User reviews

Shrek had run its course, having forcefully pushed itself into a fourth film that was really too trying, but I suppose Puss in Boots, introduced in the second film of the franchise, proved to have nine lives, and extended his longevity through a spin off film of his own. After all, there are plenty of cat lovers out there, and his antics in the Shrek movies were undoubtedly the highlights when the Ogre and his pet donkey were getting really tired. Originally intended for straight to video, Puss in Boots proved to have what it takes for a big screen outing, and it didn't disappoint.

Dreamworks Animation may seem to have a stranglehold on making a mickey out of well known fairy tales, and this continues in its re-imagining of characters adopted for the Puss in Boots origin story, where we go into his background as an orphaned kitty cat brought up by Imelda (voiced by Constance Marie), only to disappoint his foster mum when he got betrayed by best friend Humpty Alexander Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis), a brilliant inventive and creative mind who had turned to a life of crime, staining the honor that Puss had gained through a heroic deed, banishing him forever as an outlaw and bandit.

The two major story arcs in this film enriched the narrative, one dealing with the past of Puss in Boots, while the other having him reluctantly team up with Humpty once again if only to get close to his new squeeze, the master thief Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek), to take on the very grown up and nasty Bonnie and Clyde inspired Jack and Jill (Billy Bob Thorton and Amy Sedaris), who are in possession of the fabled magical beans belonging to the other Jack (and the Beanstalk), where planting them at the correct spot would mean a path to the heavens to gain access to the goose that lays golden eggs, with repercussions of course that comes with a force of nature to be reckoned with.

What worked for Puss in Boots were the strengths of its story arcs, the major set action pieces, the voice cast really providing that level of flair to the many flamboyant characters in the film as well as dramatic, emotional depth to key characters, and who can forget the comedy. There are plenty of sight and verbal gags, and innuendos galore that hardly a moment goes by without something naturally hilarious happening, and does so quite subtly without screaming and forcing their way down your throat. Which I had found the later Shrek films guilty of doing just that.

Antonio Banderas provides the voice for Puss in Boots, and it's quite convenient that the character gets modelled after Zorro through a series of identifiable elements from costuming, behaviour as well as style, a character that Banderas himself have played twice in live action films. Puss continues to drawn upon established abilities especially that of its iconic hypnotic eyes, which somehow in a self-fulfilling fourth wall prophecy, will have any audience in stitches as well as held in captivating aww/awe. Zach Galifianakis voices the misunderstood character Humpty Dumpty to perfection, providing that balance of villainy and sympathy, while I suspect that the animators would have had a field day with Humpty especially with the plenty of movement gags that he got himself into, and playing upon none too subtle fat jokes on the character, resulting in the character stealing the scene most of the time. Hayek on the other hand did just enough providing her sultriness to the incredibly sexy feline that looked like, erm, Batman in costume.

Hitting the right notes consistently throughout the film, here's a pussy cat that's both a lover and a fighter and a film that can appeal to both young and the not too young at heart alike. The producers of Shrek and Kungfu Panda may have found itself another character that has enough legs to carry off yet another franchise on its own, but please don't let it merge or include characters from Shrek too soon, as this kitty deserves a rogues gallery and supportive allies of its own. Recommended!

This film is about a cat and an egg, who have been childhood friends, working together to find the golden goose to repay the town what they robbed years ago.

"Puss in Boots" is an adventure filled with fun and action. It has cute characters and colourful animation for children to enjoy. Puss has a wide variety of facial expressions, some of which are so cute that he is irresistibly cuddly. The songs and dance provide great entertainment too. Adults will find "Puss in Boots" entertaining too, as the plot is filled with proper adventure that is appropriate for both adults and children. The brotherhood subplot is strong and gripping, and provide the emotional elements to make "Puss in Boots" even more credible as a film for the whole family. I enjoyed watching it.

"Puss-in-Boots" is one of the funniest and most entertaining animated movies I have seen in recent times. Its not perfect by any means, as some parts seem to drag and at times the movie felt a bit too long for its own good, but on the whole it made for a nice viewing.

