'Puss' returns in purr-fectly charming animated tale
"Puss in Boots" is the cat's meow!
With Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek supplying the leading characters' voices, this buckleswashing 3-D animated comedy has tons of talking testosterone and loads of audio estrogen going for it.
Add to that a daffy, irreverent redo of the classic fairy tale feline in shoe wear, and you've got a kids-oriented adventure with more action set pieces than "The Goonies."
Since the orange tabby with the sword and feathered hat first appeared in the sequel to "Shrek," Puss has become a beloved animated icon.
Now he's got his own movie, set long before Puss met Shrek.
"Puss in Boots," from "Shrek the Third" director Chris Miller, relies on many more action sequences to carry its story, and even delves into classic monster movie territory with a major climactic sequence involving a famous giant winged critter.
The wit and cleverness factors may be slightly reduced from past "Shrek" experiences. Yet, "Puss" still purrs up a storm of sharp, funny exchanges (caught with catnip, Puss explains to authorities that it's for his "glaucoma") and a few twists that turn our expectations of classic fairy tale characters upside down and inside out.
After some innocuous and perfunctory voice-over narration by Puss about his upbringing (he is a self-confessed "bad kitty"), the story kicks into a tale of an old friendship gone sour.
Puss rekindles his relationship with the seemingly cherubic Humpty Alexander Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis), who served prison time for a robbery that he committed, and conned the kitty into helping him.
Humpty persuades Puss to go in with him on a plot to steal magic beans from Jack and Jill, a pair of hilariously hooligan-like thugs voiced by Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris. Once the seeds grow into a beanstalk, Humpty and Puss can raid the giant castle in the sky and steal the goose that lays the golden eggs.
But Puss really has cats eyes for Humpty's new associate, the mysterious and sensual Kitty Softpaws (Hayek), a supreme thief and one heck of a feline on the dance floor.
"Puss in Boots," scripted by Tom Wheeler, delights in refashioning Humpty, a beloved victim of nursery rhymes, as a criminal mastermind hiding behind a face of sweet innocence. Likewise, the golden goose hardly seems old enough to be ovulating stone pebbles that look like they belong in Fort Knox.
Hey, this is a fantasy, remember.
Henry Jackman's sweeping score is a musical delight, suggesting Ennio Morricone's works from Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns, which, despite being Italian productions set in America, were all actually shot in Puss' native nation of Spain.
Although "Puss in Boots" revisits the same old jokes (isn't one "bad kitty" reference enough? Do we have to see Puss' pleading puppy dog eyes again?), the sheer vibrancy of Banderas' full-bore vocal performance commands the 3-D screen.
The filmmakers obviously spent considerable time constructing the 3-D visuals for maximum dimensional effect without crossing the line into gross distraction.
For that, we'll have to wait for "A Very Harold and Kumar 3-D Christmas" opening next week.
<b>“Puss in Boots”</b>
★ ★ ★
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Amy Sedaris, Billy Bob Thornton, Zach Galifianakis
Directed by: Chris Miller
Other: A DreamWorks Pictures release. Rated PG. 90 minutes.