For Dreamworks Animation, it all started with a giant green orge called Shrek. Since then, the animation studio has become synonymous with titles like “How to Train Your Dragon” and Boss “Baby”. Now the studio looks back at the Shrek franchise to give one of the best supporting characters a long-awaited sequel. Yes, Puss in Boots is back in “Puss in Boots: The Final Wish,” and Universal has just released the first trailer for the upcoming sequel.
“Puss in Boots: The Final Wish” sees its titular hero at the last of his nine lives, eight of which were used up in horrific ways – being gorged by a bull while trying to woo a woman, eating shellfish, trying to land on all fours after falling from a tower, having weights crush him, you get the idea. But with one more life left, Puss in Boots will have to approach his heroics more cautiously. Which won’t be easy considering he has to contend with the likes of Goldilocks (Oscar® nominee Florence Pugh, Black Widow) and the Three Bears Crime Family).
It’s unclear if this will be the last time we ever see Puss in Boots, considering that the tagline hints at “live each adventure like it was your last.” Honestly, I wasn’t expecting too much from the trailer, but after watching it, it looks like it will be a lot of fun and akin to the earlier Shrek films. The storybook visual aesthetics and play on cats having nine lives draws you in.
Here’s the official plot synopsis for “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish:”
For the first time in more than a decade, DreamWorks Animation presents a new adventure in the Shrek universe as daring outlaw Puss in Boots discovers that his passion for peril and disregard for safety have taken their toll. Puss has burned through eight of his nine lives, though he lost count along the way. Getting those lives back will send Puss in Boots on his grandest quest yet.
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).
The film also features the voice talents of Olivia Colman, Samson Kayo, Wagner Moura, Anthony Mendez, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and Ray Winstone.
“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” opens in theaters on September 23, 2021.