I remember a decade or more ago when CGI movies were an event to behold. Each release was noteworthy. Movies like the original "Toy Story", "Finding Nemo", "Ice Age", "Monsters Inc." and the first "Shrek". To that veritable gallery I would venture to add the spectacularly underrated "Final Fantasy". When I saw that movie back in 1999 (damn, I can't believe that was soo long ago...holly crap I'm getting old!), the potential of CGI movies was fully revealed. I thoroughly enjoyed the visionary creativity of that film, especially since it had a more mature, adult slant (something sorely lacking in CGI movies, especially in North America, where CGI movies seem to be exclusively aimed at a young audience).

Since then technology has advanced by leaps and bounds and so have CGI movies. Now it seems that there is one of them coming out every other week. This has not necessarily translated into an all-around positive effect, because while their quantity has increased, their quality has steadily declined. Adding 3D effects and cutesy side-kicks cannot make up for the lack of having a compelling story, an interesting plot and well developed characters.

This brings me back to "Puss-In-Boots". This movie has all that, a compelling story, a good message, funny characters and a lot of humour, including a healthy dose of those "in-jokes" intended for the adults in the audience, in most cases the parents who tag along with their kids to watch the movie. That makes it a truly good family viewing because not only will the children have a good time, but there is plenty for the adults to enjoy too.

"Puss-In-Boots" is the most entertaining CGI (animated) movie I've seen since "Despicable Me" and "Monsters Vs. Aliens". Not on par with the gem that was "UP", but a solid offering of funny!

"We found a bag of catnip on you!" jail guard. "Its for my glaucoma!", Puss.

Enough said...

Like many others, I was getting fed up with the Shrek movies. The characters, the way they were structured. It all made it obvious something fresh and new was needed to spice up the series and make things interesting and fun to see again. The way they did this was by releasing this spin-off, which involved just the popular Puss in Boots character, from the previous 3 Shrek movies, voiced again by Antonio Banderas.

So basically this movie is being set in the same Shrek universe but without some of the familiar tropes and characters. This allows "Puss in Boots" to do its own thing and picks its own course. The movie definitely differs in style, humor and its buildup, from all of the Shrek movies. And this is a good thing really. It makes this movie like a much needed breath of fresh air for the entire franchise. However I'm still now more interested in seeing a "Puss in Boots 2" than a "Shrek 5".

Simply said; this is a very entertaining movie. It's a movie that lets you sit back and make you enjoy the ride. It's filled with some great new and fun character, good humor and some nice action in it as well.

The story is not great but it definitely serves its purpose. It provides the movie with plenty of action and adventure elements. Besides, it also provides the the origin- and background story of the Puss in Boots character, which I'm sure lots of people would be interested in.

Absolutely no other characters, from any of the previous Shrek movies, appear in this movie. This means that this movie introduces a whole lot of new characters but luckily not too many though. Basically only two are really important; Kitty Softpaws, the love interest and Humpty Dumpty, the villain, voiced by Salma Hayek and Zach Galifianakis. And they are welcome as characters in this movie. Especially Humpty Dumpty, who is of course absurd to have as a villain, works out really well and entertaining for the movie and Zach Galifianakis did a great job voicing him.

It's still mostly being a kids movie but that of course does not mean it's not fun for adults to watch as well. There are some jokes and references, which only the adults will get, while there is still plenty of silly and slapstick comedy in this movie to amuse the youngest kids. In other words; it's a good family movie!

Visually and technically these movies are also only getting better and better. Especially the movements for all of the characters also seem more fluent than ever, which allows them to do a lot of convincing fighting and battling in this movie, sometimes even the two combined.

Simply a very entertaining movie, that more than serves its purpose and is a real much needed breath of fresh air, after already 4 Shrek movies.

7/10

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A wonderfully good looking movie about 20 minutes too long. All the chase scenes, the flying-through-the-air scenes, the long back stories grew tiresome, so I can only give it a basic five stars. I am adding one because the cats are just so darned cute, and one more star for Lady Gaga's song "Americano" which somehow I never heard until I saw this movie! The little puns and bits of 'cat business' were cute, but I wanted to punch Humpty Dumpty in the face after a while! He was a bad egg, get it? And there should have been a little more fairy tale and a little less 'Zorro' type swashbuckling. A good movie, but not great. But if there was any spin off from Shrek, Puss In Boots was the logical result.

Puss in Boots was what I expected - interesting characters, some great laughs (including the Shrek-like humor for adults only), and an interesting backstory. Unfortunately, no cameos from major Shrek characters (I always get a kick out of Gingy).

