Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

Many years after his adventures with Shrek, Puss in Boots is accidentally crushed by a church bell after subduing a giant during a party in the town of Del Mar. As he recovers, the town doctor advises him to retire because he has already lost eight of his nine lives. Puss initially refuses but relents when he is wounded and disarmed while dueling a wolf bounty hunter at the local pub. A traumatized Puss decides to follow the doctor's advice and move into elderly cat lady Mama Luna's home to live as a house cat. Months later, Puss meets an optimistic Chihuahua disguised as a cat, whom he calls Perrito. Crime family Goldilocks and the Three Bears soon arrive at Mama Luna's home, intending to hire Puss to help them steal a map displaying the location of the Wishing Star. They leave after finding his apparent grave, and Puss decides to find the Star to wish for another nine lives. Puss, joined by Perrito, starts his quest by heading to the factory lair of the corrupt pastry chef and magical artifact collector "Big" Jack Horner, who intends to use the Star to control all of the world's magic. While stealing the map, Puss encounters his resentful ex-fiancée Kitty Softpaws, who also wants the map. Goldi, the Bears, and Horner discover and chase down the trio, and Puss briefly sees the wolf in the distance. They all end up in the Dark Forest, a pocket dimension that manifests illusions of travelers' memories. During the subsequent clash, Puss suffers a panic attack and flees after the wolf reappears, allowing Goldi to take the map from Kitty. After Perrito finds Puss and calms him down, Puss confesses his fears and remorse for abandoning Kitty before their wedding. She overhears and tells him that she did not attend the wedding either, believing that he loved himself too much to love her. Reinvigorated, Puss and Kitty retrieve the map while Goldi and the Bears are distracted by a manifestation of their woodland cottage. While escaping from Goldi and the Bears, Puss discovers the cave of lost souls, where reflections of his past lives ridicule him for changing his outlook. The wolf arrives and reveals himself to be Death, who, insulted by Puss' failure to value any of his lives, intends to take his final life personally. Horrified, Puss flees the cave, leaving Kitty and Perrito behind. During an argument with Baby Bear, Goldi reveals that she intends to wish for a human family, feeling that she does not belong with her adoptive bear family. Though hurt by her confession, the Bears still agree to help her. Puss arrives at the Star and begins to make his wish, but Kitty arrives, berates him for his selfishness, and reveals that she would have wished for someone she could trust. When Puss confesses his turmoil over his mortality, Kitty is understanding but remains frustrated with his carelessness. Goldi, the Bears, and Horner arrive, and a fight ensues for the map. Goldi briefly obtains it but abandons it to save Baby Bear, while Kitty traps Horner inside his magical bottomless bag. Death arrives and challenges Puss to a duel, and Puss, having learned the value of a single life from his time with his companions, forgoes wishing for more lives and accepts Death's challenge. They duel and Puss temporarily disarms Death, declaring that, while he can never truly defeat Death, he will never stop fighting for his last life. Realizing that Puss is no longer arrogant, Death begrudgingly spares him and leaves, though they both acknowledge that they will eventually meet again. Puss selflessly allows Kitty to make her wish, but she declines it, now able to trust him again. Horner escapes the bag by eating a magic snack that transforms him into a giant. Perrito distracts him, allowing Puss, Kitty, and Goldi to destroy the map, which causes the Wishing Star to consume Horner and explode. During the aftermath, Goldi affirms to the Bears that they are her true family, deciding to take over Horner's business; Puss and Kitty reconcile, and they adopt Perrito; and the trio steal a ship and head to the kingdom of Far Far Away to find new adventures and visit Shrek and friends. ==Voice cast==

• Antonio Banderas as Puss in Boots – a swashbuckling anthropomorphic tabby cat fugitive from the law and a hero of San Ricardo who has lost eight of his nine lives. In Mama Luna's Cat Rescue, Mama Luna named him "Pickles". • Harvey Guillén as Perrito – a friendly and naïve anthropomorphic Chihuahua who is initially disguised as one of Mama Luna's pet cats and wants to become a therapy dog, serving as the film's comic relief character. • Kailey Crawford as Young Goldilocks • Ray Winstone as Papa Bear – an anthropomorphic grizzly bear who is Mama Bear's husband, Baby Bear's father, and Goldilocks' adoptive father. • Anthony Mendez as the doctor who tells Puss to retire after informing him of his eight deaths. • Kevin McCann as the Ethical Bug – a parody of the Talking Cricket, who attempts to act as Jack Horner's "conscience" As the film progresses, he loses his faith in Horner, eventually deeming him as "horrible" and an "irredeemable monster". McCann's performance was strongly influenced by Jimmy Stewart's voice and speech patterns. • Bernardo De Paula as the Governor of Del Mar • Betsy Sodaro and Artemis Pebdani as Jo and Jan Serpent – twin criminal sisters who deliver the map of the Wishing Star to Horner. Conrad Vernon and Cody Cameron reprise their roles as Gingy and Pinocchio from previous Shrek films in cameos during flashbacks. Shrek, Donkey, and Imelda from Puss in Boots (2011), meanwhile, make non-speaking appearances in flashbacks. ==Production==

