Nino Vongphachanh is a Casting Director and aspiring TV Writer with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from New York University. Nino’s background in casting gives him an adoration for watching and reviewing performances, so journalism is another medium that allows him to voice his enthusiasm to a wider audience. Nino strives to enlighten to world of the importance of diversity on screen with his work, which aligns with The Hollywood Insider’s mission to be the most influential and progressive global entertainment network. Nino enjoys being up-to-date with all current events and trends, helping him create a fresh perspective on the topics he writes about. Keeping an open mind with the goal of promoting awareness in film and television, Nino writes passionately about projects he believes advance the world artistically and culturally.
Jan 8, 2023
Table of Contents
Photo: ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’
With its predecessor being released in 2011, the spinoff series from the ‘Shrek’ franchise featuring the renowned bandit feline ‘Puss in Boots’ finally released its sequel and a possible end to the spinoff series. ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’ centers around the carelessness of Puss’s lifestyle. Living on the edge and pushing his limits of mortality, Puss is met with death. Having recklessly lost eight of his nine lives, Death is on a mission to claim Puss’s undeserved ninth life for himself. In an effort to avoid his demise, Puss plans to spend the rest of his last life in retirement as a house cat. That is until evidence suggesting that Puss may be able to regain his lost eight lives lays itself in front of Puss. Along with his ex-partner, Kitty Softpaws, and his new happy-go-lucky Hispanic canine friend, Perro, they race to find this treasure before any other bounty hunters can beat them to it.
‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’ – Come Behind the Scenes
‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’
Fans of the ‘Shrek’ franchise and ‘Puss in Boots’ spinoff have been left in the dark with the possibility of this sequel before its release announcement. With over a decade since the first film, it seemed that the spinoff had come to an end after the first film, despite making over $550 million dollars globally. Although it was a huge success for Dreamworks, the original sequel planned for a 2014 release was taken off the production schedule due to some restructuring at Dreamworks. There are plenty of hints at this sequel coexisting as a finale for the spinoff. With its title being ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,’ it could very well be Dreamworks hinting it is Puss’s final (solo) film. Additionally, there is a nice surprise in the film that heavily suggests the future of the franchise taking place in Far Far Away.
Nonetheless, this sequel has been received well by critics. Having earned a rating of 95% on Rotten Tomatoes after opening weekend, it has earned a higher rating than the first film (86%), which rarely happens for sequel films. The rating is well deserved, as it is a much more story-packed film than its predecessor. Its pacing is great and the new animation style is refreshing and unique to other animated films seeming to have attempted (and succeeded) in using the comic-art style animation as seen with projects from Telltale Games and ‘Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse’. Everything about this film is something to praise and the film will most likely make it onto the nomination list for Best Animated Movie at the 2023 Oscars.
‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’ – Rendezvous at the Premiere
The Star-Studded Cast Brings the Life to this Fantastical Feel-Good Family Film
After the release of ‘Shrek 2’ in 2004, Puss in Boots became one of the most iconic characters in the franchise and animation overall. The orange cavalier feline has defined itself as an icon by being a parody of Zorro and speaking in his Spanish accent. Specifically, the Spanish accent performed by Antonio Banderas. Puss in Boots is only Puss in Boots if Antonio Banderas is voicing him, and the spinoff series can thank its success to the performance from Banderas and creating the voice of Puss that lovers of the franchise know so well. Along with the producers, Banderas showcases his ownership of the character with how after nearly two decades of working on the character, he is able to create and maintain the smooth-talking suave mischievous bandito. With the film’s subject centered on Puss’s expiration, there is a lot more that Banderas has to incorporate into his voice acting that he has yet to do a lot of in past films like sorrow and fear.
Met with Banderas on the cast are Salma Hayek, Florence Pugh, Harvey Guillen, and John Mulaney. Salma Hayek plays the protagonist’s ex-fiance, Kitty Softpaws, who is Puss in Boots’s female counterpart in the world of thieves and bandits. Hayek and Banderas have lots of chemistry, as needed with the romance between their characters. Florence Pugh voices Goldilocks, who made her debut into the franchise in this film. Goldilocks leads the three bears, Mama Bear, Papa Bear, and Baby Bear, on their excursions for hunting the same treasure that Puss is looking for as well as Puss himself, as he has a notable bounty on him. John Mulaney voices the other hunter looking for Puss in Boots, Big Jack Horner, who is based on the nursery rhyme ‘Little Jack Horner’ about a kid sticking his thumb into a pie. Harvey Guillen stars as Perro (Spanish for dog), Puss in Boots’s trusty new sidekick that he met in his short-lived retirement as a housecat. Perro plays a major part as the heart of this film. Commonly delivering the film’s message throughout about valuing one’s life and looking past the downsides, Perro serves as the characters’ hope. Perro also delivered a majority of the film’s humor, from his attempts at doing Puss’s iconic sad cat eyes to the overexcited line delivery, Harvey Guillen did an excellent job at voicing Perro, who stole the scene whenever he spoke.
There are many teases to Puss reuniting with Shrek, Donkey, and the others in the future. One short scene featured Gingerbread Man, one of the more prominent side characters in the franchise. In a compilation of short clips throughout Puss in Boots’s life, viewers get to see Puss strolling merrily with Shrek and Donkey. Also, at a point in the film, Puss in Boots announces his next stop is Far Far Away.
With the release of the fourth film in the ‘Shrek’ franchise in 2010, ‘Shrek Forever After,’ the writers decided that the fourth film was the right way to wrap up Shrek’s story and decided to scrap the plans for the fifth project despite having planned for ‘Shrek’ to have five installments. In 2014, Jeffrey Katzenberg, the CEO of Dreamworks, stated that there was more to ‘Shrek’ than fans have seen and, in 2016, reports said that a script was finished for the fifth film. Rumors have been started about a 2023 release for the fifth ‘Shrek’ film, but no official announcements have been made yet.
‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’ is now available in theaters.
ACTORS: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, John Mulaney, Florence Pugh, Harvey Guillen, Olivia Colman, Wagner Moura
DIRECTOR: Joel Crawford
PRODUCER: Mark Swift
SCREENPLAY BY: Paul Fisher, Tommy Swerdlow
By Nino Vongphachanh
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Nino Vongphachanh is a Casting Director and aspiring TV Writer with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from New York University. Nino’s background in casting gives him an adoration for watching and reviewing performances, so journalism is another medium that allows him to voice his enthusiasm to a wider audience. Nino strives to enlighten to world of the importance of diversity on screen with his work, which aligns with The Hollywood Insider’s mission to be the most influential and progressive global entertainment network. Nino enjoys being up-to-date with all current events and trends, helping him create a fresh perspective on the topics he writes about. Keeping an open mind with the goal of promoting awareness in film and television, Nino writes passionately about projects he believes advance the world artistically and culturally.
Nino Vongphachanh is a Casting Director and aspiring TV Writer with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from New York University. Nino’s background in casting gives him an adoration for watching and reviewing performances, so journalism is another medium that allows him to voice his enthusiasm to a wider audience. Nino strives to enlighten to world of the importance of diversity on screen with his work, which aligns with The Hollywood Insider’s mission to be the most influential and progressive global entertainment network. Nino enjoys being up-to-date with all current events and trends, helping him create a fresh perspective on the topics he writes about. Keeping an open mind with the goal of promoting awareness in film and television, Nino writes passionately about projects he believes advance the world artistically and culturally.
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