The footage presented at CinemaCon for “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” was a mix of unfinished animation and some fully rendered scenes (including clips seen in the recent trailer). We first see a giant ripping the roof off of a house to reveal our favorite sabre-weilding cat inside. Puss in Boots tricks the giant into swinging a gigantic bell around, and knocks himself out. Lil’ Puss survives the ordeal, but his adventurous living has brought him down to his last life. His doctor suggests that he give up his dangerous ways and settle down as a house cat for a weirdo cat lady. He obliges, and the now family pet is renamed “Pickles.” Poor Antonio Banderas cat, you deserve a much cooler name … like Antonio Banderas. Pickles looks at a litter box with despair and says, “So this is where dignity goes to die.”
Just then, Goldilocks (Florence Pugh!) and the Three Bears bust in the house, looking for Puss in Boots. Uh oh, looks like the consequences of someone’s actions are coming back to bite them in their furry lil’ booty. Unfortunately, Puss in Boots lost his sword in the transition to Pickle-hood, and with people coming for him, he’s gotta act fast. He teams up with a therapy dog dressed like a cat, and his old nemesis, Kitty Soft Paws. The CinemaCon footage includes lots of action sequences, including some anime-inspired fight scenes. There’s some clear humor injected into the sequences too: Puss bursts through a guy’s wall, drinks his espresso, and perks up like Popeye eating spinach — a reference that exactly zero children born after 1999 will understand (that one’s for us old people). To put it simply, “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” plays out in the “Shrek” tradition–featuring lots of action, lots of jokes, and plenty of pop culture references to be enjoyed by all ages.
From the official Dreamworks website:
Academy Award nominee Antonio Banderas returns as the voice of the notorious PiB as he embarks on an epic journey into the Black Forest to find the mythical Wishing Star and restore his lost lives. But with only one life left, Puss will have to humble himself and ask for help from his former partner and nemesis: the captivating Kitty Soft Paws (Oscar nominee Salma Hayek).
In their quest, Puss and Kitty will be aided — against their better judgment — by a ratty, chatty, relentlessly cheerful mutt, Perro (Harvey Guillén, What We Do in the Shadows). Together, our trio of heroes will have to stay one step ahead of Goldilocks (Oscar® nominee Florence Pugh, Black Widow) and the Three Bears Crime Family, “Big” Jack Horner (Emmy winner John Mulaney, Big Mouth) and terrifying bounty hunter, The Big Bad Wolf (Wagner Moura, Narcos).
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish features an all-star comedic cast that includes Oscar® winner Olivia Colman, Ray Winstone (Black Widow), Samson Kayo (Sliced), Emmy nominee Anthony Mendez (Jane the Virgin) and Tony nominee Da’Vine Joy Randolph (Trolls World Tour).
“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” hits theaters on December 21, 2022.
