Feline animated fun with Puss in Boots

Rating: 8/10 (15 March 2012)

Dreamworks has been inconsistent for me. I loved The Prince of Egypt, How to Train Your Dragon, Shrek, Spirit, Kung Fu Panda 2 and Antz, liked Shrek 2, Monsters vs Aliens, Sinbad, Kung Fu Panda and Road to El Dorado and didn't care for Bee Movie and Shark Tale(the 3rd and 4th Shreks are between the slightly liked to didn't care for categories). Puss in Boots is not Dreamworks' best, though I do consider it one of their better ones recently. The animation is stupendous, especially in the rich colours and fluid backgrounds. The humans are not as well-drawn as the animals, then again to a lesser extent I found that with the Shrek movies too(especially with Rumpelstiltskin in Forever After).
The music is rousing and gives a sense of jollity and adventure, and Puss in Boots is a cleverly written film with cat puns, witty dialogue and veers from Daesperado, Zorro to Mother Goose and a touch of Sergio Leone. As for the story, for what there is in predictability is made up for with excitement, helped by the hilarious dance fights and superbly choreographed chases up beanstalks and over bridges. The characters are generally great, though I didn't really care for Humpty Dumpty as a character or a villain.
Zach Galifilianakis deserves a lot of credit for his voice work, but while not as bland as Rumplestiltskin, Humpty Dumpty's motivation could have been better explored and he is never really likable or interesting. Consequently by the end, which compared to the rest of the film was too dark for my tastes, he didn't garner my sympathy, like I did with Rameses and especially Lord Shen. Kitty however is wonderfully slinky, and voiced beautifully by Salma Hayek, but it is the title character(one of the Shrek franchise's best characters) who steals the show.
Marvellously voiced by Antonio Banderas, Puss in Boots is suave and although the cute big eyes gag is used quite a few times, I find it far too endearing for it to be getting old. Overall, a fun film, beautifully animated, generally exciting and clever. 8/10 Bethany Cox