- “I am Puss in Boots, and my name... would become... LEGEND.”
- ―Puss in Boots.[src]
Puss in Boots, or simply Puss, is one of the tritagonists in the Shrek franchise and the titular protagonist of its franchise spin-off. He is a cat loosely based on the fairy tale character of the same name with the boots, hat, cape, and sword commonly associated with the fairy tale.
Background[]
Puss in Boots was born and raised with a moral compass, strong sense of justice and valour. Though he may appear self-serving and greedy at times he is actually a very selfless and honorable person. Part of this stems from his small beginnings as a stray, abandoned at an orphanage with the only person who ever had any hope for him was his adoptive mother. Because of this he strives to make her proud by being more than a criminal that others brand him to be. However he is also a survivor at heart and will protect himself and his interests in dubious manners such as becoming an outlaw to fight and steal. Despite this, Puss' high sense of honor prevents him from stealing simply out of selfish reasons and believes in repaying debts.
Like many orphans, Puss has a high desire to receive love and affection. This crux in behavior from a typical thief acts as cause to his growing morality during his childhood with Humpty and his growing popularity among the town as a hero led him to abandon thieving ways. Puss can act vicious and possibly hold a grudge if he is betrayed, especially if it's by ones he is loyal towards. He abandoned his childhood friend and surrogate brother, Humpty Dumpty, when the latter betrayed him, leaving get captured by the guards. After this betrayal and loss of the only family he knew, Puss became colder as he seemed concerned about only securing his survival by adapting the lifestyle of an assassin and would kill whoever demanded for a high price of gold. He would later abandon this due to his loyalty and gratitude towards Shrek for showing him mercy after years of rejection and loneliness. He would eventually find a job at a bar called Poison Apple Inn as a bounty hunter.
When people treat Puss with kindness, he will repay them in term. He will defend those who cannot do so themselves, such as the Three Diablos, three kittens whom he protected from their wrathful master, The Whisperer. Self-sacrificing and extremely generous for a thief, Puss was not a greedy cat and most of his felonious actions and robberies were based solely to repay the crime he was tricked into committing and give the people of his hometown the money that was stolen from them. A great example of Puss' self-sacrificing nature was when he entered his hometown, San Ricardo, to save Humpty and Kitty, despite the high risk of his reputation. Puss, however, can act very vicious and vengeful at times. He held a massive grudge towards his former friend, Humpty for betraying him which did little to soothe even after years apart and still blamed him for turning him to a life of crime, only agreeing to help him on strictly business terms, making it clear there was no loyalty or connection between the two of them. Puss seems to have grown into a more forgiving person. Even after being betrayed by Humpty a second time he accepted his apology with little to no difficulty and took sympathy for him, accepting he had a part in creating the rift between them and putting a strain on their friendship.
Many things that are infamous about Puss in Boots is his legend and many relationships. A known ladies' man, Puss possesses a suaveness, swagger and confidence in his movements which attracts the eye of many a fine woman. However Puss' lack of interest in commitment normally lead him to even forget the names of his relationships. The one person who does match him, in both skills and reputation was Kitty Softpaws who was said to be the only cat Puss ever loved.
Despite Puss' infamy and reputation as a fearless warrior, he is still a cat and has many traits of a common house-cat. For example, he licks himself clean, plays with a ball of yarn and light rays and occasionally suffers from hair balls. He has a fondness for milk and uses his cuteness and feline prowess to get what he wants; another famous trick of his. At one point of his life, he found a job as a bounty hunter at a bar called Poison Apple Inn and became famous for being able to defeat creatures like ogres or giants.
Personality[]
Puss is a proud and honorable fighter. He can come across as somewhat silly and has a lot of traits associated with cats but is also a smooth-talking, suave, kind-hearted, charming, and heroic character. He is also a "ladies' cat" (similar to a ladies' man). He likes to tell stories and sing and dance.
Physical Appearance[]
Puss is a smooth-talking cat with a Spanish accent, usually wearing a black cavalier hat with a yellow feather, a black leather belt with a sword, a small black cape, and small black Corinthian boots.
In The Last Wish, Puss appears to be slightly redesigned. His fur coat appears more vibrant, his slit-like eyes are more circular. Puss's cape now has a silver clasp in the shape of a cat's head, his hat and feather are now bigger and the buckle to his belt that holds his sword has an embellished detail.
Inspiration[]
Puss' Shrek form is based on Zorro's (whom Banderas also portrayed in the The Mask of Zorro and The Legend of Zorro) fighting style, accent (Spanish) and personality. While attacking Shrek, he used his sword to scratch up a P, a parody of Zorro's trademark move. In Shrek the Third, Donkey, while in Puss' body, scratches a D instead.
Quotes[]
- "Now ye ogre! Pray for mercy from... PUSS... in Boots." (Shrek 2)
- "Fear me... if you dare!" (second signature phrase)
- "Feed me... if you dare." (Shrek Forever After)
- "I must hold on before I, too, go totally mad." (Shrek 2)
- "Who's never been touched by a blade? Puss in Boots is never afraid!" (Puss in Boots: The Last Wish)
Trivia[]
- Puss is a character parody of the popular character, Zorro, who the voice actor, Antonio Banderas, previously played in a live-action movie.
- He makes a very strange (and possibly unlicensed) appearance on the mobile puzzle game Indy Cat (a parody of Indiana Jones) by PlayFlock. The outfit used for the cat appears to be the Deluxe Indiana Jones costume. The boots used in this variant of Puss in Boots isn't intact on that game.
- In Shrek 2, Puss is portrayed as an antagonist, but he reforms and becomes friends with Shrek. This movie also reveals that Puss hates Mondays, making it a reference to how Garfield from the comic strip of his name hates Mondays.
- In Shrek Forever After, Puss is shown in the alternate reality as retired from his days in the boots and now overweight from all the heavy cream he had drunk since then. His overweight appearance and lethargic demeanor parallel to Garfield.
- Whenever Puss makes his cute face to distract an enemy or to plead, a leitmotif of "Annoying Talking Animal" from Shrek 2 is heard.
- As seen in Shrek 2 and Puss in Boots: The Three Diablos, when Puss is about to cry, he wipes his nose, not his eye.
- In Shrek 2, Puss is seen drinking milk at the Poison Apple using his lips, while in his own film and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, he is seen drinking milk using his tongue. He probably does these based on his mood.
- When speaking, Puss seldom uses contractions.
- He makes a cameo appearance in the 2023 DreamWorks film Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken as a plushie in the first few minutes in the movie.
- He makes a cameo appearance in the new DreamWorks logo shown in Trolls Band Together.
External links[]
Puss in Boots on Wikipedia- Puss in Boots on Shrek Wiki
- Puss in Boots on the Heroes Wiki
