O Gato das Botas: O Último Desejo

This is an above-average animated film that doesn't bother the adult viewer, doesn't bore, isn't full of cringe and clichéd scenes, and in the end it was actually entertaining enough. It has humour, it's action-packed in places, cute in others, and if it's this solid even for older audiences, then it's a sure shot for kids. An enjoyable two hours. (30/01/2023)

Packed with ideas, existential musings on death, and amazing action that combines Japanese anime style with video game dynamics without looking bad. Impeccable English voice acting, Banderas and Salma are classics, but the strong English accents of Goldilocks and the Three Bears were a stroke of genius, and Wagner Moura as Death? Yeah! The story drags the cat through a severe personality crisis (“This Is the End” variation of Apocalypse Now in a kid's cartoon?), which makes him a more interesting character than in Shrek. This is the kind of surprise Pixar doesn’t deliver anymore. P.S: The final fight with Death is awesome. (30/01/2023)

In 2001, DreamWorks released Shrek, whose box-office success had fatal consequences for mainstream animation. Whereas Pixar promised to advance the technological and expressive means of computer animation with every new project and to come up with new worlds and stories, Shrek demonstrated that it sufficed to have a broadly funny screenplay with smart-ass pop-culture references and viewers wouldn’t really give a damn about the quality of the animation. Sony Pictures Animation changed the game in 2018 with its animated Spider-Man and even the complacent bosses at DreamWorks understood that viewers would henceforth no longer be satisfied only with bubble-gum cartoon characters illustrating verbal jokes. Alongside The Bad Guys, the new Puss in Boots boasts a visual refresh that greatly benefited from the stylistic facelift. Though the screenplay rather exhibits the characteristics of direct-to-video sequels (few characters and settings, a straightforward narrative that vaguely benefits from the world previously presented, a repeat of the structure and concept of the previous instalment of the franchise), the animation elevates everything to the level of a grandiose spectacle. For one thing, instead of the long-utilised pseudo-realism, where every single hair on an animal’s coat and photorealistic reflections and shadows played first fiddle, the overall visual concept takes on the stylisation of tempera paintings, though not on a large scale, but rather in micro dimensions. Thanks to this, small details and surface textures can still stand out, but the overall impression is miles away from the toy-like artificiality of classic computer animation. The action scenes formalistically take on the expressive vocabulary of anime, with spectacular poses, rapid cuts and the contrast of slow-motion and, conversely, accelerated movement suggested by quick jumps between key images and individual poses. Though the animation here does most of the heavy lifting when it comes to attracting the viewer’s attention, it is not divorced from the whole, as it remains firmly symbiotic with the screenplay, the foley effects and – in the case of international releases – the dubbing. This cohesion is most evident in the imposing character of the antagonist wolf, which is a magnificent audio-visual feat in and of itself. (08/07/2023)

An excellent animation film, a really incredible ride that leaves the whole Pixar and the whole Shrek franchise in the dust. It has an attractive theme and finally an animation that is not only a story, but is also loaded with great action and great humour, a combination that always wins for me. The cat wisecracks non-stop, the visuals are almost revolutionary, the action scenes have great choreography and Wolf is the villain of the year, he gave me goosebumps. I loved that there are two other bad guys besides the wolf, which is nicely unusual and this whole cat adventure never takes its paw off the gas. I'm annoyed I didn't see it in the theater. Well done on all counts. 9/10. (31/01/2023)

The first Puss in Boots made a rather mediocre impression on me, but The Last Wish completely captivated me in the cinema. Thanks to the unconventional animation, like this year's The Bad Guys or Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the film seemed to gain another, unprecedented dimension, which at times strongly evoked comic book art and added to the Cat's action zest. Then, of course, there's the story, which, while inherently simple and not surprising, leaves a deep impression nonetheless. If I exaggerate a little, I almost felt like I was watching Logan within the Shrek universe: for the first time, Puss realizes his mortality and maybe he should slip into his legendary boots. The film is certainly not lacking a certain insight and the associated targeting of older audiences, who, alongside the gorgeous visuals, will appreciate the existential questions it deals with. The icing on the cake was the character of the Wolf, whose whistling was truly creepy. (22/12/2022)