Puss, the boots-wearing, swashbuckling cat from the animated Shrek franchise, gets his own 3D spin-off movie, detailing his adventures before he met up with the grumpy green ogre in Shrek 2.
Antonio Banderas, returning to voice the titular character, is joined by Salma Hayek who is voicing Kitty Softpaws, the love interest of Puss. Together, with sidekick Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis), they go up against Jack and Jill (Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris), two murderous outlaws in possession of powerful, magical beans.
A Shrek spin-off film was inevitable but, after the last couple of lacklustre outings, its potential quality was up for debate. Luckily, Puss in Boots is more of the flick many envisioned after seeing Shrek 2 than the unfunny mess of Shrek the Third.
As an origin story, the film does the bare minimum of what’s expected (even acknowledging the dullness of the tired ‘flashback sequence’). However, its blend of various fairy tales, nursery rhymes and pop-culture references (predominantly LOLcats), remains as organic as it did in the first two Shrek films.
Plenty of jokes hit well, with one particularly genius on-going gag that had me straining facial muscles. In typical Dreamworks fashion, they’ve spliced in a couple of dance numbers that will either cause your face to smile or briefly implode.
New entrant Humpty Alexander Dumpty is voiced by a surprisingly subdued Zach Galifianakis while Banderas and Hayek give the odd nudge-nudge wink-wink at older audience members clued up on the duo’s history (the filmmakers were two scenes away from animating a machine gun guitar case).
Visually, the film’s an absolute splendour, showcasing Dreamworks’ bold attention to detail and a masterful knowledge for the 3D medium that no-one else can seem to grasp. You may not leave the theatre remembering much of the plot but you’ll definitely recall stroking that fur you thought was in front of you.
By Liam Maguren, Flicks.co.nz
As a sheer visual experience, Puss In Boots makes a great theme-park ride, a thrill-a-minute feast for the eyes and the semicircular canals.
Like most kittens, it's not always perfectly behaved, but at least this new Puss adventure doesn't have you reaching for the cinematic spray bottle. And thank goodness the spin-off does nothing to neuter the charismatic cat's appeal.
Beautifully animated (with 3-D that adds nothing), but the film is so mindlessly busy that it seems to be trying to distract you from the likable, one-note feline swashbuckler at its center.
A perfectly diverting romp that happens to showcase some of the best 3D work yet from a mainstream animated feature.
A family film where the adventure and invention never flag and the tongue-in-cheek humor doesn't linger far behind.
We've been told the NZ release date for this flick is Thursday, 8th Dec 2011.
Release date: December 8th 2011.
We haven't received times for this movie in this location yet. However these are updated as cinemas announce them, so check back soon. Hopefully the lovely cinemas in your location will choose to play it shortly. ~Ed.