Antonio Banderas does a great job voicing the "hero" Puss, and the movie provides Puss' history with some good laughs and great images. The big eyes look of the adult Puss is topped by the young Puss, and we learn how Puss received his name and his boots.

Humpty Dumpty is Puss' long-time friend, who becomes jealous of the young hero Puss and betrays him. But, Humpty Dumpty returns with a plan to achieve their lifelong goal - get the goose that lays the golden eggs. Humpty Dumpty has some funny lines and great visual humor. My favorite was Humpty wearing a golden egg costume.

Joining the adventure and rounding out the trio is Kitty Soft Paws, who transitions from Puss' nemesis to love interest. The pair has some great chemistry for animated characters. Their adventures include run-ins with Jack & Jill (not what anyone will expect), magic beans, the beanstalk, and the goose that lays the golden egg.

Overall, kids and adults will love the movie for its humor, cute characters, and action. Puss in Boots is a worthy spin-off of Shrek. And, the movie has a great message about learning from our mistakes, retribution, and making good choices.

This movie must have been one of the first to take a frankly secondary (but funny) character from an animated film and to give it a prominent place in a film of its own. Its a fad of animation studios that has not always been able to make good movies but has certainly helped to increase their profits.

The first appearance of this cat is during "Shrek" franchise, but in this film we can see Puss in Boots in a different way, mixing "Zorro" with elements of the traditional tales "Jack and the Beanstalk" and "Chicken of the Golden Eggs". I think it's not necessary to mention that cinematography and animation are excellent and everything looks quite beautiful and elegant. The performance of voice actors is good, with António Banderas and Salma Hayek in the lead. It's an entertaining movie, to please both young and adult, and will definitely be a good choice for a "family get together" evening.

Now this is a movie that kids and adults can enjoy. It isn't a great family film but it's still a enjoyable one. Now if you seen the "Shrek" franchise you will know who Puss in Boots when it comes to his character. In fact I found him to be a great supporting characters in the "Shrek" franchise so wasn't really disappointed when I saw the trailer for a movie just for this character. Also this could be a stand alone movie and is close to being good as the first two "Shrek" movies. The action is fast and entertaining and although the plot isn't anything special is simple and yet enjoyable to watch. The kids and adults were mostly chuckling there way through this movie. What I found sort of surprising though is how almost none of the "Shrek" characters are in this movie and doesn't even make a cameo. Which in my opinion didn't effect this movie at all. I am glad that this went in a theatrical release direction instead of straight to DVD direction the creators originally planned. Cause this way there was more input into the movie instead of hardly putting much effort into it. The voice acting is very good in this and the character Kitty Softpaws is a very good addition to this. She reminded me of other characters I read about or seen but she is a cat and I guess that is what makes this work for the most part, although that might be unjust to some degree. The story isn't good but Puss in Boots really is the character that carries this movie. On a negative note though the story just didn't seem developed enough and thus the whole thing comes off as more of an eye candy with it's fluid CGI and action. But overall the positive outweigh the negative and to sum it up, it's a good family flick just not a great one. Sad to know that I didn't even know Puss in Boots was a real fairy tale and not just some character that popped up in the "Shrek" series.

7.3/10

Here's the good news: the artwork is outstanding, and the kids will love it for the most part.

Here's the bad news: the story is cobbled together and confusing - children used to strong story backbones like the Pixar films may find their attention wandering. I mean compare this to Up - it's chalk and cheese.

This comes across as an idea (money making opportunity) looking for a real story to carry it - it will be enjoyable for kids, so shouldn't be avoided, but it will hardly be remembered in a few years time.

For some reason IMDb likes 10 lines to make it a legitimate review! - strange because this film doesn't need 10 lines to get to it's gist!

I was able to see the San Francisco premiere for Puss N' Boots last night. I would say the audience was about 50% children and 50% adults. The movie was shown in 3D and I would definitely recommend it.

The star of the movie was definitely Banderas's Puss. If you liked the character from previous movies, you will not be disappointed. Salma Hayak as Kitty Softpaws was decent enough although not very memorable in any way. And finally, Zach Galifianakis's Humpty Dumpty will be a polarizing character in my opinion. If you thought Rumpelstiltskin from Shrek Forever After was a tad on the annoying side, I think you'll feel the same way about Humpty Dumpty.

