Imagine, if you will, a talking egg, worrying to a talking cat that he'll be made fun of for believing in magic.
If that image alone doesn't intrigue you, then Puss in Boots may not be a movie for you. But if that sounds like the kind of bizarreness that you enjoy, then you're going to be happy.
A smart—though probably difficult—decision was made with Puss in Boots: The movie is not just another Shrek movie that focuses on a bit character; instead, it stands entirely alone. Although the movie is still set in a world where fairy tales are real, other than possibly some background jokes, Puss in Boots doesn't even wink at the previous movies.
The second decision that pays dividends is in allowing Puss in Boots to follow cartoon beats instead of trying to be anything loftier. Cartoon logic pervades—a swordfight, for example, becomes a musical set piece when Puss is informed that it's actually Dance Fight Night—and the movie sinks or swims depending on whether you are ok with the odd, sometimes disjointed results.
Without giving away the back story (which isn't revealed until well into the movie), Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas, continuing in the role) teams up with Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis) and Kitty Softpaws (Selma Hayek) to steal magic beans from Jack and Jill (Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris) so that they can abscond with golden eggs from the giant's castle at the top of the beanstalk. Sounds like it makes perfect sense, right?
©Dreamworks Animation
Puss in Boots never quite tries for the darkness of Rango, another animated movie from earlier this year, and thus stays more squarely targeted at younger audiences. What it does share with that movie, however, is a willing to find humor in juxtapositions, free association, cinematic style, and unexpected situations that are going to fly right over the head of the 8-year-olds paying all their attention on the sword fights.
Unfortunately, Puss in Boots fully embraces the lingering 3D fad, going overboard with the effects at several moments. It has been quite a while since a movie came so close to inducing motion sickness as this one did in its opening minutes. It does eventually settle down (or perhaps one becomes acclimated) but as is usually the case, nothing of great value is added by the 3D. If the option is available to you, save the extra few bucks for the 2D version; it should provide essentially the same experience.
©Dreamworks Animation
Puss in Boots could be something of a doughnut movie. It's good for both young kids who'll be entranced by the action and wonderful animation, as well as for adults who are able to enjoy the more adult situational and stylistic humor. It will however, be sniffed at by teenagers too cool for such a cartoon but not quite hip enough (yes, I said it, us oldsters can be more hip than the teenagers; or at least as more hip as anybody can be when using the word “hip”) to see the funny. Don't worry, though, if you have a teenager in tow when you go—they are thrown the occasional gag (one mention of “golden eggs” goes exactly where you'd expect if this were an Adam Sandler movie).
Puss in Boots is a Dreamworks Animation release.
Wide theatrical release October 28.
Directed by Chris Miller.
Screenplay by Tom Wheeler, David H. Steinberg, Jon Zack
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Selma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis, Billy Bob Thornton, Amy Sedaris
Running time: 90 minutes
Rated PG for some adventure action and mild rude humor
Alex's Rating: 7 out of 10
