Since Puss Boots first appeared in "Shrek 2," his fanbase has steadily grown thanks to more appearances and a spin-off in 2011. With "The Last Wish" he strengthens his reputation as a plush charmer with a heart who now has death hot on his heels.
Hard to believe, but Puss in Boots from the DreamWorks forge is now of legal age. At least he had his first appearance in "Shrek 2" 18 years ago, which was followed by two more in this film series and his own spin-off eleven years ago. That's four - cinematic - cat lives out of a total of nine, which according to legend are available to a ball of fur of its kind. And the story of "Puss in Boots 2 - The Last Wish" is centered around this unproven and yet generally known fact.
The cat has just brought an oversized adversary to its knees and wants to be celebrated for this success as usual, when fate overtakes itself in the form of a falling church bell, which takes one of its nine lives out of its breath. When he calculates it more closely, he is shocked to find that he now only has one left. The daring hero used up the other eight in a sometimes wasteful way.
But there is still a chance to replenish your life account: a wishing star waiting in the dark forest for a finder who is brave and smart enough to overcome all the obstacles on the way there. Alone, however, this is an almost impossible undertaking ... and so the tomcat is not only accompanied by fellow kitty velvet paw, but also by a new, chatty friend, Chihuahua Perro. However, the three are not the only ones who want to fulfill a "last wish" ...
Again Benno Führmann lends the charming four-legged friend - originally spoken by Antonio Banderas - his voice with a Spanish accent. Carolina Vera takes on Salma Hayek's part as Kitty, Oliver Kalkofe is the villain Jack Horner and Riccardo Simonetti is the seemingly never-ending chatterbox Perro. A colorful bunch that guarantees a high entertainment factor simply because of the different characters.
And otherwise "Puss in Boots" delivers properly. It gets down to business in the 102 minutes, there is hardly any time to take a deep breath. Surely you'll miss one or the other gag or this or that allusion to animation colleagues like "Shrek", but also live-action classics like "The Dirty Dozen" and "Play Me the Song of Death". Even adult viewers never get bored.
At some points it even gets pretty dark for an animated film that is primarily intended to inspire children. But the stunning humor and the emotional warmth that emanates from newcomer Perro easily make up for it and the frightening moments are quickly forgotten. It is probably not spoiled if it is already revealed at this point: In the end everything will be fine, then at most tears of emotion or joy will flow.
Characters that are well drawn in two respects - especially on the side of the numerous opponents - as well as funny dialogues, breathtaking fight scenes and lots of crazy gags make "Puss in Boots 2 - The Last Wish" a film worth seeing for all generations, with which the Pimp your Christmas vacation to perfection.
"Puss in Boots 2" will be in cinemas on December 22nd.
