Shrek is love, Shrek is life, and Puss in Boots is back, baby! After an Academy Award-nominated solo film and six seasons of the spin-off series "The Adventures of Puss in Boots" on Netflix, everyone's favorite British shorthair is back with a new movie. "Shrek Forever After" story artist and "The Croods: A New Age" director Joel Crawford is directing DreamWorks Animation's latest venture back into the "Shrek" universe, with Antonio Banderas returning to his duties. voiceover as the titular feline.
The Shrek franchise has been immensely successful over the last twenty years, becoming a cultural icon and the second highest-grossing animated film franchise of all time. The series was first expanded upon in 2011 with Puss in Boots, which told the origin story of the series' iconic feline in boots. That backstory will now be further fleshed out with the sequel film Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, which hits theaters this fall.
Universal is one of this year's top presenters, offering a sneak peek of the exciting year ahead for movie lovers. And next on the list of exclusive images: the "Shrek" spin-off, "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish." The film is the long-awaited sequel to the original "Puss In Boots" spin-off solo film from 2011. After being stuck in development hell since 2012, the project has finally gotten under way again as part of Universal's move to revive to "Shrek". franchise in 2018.
Our very own Ben Pearson got a first-hand look at the footage from the upcoming release of "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish" and here's what he can expect when the movie arrives just in time for the holiday season.
The footage featured at CinemaCon for "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish" was a mix of unfinished animation and some fully rendered scenes. We first see a giant ripping the roof off a house to reveal our favorite saber-wielding cat inside. Puss in Boots tricks the giant into spinning a giant bell and is knocked unconscious. Lil' Puss survives the ordeal, but his adventurous life has led to his last life. His doctor suggests that he give up his dangerous ways and settle down as a house cat for a queer cat lady. He agrees, 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 in despair and says, "So this is where dignity dies."
Just then, Goldilocks (Florence Pugh!) and the Three Bears break into the house, looking for Puss in Boots. Uh oh, it looks like the consequences of someone's actions are coming back to bite them in their furry loot. Unfortunately, Puss in Boots lost his sword in the transition to Pickle-hood, and with people coming for him, he has to act fast. He teams up with a therapy dog disguised as a cat and his old nemesis, Kitty Soft Paws. CinemaCon footage includes many action sequences, including some anime-inspired fight scenes. There's also some light humor injected into the sequences: Puss walks through a guy's wall, drinks his espresso, and perks up like Popeye eating spinach, a reference that exactly no kid born after 1999 will understand (that's for us old folks). . In a nutshell, "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish" is set in the "Shrek" tradition, featuring lots of action, lots of jokes, and lots of pop culture references for people of all ages to enjoy.