Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

Being the end of year film season, we haven't seen an abundance of animated flicks released. One would think that with the holiday season here i.e. Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc., animated, or family oriented films would be the order of the day. Well, Dreamworks Animation hasn't let us down with releasing "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish", which is a brilliant follow up of the favorite "Puss in Boots" '11.

Everyone's favorite leche-loving, swashbuckling, fear-defying feline returns. 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 (Antonio Banderas) 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. Puss 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 Softpaws (Salma Hayek). In their quest, Puss and Kitty will be aided--against their better judgment--by a ratty, chatty, relentlessly cheerful mutt Perro (Harvey Guillen). Together, our trio of heroes will have to stay one step ahead of Goldilocks (Florence Pugh) and The Three Bears Crime Family, "Big" Jack Horner (John Mulaney) and terrifying bounty hunter, The Big Bad Wolf (Wagner Moura).

Others to round out the cast are Ray Winstone as Papa Bear, Olivia Colman as Mama Bear, Samson Kayo as Baby Bear, Da'Vine Joy Randolph as Mama Luna, Anthony Mendez as Doctor and Joel Crawford as Band Member.

This was whimsically and creatively directed well by Joel Crawford ("Trolls Holiday" (TV movie) '17, "The Croods: A new Age" '20) plus a video game and co-directed by Januel Mercado (TV and a video). Between the over-the-top emotions involved here and the fun, quick editing to captivate continued attention, this director, along wit Mercado as co-director excelled in spades and the film simply flowed like water. It was brilliantly written by Paul Fisher ("Flushed Away" (additional screenplay material) '06, "The Lego Ninjago Movie" '12, "The Croods: A New Age"'20) plus TV and Tommy Swerdlow ("Cool Runnings" '93, "Little Giants" '94, "Bushwhacked" '95, "Snow Dogs" '02, "A Thousand Junkies" '17, "The Grinch" '18) plus TV, based on a story by Swerdlow and Fisher. Even though neither of these writers were involved in the original, the script here was simply perfect. It was paced and sequenced with extreme fluidity, and the premise and execution of the story was amazingly well told. These writers are some of the best writers in the biz that I 've seen in a while. Hopefully they will create another amazing screenplay very soon so we can be as entertained as much as with this story. And, as usual, Dreamworks Animation's animation was incredibly designed well showcasing these characters and their surroundings with such expertise.

Kudos to the entire staff of this production. It was written, directed and acted well and the entertainment factor went off the charts. If you liked the original "Puss in Boots", you'll love this one. It had it all: humor, adventure, fun and heart--a great family film for sure. Grab the popcorn and revel with this! I know I did!

Out of 4 Stars: 4                                              Rated: PG                                              102mins.