Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022): Movie Review and Ending, Explained: Cats have nine lives, and Puss is down to his last one. Joel Crawford’s take on the beloved character Puss in Boots is a brilliant and warm animated film that gives new depths to the character while establishing him in the context we knew from the Shrek series, but this time, the heroic orange cat is the center of attention and the main character, proving how much he needed it. A sequel that has been in development for a decade finally burst onto the silver screen recently, and the wait was really worth it. Ditching the more realistic animation styles of the earlier Shrek films and opting for a storybook style that is inspired by the likes of Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish feels like the embodiment of a fairy tale, with beautifully drawn art and brilliantly animated sequences, giving new life to a character that has more than one to offer. What you will read now is a detailed synopsis of the movie and an explanation of the ending, so proceed with caution as it contains heavy spoilers.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) Plot Summary and Movie Synopsis:
The story begins sometime after the events of the 2010 film Shrek Forever After and immediately introduces Puss in Boots as a heroic character in the middle of celebrations with the townsfolk of Del Mar, he is the center of attention and is hailed and praised as a hero and legend, as the people around him dance and shout, and ask for him to sing in the mansion of the governor, the noise of the crowd awakens the sleeping giant of Del Mar, a colossal creature made out of stone who attacks the mansion and the people, and enters into an epic fight with Puss in Boots, who emerges triumphant after displaying his agility and fighting skills in a beautifully animated sequence, but at the end of the fight, he is struck by a church bell leaving him dead and out one of his nine cat lives.
When he awakes, he is at the village doctor’s office, who has some serious news to break to him: he has died eight times and is, consequently, down to his last life. The doctor suggests immediate retirement and tells him that he should become a lap cat for an elderly cat lady who takes care of dozens of cats and is always on the lookout for more, but Puss disregards the doctor’s advice and arrogantly says that Puss in Boots laughs in the face of death.
That night at a bar, Puss is confronted by a bounty hunter in the shape of a wolf, and Puss loses the fight without ever standing a chance and flees to the house of the elderly cat lady, where he buries his uniform and hat in a little ceremony before making his best cat impression as he knocks on her door and becomes one of the dozen cats she takes care of, getting the new name “Pickles” from her, as she tries to domesticate him.
Puss soon discovers that he has someone else chasing after him. Soon, Goldilock and the Three Bears Crime Family arrive at the cat lady’s house to try and find Puss after hearing that they are after the Wishing Star. This magical artifact can grant its holder any wish, and he realizes that he can get his life back and sets a path toward Big Jack Horner’s place, where the map supposedly is, accompanied by a dog in a cat costume who desperately wants to be Puss’ friend.
In his attempt to steal the map to the Wishing Star, Puss reencounters the Bears Family, and a new opponent, Kitty Softpaws, and it is clear that there is a past connection between the two as they ultimately escape with the map together and open it to find that its path leads to the Dark Forest, and while they do not seem on the best of terms, they set on the adventure together, alongside the little dog in the cat costume.
Upon arriving at the Dark Forest, Puss and Kitty Softpaws find that the map gives each holder a different path to the Wishing Star, and while theirs is riddled with deadly traps, the dog’s seem to be easy and full of nothing but joyful places, so they follow his, and as they do, they are chased by Big Jack Horner and the Bears Family, who are all after the same artifact, and Puss is still being chased by the wolf bounty hunter who is after his life.
The map is stolen by the Bears Family, who find out that Goldilocks wants to use it to get a “real family” while that saddens them, they are supportive nonetheless, but the map leads them into their cottage, and they are all satisfied with it and forget about the map, which is then again stolen by Puss and Kitty. While they are escaping once again, they are separated, and Puss gets trapped in the Cave of Lost Souls, where he meets his past lives, mocking him for the state he is in, and the bounty hunter enters, again seeking Puss’ life.
Puss manages to escape while holding the map and heads towards the Wishing Star, while Kitty and the dog, named Perrito, watch and think that he has abandoned them.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) Ending, Explained:
The climax of the film happens on the Wishing Star, as Kitty expresses her disappointment in Puss, saying that she thought he changed after he abandoned her before their marriage and that all she wanted was someone she could trust, and he explains to her that he needs his lives back as death is after him, but they are soon joined by Big Jack Horner and the Bears Family, who are after the Wishing Star themselves after all. This results in a Mexican standoff as all the parties fight for the map, but when the bounty hunter, who is the personification of death, arrives on the scene and offers Puss his sword, challenging him to battle.
Puss realizes that he does not need his life back, that only one is left, and he wants to spend it with Kitty and their new friend Perrito, and he fights well against death, who after a while tells him that he came looking for an arrogant legend that he no longer sees, leaving him in peace and telling him to live his life well. Big Jack Horner grabs the map using all the magic tricks he possesses, and all the other parties fight to steal it back from him, and when they do, they tear it apart, sending him to his demise.
The final scene sees Puss in Boots, Kitty Softpaws, and Perrito on a ship heading towards “new adventures” and wanting to see old friends, and we see them arriving at the land of Far Far Away from the Shrek films, a beautiful tribute to the origins of the character as the credits roll.
Final Word:
In recent years, cinema has seen some of the best-animated films in all of its history: Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse, Coco, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinnochio – the list seems to grow with each passing year, and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish stands out as one of the flagging achievement of the genre recently. A beautifully animated tale with a heavy cast consisting of worldwide known actors such as Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek, a mesmerizing tale that takes root in the character’s origins yet is not afraid to explore new territory, plus fun and unexpected surprises that will bring a smile to your face, like a cockroach with an impression of the voice of the lovable Jimmy Stewart. I walked into this film expecting nothing, and I got plenty of laughs, cute moments, and a great great time overall. Highly recommended.
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Trailer
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) Links: Wikipedia, IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) Cast: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Harvey Guillén
Where to watch Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
