October 31, 2011 -- This spinoff animated feature brings back one of the most popular characters from the Shrek franchise and successfully plugs him into the same sly fractured fairy tale formula. Puss in Boots, the fearless feline introduced in the second Shrek movie and in every Shrek movie since then, gets to star in his own film this time, although he actually seems to be a star in every movie he is in.

Antonio Banderas, as usual, provides the voice for this passionate, suave, confident, gallant character. Salma Hayek provides the voice for his feline match, the cat burglar extraordinaire Kitty Softpaws and Zach Galifianakis of “The Hangover” does the voice of criminal mastermind Humpty Dumpty. The three plot to steal the goose who lays golden eggs by way of Jack and Jill, who have the magic beans they need to ascend to the realm in the sky where the goose lives. The problem is that Puss in Boots doesn't trust Humpty Dumpty because of a double-cross long ago. Humpty Dumpty doesn't trust Puss in Boots either, but Kitty Softpaws is loyal to Humpty Dumpty. They have to get over their mutual suspicions and learn to work together.

The source of the mistrust between Humpty Dumpty and Puss in Boots is told in a rather lengthy, complicated backstory having to do with a small village, an orphanage and a bank robbery. Among other things, it explains how Puss got his boots. The moral of the story seems to be that there is some good in everybody and a whole lot of it in some people. There are some good fight scenes, some nice dance numbers and a lot of swashbuckling in this film. It is too bad they couldn't work in the apt song “Stray Cat Strut” in there somewhere. It would have been fitting. The art work and animation in this film are very good.

Whoever did this film knows a lot about cats. There are a lot of cat jokes in it, and a lot of Hollywood in-jokes about things like “Corinthian leather,” a trademark line from another famous Spanish voice (besides Banderas), that of the late Ricardo Montalban, best known as Khan Noonien Singh, a character in a Star Trek episode and movie. While I didn't care much for the Humpty Dumpty character, too much of a passive-aggressive whiner, I did like the cat characters. They are brave and basically good-hearted, despite their roguish backgrounds. I suppose some dog people won't like this, but who cares? They've got all those dog movies to watch. Lighten up, this is fun. This film rates a B.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2011 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

Robert Roten can be reached via e-mail at .