MOVIE NEWS: Puss in Boots

So, last summer when we were talking about Shrek Forever After, I mentioned that it was the last movie in the series. It turns out I kind of lied about that. I mean, the character Shrek hasn’t appeared in any new movies bearing his name, but the series lives on all the same in the new movie Puss in Boots.

The movie’s been out for a little over a week now, but I finally got around to seeing this flick this past weekend, and I’m here to share some thoughts about it.

For those who haven’t heard much about it yet, Puss in Boots follows the adventures of one of the Shrek series’ most popular characters: Puss in Boots himself. At the start of the movie, Puss is looking for a way to earn some quick cash to settle some unfinished business in his past. But it’s easier said than done when he runs into Jack and Jill and Humpty Dumpty.

Can Puss team with enemy Humpty to outwit Jack and Jill and use the magic beans to get to the golden goose and her golden eggs, or will he be left with egg on his face? You’ll have to see the film to find out!

In the meantime, here are a few observations about the movie:

1) It’s funny. That’s thanks in large part to the great voice cast. Antonio Banderas (Puss in Boots), Zach Galifianakis (Humpty Dumpty), and Salma Hayek (a rival swash-buckling cat named Kitty Softpaws) all give great, witty performances and bring tons of life to their characters.

2) It’s twisted. And I mean that in a good way! The Shrek series is known for its creative twists on classic fairy tale characters, and Humpty Dumpty, Jack, and Jill are great new additions. Who would have thought that Jack and Jill (famous for going up the hill) would work well as ogre-ish villains? I didn’t!

3) It’s not bad in 3-D. As long-time OWL blog readers know, I’m not the biggest fan of the 3-D trend. But animated movies tend to do it much better than live-action ones, and this one does it better than most of those. There’s a lot of depth, the characters look great, and the action is engrossing. That’s what 3-D is all about.

Overall, I thought Puss in Boots was pretty good. The story was fun, if somewhat surprisingly complicated, and it moved along at a fast pace. It’s done well at the box office, too (two weeks in a row in the top spot!), so it seems like Puss is on his way to sequels of his own.

What do you think, blog readers? Have you seen this movie yet? Do you plan to? Let me know in the comments below!

Craig, owlblog@owlkids.com