Rewind Back to 2011: “Puss in Boots” (15th anniversary)
- Matt Palmer
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
Over the past few weeks I have been taking a look at a few family movies for my ongoing Rewind Series that are celebrating anniversary milestones this year. And I already have a good idea of what my next Rewind Series slate will consist of for September! On that note, let’s talk about the 2011 “Shrek” spin-off “Puss in Boots,” which is turning 15 this year!
Long before meeting Shrek, Puss in Boots, just named a hero after saving a woman from a charging bull, is run out of town on suspicion of bank robbery, even though the real villain is Puss’ friend Humpty Dumpty.
Though there is still animosity between them, Puss and Humpty reunite to steal a goose that lays golden eggs. Joining them for the adventure of nine lifetimes is notorious cat burglar, Kitty Softpaws.
The 2011 movie “Puss in Boots” delivers an energetic Spaghetti-Western vibe, incredibly vibrant animation and an iconic, charismatic vocal performance from Antonio Banderas. There’s also plenty of clever cat-themed humor, fresh fairy tale twists, and an emotional backstory shared between Puss and Humpty Dumpty.
Banderas seamlessly leaned into the absurdity and fun of pairing “Zorro”-esque Latin bravado with literal cat behaviors, such as getting distracted by a laser light mid-fight and drinking milk out of a shot glass. And his dynamic chemistry with Salma Hayek (Kitty Southpaws) anchors the comedic timing perfectly!
Rather than feeling like a recycled “Shrek” sequel, the filmmakers framed the animated movie as a legitimate Spaghetti Western combined with a caper heist movie. The flamenco-infused musical score and the stylistic split screen action sequences also gave this fun animated movie a really unique visual energy.
Another aspect of the movie I really like is that, just like the other “Shrek” movies, “Puss in Boots” features some clever fairy tale twists. The movie’s screenplay reworked folklore archetypes with genuine humor - specifically turning Humpty Dumpty into a complex mastermind and reinventing Jack and Jill as gritty outlaws.
“Puss in Boots” also delivers quite a few fun moments that truly stand out, such as a competitive, flamenco-infused dance battle that quickly turns into a full on duel (and that’s where Puss meets Kitty Southpaws for the first time), the entire magic beanstalk sequence and the Great Terror chase at the end (where the mother of the Golden
Goose is trying to rescue her baby).
The 2011 “Shrek” spin-off received generally positive reactions from critics and audiences. It earned praise for its fun action, vibrant visual style and strong voice work from the entire cast, and it was a major box office success and an Oscar nominee for Best Animated Feature.
MPA: Rated PG for some adventure action and mild rude humor (runtime 90 minutes)
Initial release date: October 28, 2011
Streaming services: HBO Max/various PVOD services (as of working on this review)
A conscious decision was made to make the world of Puss in Boots very different from that depicted in the "Shrek" films. In the latter, the backgrounds and stylizations are very fairy tale. Here, it has a distinctly Spanish feel with warmer, more orange colors.
Unlike the Shrek films, which were in production for only 3 years (except for the first which was in production for 4½-5 years), this film was in production for 7½ years. This film entered development in 2004 just after the release of Shrek 2 (2004).
This film alludes heavily to The Mask of Zorro (1998), a film which also starred Antonio Banderas as the lead.
(at around 3 mins) The bar scene in the beginning is a direct resemblance of the bar scene in Desperado (1995), another movie that starred both Antonio Banderas (Puss) and Salma Hayek (Kitty).
The film is a prequel and a spin-off to the Shrek franchise and takes place years before Puss in Boots met Shrek and Donkey.
This movie was originally planned to be a direct to DVD, but was moved to be released theatrically since it would've been odd of DreamWorks Animation to not have all their films consistently released theatrically.
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