Anyways, the story is good. The integration of former players in nursery rhymes and fairy tales is seamless. And the comedy is standard Shrek-style delivering lots of laughs for children and the occasional adult-only joke (some very funny).

The visuals are stunning. And the music is fantastic. It almost felt like an action-packed spaghetti western with a Latin flavor. I definitely enjoyed myself. I also talked to quite a few people afterwords and the consensus was that the children all loved it and the adults kept using the word "cute" in so many different ways to describe their feelings about the movie.

When we first saw the trailer for Puss in Boots, I can't say I was really excited to see it. But of course, the kids wanted to see it so we did (in 2D only). I must say, we all had a mighty good time! No regrets at all in watching this animated fantasy-Western adventure.

We see Puss' humble origins as a kitten growing up in an orphanage in the Mexican town of San Ricardo. He develops an unlikely friend in one odd egg named Humpty Alexander Dumpty. Circumstances eventually break up the two friends. After several years, Humpty seeks out Puss (with the help of sultry seductress Kitty Softpaws) to convince him to help get Jack's magic beans from Jack and Jill. I know this sounds like a messy mishmash of fairy tale characters, and it was. The artists also take liberties in their visual interpretation of these characters, including the Golden Goose (which I personally found corny).

Thanks to the Shrek films, we already know Puss in Boots and what to expect from him. His Zorro-like swashbuckling exploits, his charm with the ladies and his cute wide-eyed pleading look are all here, and Antonio Banderas too! Selma Hayek voices Kitty delightfully. This new character is quite likable, and you would like to see more adventures of the two cats. As for Humpty (voiced by Zach Galifianakis of "Hangover" fame) though, here lies the prickly problem. You may or may not like him, both his look and his character. Humpty can really be annoying!

There are so many hilarious isolated situations that could make you laugh out loud. I certainly did at several points. My favorite funny moment was that when Humpty changed into his Golden Egg costume. I'm sure you can get an absurd image just by reading that last sentence. Haha! His line when he was running and commented that he needed powder to prevent friction in his pants (he was apparently not wearing underwear) really made me guffaw! You have to hear it to believe that a line like that made it into a children's cartoon flick.

The artwork was of course flawless. The textures are palpable. The action sequences are exciting and funny at the same time. The fight scenes mixed with dance moves were quite interesting to watch as well. The 2D version looked adequate enough to enjoy the adventure. Overall this is a fun movie to watch with the whole family.

For some strange reason, while I usually really enjoy most animated movies I never really fully liked the Shrek universe... in fact I don't think I watched all of them. And so I was never interested in this spin-off. But it has come to my attention the recent sequel has gotten some crazy praise and rating so I am intrigued. And so I had to watch this one first to get some background... and it really confirms my feelings about the Shrek universe. It's a decent little animated movie but I am not sure why, it feels like something is missing. I think kids will like it but there are some grown-up jokes here and there so that probably makes for a nice family watch. I am now really hoping the second one lives up to the hype.

I say 1/2 original as during Shrek the cat had its own personality but during this movie I could see a huge amount of similarities between the cat and Zorro (The mask of Zorror (1998)) which spoilt the movie for me as the cat didn't have its own personality. Rather more of a rip off / cop out from the writers. But on the other hand there were some really good quotes and funny moments in the film, as well as adding characters from other fairy tales with their own little twist just like Shrek. Which made up for the film. I did like the film and find out how the cat started from being just a cat to being Puss in Boots.Though the ending was a little confusing. It's a bit of a metaphor but I don't think it was needed as it didn't make sense.

Oftentimes a spin-off that promotes a minor character to centre stage sputters like a damp firework. There's usually a very good reason for them to be supporting characters.

Still in this case "Puss in Boots" is a legitimate character in his own right - as are all of the fairytale folk in "Shrek" - but so far he's the only one to get a movie.

In that respect it's pretty good if not Oscar material. The script is witty and rammed with plenty of in-jokes, grown-up side comments and puns. So many puns. It's all pretty light-hearted and the actors do a solid job of spreading their Latin influence.

There's plenty here for parents and kids alike but don't go in expecting Pixar levels of emotion and character definition. Instead it's a fun feline caper that doesn't take itself too seriously.