Development In November 2012, executive producer Guillermo del Toro shared director Chris Miller's intentions to take the titular character on an adventure to a "very exotic locale". He also said a couple of drafts for the screenplay were completed. In April 2014, voice actor Antonio Banderas said work on the sequel had begun. On June 12, 2014, the movie was titled Puss in Boots 2: Nine Lives & 40 Thieves. By November 2018, Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri had been brought on board as an executive producer of both Shrek 5 and Puss in Boots 2. In February 2019, it was reported that Bob Persichetti was set to direct the film while Latifa Ouaou, producer of the first film, would oversee the development of the sequel with Meledandri; Persichetti previously worked on the first film as head of story. On August 19, 2020, DreamWorks trademarked Puss in Boots: The Last Wish as the new title of the sequel, which was approved in December. In March 2021, it was announced that Joel Crawford had replaced Persichetti as director, having previously helmed DreamWorks' The Croods: A New Age (2020), with producer Mark Swift, editor James Ryan, and screenwriter Paul Fisher returning as collaborators along with Januel Mercado serving as the film's co-director. Along with Salma Hayek (now credited as Salma Hayek Pinault) reprising her voice role, new cast members were announced in March 2022, including Harvey Guillén, Florence Pugh, Olivia Colman, Ray Winstone, Samson Kayo, John Mulaney, Wagner Moura, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, and Anthony Mendez. Swift felt the Shrek franchise being over 20 years old by the time the project entered production allowed the film to explore darker themes than its predecessors. This also influenced the decision to depict Death as a wolf, as wolves in Brothers Grimm's stories were depicted as "the personification of fear". He also was interested in including more characters from the franchise, but not at the expense of the film's story. Swift described the story as being about Puss "[having] to figure out who am I without all the things that people value in me?". In February 2019, Into the Spider-Verse director Persichetti was set to direct Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, ==Music==

Heitor Pereira composed the film's score, replacing Henry Jackman from the first film. Additionally, three original songs were made for the film by Karol G, Daniel Oviedo, Pereira, Paul Fisher, Dan Navarro, and Gaby Moreno. Karol G performs "La Vida es Una", co-written by herself and Daniel Oviedo and released on December 8, 2022 while Heitor Pereira co-wrote two songs titled "Fearless Hero", performed by Antonio Banderas and co-written by Dan Navarro and Paul Fisher, and "Por Que Te Vas", co-written with and performed by Gaby Moreno. The soundtrack was released on December 16, 2022, by Back Lot Music, in addition to cover of the Doors' "This Is the End" performed by Dan Navarro. Music from Shrek 2 was used in the film by Harry Gregson-Williams from the tracks "Obliged to Help" and "The End / Happily Ever After". ==Release==

Theatrical Puss in Boots: The Last Wish premiered at Lincoln Center in New York City on December 13, 2022, and was theatrically released on December 21, 2022. It was originally scheduled to be released on November 2, 2018, and later on December 21, 2018, before it was removed from the release schedule altogether in January 2015 due to corporate restructuring and DreamWorks Animation's new policy to release two films a year. Upon the project's resurrection, it was given a release date of September 23, 2022, in March 2021, A one-day public screening occurred on November 26, 2022, in select theaters. The first thirty minutes of the film were shown at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June 2022. Critics noted the darker tone of the movie when compared to its predecessor and director Joel Crawford agreed with them, mentioning that Puss' "fear of death is the engine that drives the movie". Home media and streaming Puss in Boots: The Last Wish was released digitally on January 6, 2023, 16 days after its theatrical release. A 4-minute CGI animated short film, Puss in Boots: The Trident, was released as part of the digital release of ''Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Collector's Edition on February 21, 2023, and later released on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on February 28. The short sees Eric Bauza reprising his role as Puss from The Adventures of Puss in Boots''. The film was made available to stream on NBCUniversal's Peacock streaming service on March 10, 2023. As part of an 18-month deal with Netflix for Universal's animated films, the film streamed on Peacock for the first four months of the pay-TV window, before moving to Netflix for the next ten on July 13, 2023, and returning to Peacock for the remaining four beginning in May 2024. The film grossed $7.6 million in home sales. ==Reception==

