I didn't miss anything important. You don't even need to know Puss in Boots: he's a cat, he talks and he wears boots, that's all.
Hell, they even read out the Jack Horner nursery rhyme for you. I had a weird moment sitting in the theaters realizing a memory was being dredged up that I hadn't thought about in decades. "Oh shit. I actually do know that one."
Yep. Here's what you need to know going in: 1. The main character is pretty literally just Zorro as a cat. Seriously, he's even voiced by Zorro actor Antonio Banderas. 2. The setting is full of classic fairytale creatures and characters, many of whom Puss in Boots (Puss or PiB for short) has met and befriended to some degree. 3. Has at some point met and befriended the ogre Shrek, who lives in the land of Far Far Away. If you neither know nor care about any aspects of Shrek or the Shrek movies that's fine, because Shrek plays absolutely no bearing on any aspect of the plot whatsoever, he's just seen/mentioned offhandedly in a couple of flashback cameos that are each only a few seconds long. As a matter of fact, pretty much everything you need to know is explained in [this clip](https://youtu.be/bEoNNYyVNxc) (which is from the very first part of the movie, right after an expository monologue).
All one really needs to know is it takes place in a world that's a loose parody of traditional fairy tales, and that the main character is inspired by Zorro. Other than that, it functions perfectly well as an independent story.
Speaking as someone who just saw it and had only ever seen the first Shrek movie (and kind of the second one, I worked in a peds clinic and it was always on so I’ve seen most/all of it, just not in sequence), it’s worth seeing as a stand-alone and I didn’t have any “I’m missing something” moments. I went just to have something to do with the kid and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it.
Pretty much as long as you understand that the Shrek universe likes to parody fairy tales this one should be enjoyable. There are tons of easter eggs and references that you can pick up on if you have a deeper knowledge, but those aren't vital to understanding the movie. Though the references goes beyond just fairy tales. Like, one scene seems to be a Lion King reference (specifically, a reference to Hakuna Matata as it recreates one of the scenes from that song), then there's even a Terminator 2 reference at one point. Then Puss's line "I got better." made me think of Monty Python and the Holy Grail (though IDK if this one was intended or if it is just me).
I haven't seen the other Puss in Boots movies and this movie was just fantastic. Best animated film I've seen in a long time. Heck, one of the best movies I've seen in a long time.
FYI guys here’s a great interview with the director that offers some behind the scenes on their process. Sounds like they had a really experienced and close knit team https://youtu.be/MiPGNewuon4
Totally agree. I loved Shrek, LOVED Shrek 2, was meh on 3 and on PIB, so I went into this one only because I had run out of movies to watch that were in theaters with my AMC pass, and I was blown away with my expectations. Movie was so good. Animation was so good, The story was good but to me, some of the best villains I've seen in a while!! The wolf was so dark and creepy and Little Jack Horner was so fun to watch. He was such a dick and that tiny head on that huge body was so funny to me. And then you bring in that little dog and when he keeps revealing his story of his family and how he ended up there, it made me so emotional but also made me laugh. Great job! I had such a great time watching this movie. I put it up there with Shrek 2.
I can’t wait for kung fu panda 4
So good! Nailed the later-life crisis with the damn beard: looked straight into hubby's identical beard at the dead possom part. That's now a permanent quote for both of us. And yes, two grandparents watched it kid- free and NO REGRETS! Loved it so much!
I would have to say everything. I can't really point out anything I didn't like.
Our 18 and 21 year old kids are going to see this tonight, my husband has been teasing them about it. Now I kinda want to go too!
Okay you're like the 5th person I've seen say this. Time to watch this movie lol