From the Shrek movies comes the Puss in Boots character voiced by Antonio Banderas with all the charm one expects from the character with the addition of Kitty Softpaws (Selma Hayek) and Humpty Alexander Dumpty (Zack Galifianakis) also joining for a fun ride of trying to avoid being pursued by Jack (Billy Bob Thornton) and Jill (Amy Sedaris). Many funny scenes and lines but also much dramatically compelling close calls abound especially in 3-D. Many amusing mixups of various fairy tales with "Jack and the Beanstalk" being mostly used as source. If you were among the disappointed (I wasn't by the way) when watching the last 2 Shrek movies, this one may make you forgive the Dreamworks animation factory. So on that note, I highly recommend Puss in Boots.

Dreamworks apparently managed to produce the "Avatar" or animated films: an un-thrilling story with dead tropes played straight, relentlessly obvious from beginning to end, and exhausting pretty much every cat-related joke and pun humanly imaginable. The main differences from Avatar is that it's not long enough to induce coma and that it has lots and lots of voice acting done by non-voice-actors -- but that, for Dreamworks, is business as usual.

Actually, the movie is not 100% obvious and predictable, but everything that is not obvious is abhorrently stupid. For some reason, these people still think it's hot and hip to senselessly mix up fairy tales and nursery rhymes in ways that plainly make no sense. It's random humour without wit, or as Internet jargon has it, "lol random". So, for much of the movie, we are treated to this horrifying, pestilent talking egg. And what does Humpty Dumpty have to do with the story after all? Exactly nothing. Dreamworks thinks that is funny, but it's not. Not only it's already old, it wasn't even funny when the first Shrek movie did it.

The only thing I actually like about the film is that it features cats. Loads of them. If you go nuts with pictures of cute kittens, this film will be a party for your eyes. THAT it does well. And, truth be told, the main character is pretty strong, and even though the movie really tries hard to make him shallow and annoying, they couldn't do it.

The rest is failure after failure. If you have at least two braincells in your head, this movie is a great way to achieve time travel: you're always 30 minutes ahead of it. Of course, predictability per se it not bad, but when there is absolutely nothing else going on, there is just no motivation to keep on watching. I gave up halfway through, and I only didn't walk out because I was too bored even for walking. Come on, THIS is the studio that produced Kung Fu Panda? I can hardly believe it.

One last positive side of this film is that it sealed the fate that I'll never watch another 3D movie. This one was the first and the last -- at least until people learn to use 3D to favour the film instead of vice versa. As of today, 3D basically amounts to you giving an obscene amount of money to Hollywood so they can through garbage on your face every 2 minutes. 3D does not aid the look and the atmosphere of the film, it needs atrociously ridiculous angles and effects to make it evident, and the fast-paced action scenes are just impossible to follow. I ACTUALLY found the film more watchable without the (dirty and uncomfortable) glasses on -- 3D was so bad that seeing double actually looked beautiful in comparison.

Probably after you watched Shrek 2,a thought popped in your head and it was "what if DreamWorks made a movie all about puss in boots and how he came to be the fearless cat we all know today, well honestly the movie was okay the animation was good as well as voice of Puss in boots was good The characters were all right. The only thing I can honestly think what was wrong about the movie was a pretty big and important thing about a movie and that is that is the story it's honestly your usual almost Indiana Jones adventure but so many other movie have a plot like this and it's kinda cliché overall I wished they made the movie more memorable like the newest one.

Good animation. Good acting. I had good expectations going in and was wide awake. I wanted to like it. It was somewhat amusing in the beginning, but about half way through I found that I could hardly keep my eyes open and kept dozing off. I've often had that problem with animated features, as well as with non-stop action movies like the Transformers series. The problem seems to be that the characters don't seem real in any way, and the story makes no real sense, so it's hard to care about anything happening on the screen. Plus non-stop action just puts me to sleep. At the opposite extreme was Ratatouille, an animated feature that kept me completely engrossed, because it told a really good story. I'd rate that one as one of my favorite movies of all time. So I'm not prejudiced against animated features, per se.

Someday I want to mount a TV in the ceiling above my bed. And I'll have a collection of movies on DVD, which I bought because they put me to sleep. Then I won't have to use sleeping pills any more. Puss in Boots will be one of the movies in my collection of "sleepers."