Box office Puss in Boots: The Last Wish grossed $186.1 million in the United States and Canada, and $298.2 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $484.3 million. It is the tenth-highest-grossing film of 2022. Deadline Hollywood calculated the film's net profit as $120.2million, accounting for production budgets, marketing, talent participations, and other costs; box office grosses and home media revenues placed it eighth on their list of 2022's "Most Valuable Blockbusters". By March 2023, it ultimately became a sleeper hit, which was attributed to positive feedback, word-of-mouth, and minimal competition from family films. In the United States and Canada, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish was projected to gross $25–30 million from 4,099 theaters over its five-day opening weekend. It went on to debut to $12.4 million in its opening weekend (and an estimated total of $26.2 million over the six days), finishing second behind holdover Avatar: The Way of Water. Despite opening below projections, Universal's president of domestic distribution Jim Orr and box office analysts believed the film could make up ground in the coming weeks through word-of-mouth and schools being on holiday. In its second weekend, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish grew 35% from its debut weekend, grossing $16.8 million. Its third weekend, the film fell 19% with $13.5 million, which was the first non-holiday weekend in its run. The film made $14.5 million in its fourth weekend and $18.9 million over the four day Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend (Friday–Monday) while also crossing the $100 million mark at the United States and Canadian box office. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish was the tenth highest-grossing film of 2022 in the United States and Canada, and completed its domestic theatrical run on April 20, 2023. Critical response The film received critical acclaim, with praise for its story, animation, and voice performances. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported 89% of audience members gave it a positive score. IGNs Rafael Motamayor gave a rating of 9 out of 10 and wrote: "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish mixes stunning animation with a poignant, surprisingly mature story to deliver the Shrek franchise's answer to Logan we didn't know we needed." Christy Lemire of RogerEbert.com wrote that after a "roaring start", the film "sags a bit in the midsection as it becomes clear that we're in for a pretty standard quest." She did, however, praise that the film manages to "convey messages of selflessness and teamwork in a way that doesn't feel heavy-handed or cloying", along with the voice performances and visuals. Nate Richard of Collider gave the film an A−, saying: "Nothing in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish feels lazy, it more than justifies the long wait. It is not only one of the best animated films of the year, but it's one of DreamWorks' best and one that will strike a chord with moviegoers of all ages. It's equal parts exciting and hilarious as well as earnest, it never feels like it is talking down to anyone. With The Bad Guys and now Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, it is more than safe to say that DreamWorks is back and (maybe) better than ever." Peter Debruge of Variety gave the film a positive review, saying the film was "DWA's best film since the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy." Maxance Vincent of Loud and Clear gave the film four out of five stars, saying: "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is finally giving me hope that the Shrek franchise may not be dead yet. The film opens with one of the most thrilling action set pieces I've seen in an animated film all year (and probably the most thrilling one, since I won't watch another animated film before the end of the year), impeccably scored by Heitor Perreira as our titular character (Antonio Banderas) sings 'Who is our favorite fearless hero?' as he battles a giant. I was locked into the movie, and there was no going back." Emma Stefansky of IndieWire also gave a positive review, enjoying the fact that the film "has no qualms about testing the expectations of its young audience while delivering a freewheeling tale about appreciating the nine lives we already have." Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a positive review, finding the film "darker in tone but still extremely funny", even though it "falters when resorting to the frenetic action sequences seemingly designed for tykes' short attention spans." He also praised Banderas's and the supporting cast's voice work, claiming that "Too often, animated films feature supremely overpaid and overqualified voice casts whom children, and most adults, couldn't care less about. Banderas, on the other hand, is worth every penny." In December 2024, Collider ranked the film at number 3 on its list of the "10 Best Fantasy Movies of the 2020s," with Robert Lee III writing "Easily one of the most acclaimed and exceptional movies to come from DreamWorks Animation in years, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish revitalized the long-since dormant Shrek franchise as if it had never left." Accolades ==Notes==