How ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’ found its story and its new look

‘Shrek’ arrived in theaters in 2001 and proved that fairy tales could give much more than the typical adaptations we had seen up to then, that a grumpy and flatulent ogre could be the protagonist of one of the most successful animated franchises in history , and that DreamWorks Animation played in the major leagues. Three years later, its first sequel was released, which included new characters such as the charismatic Puss in Boots. The character voiced by Antonio Banderas has become a favorite of the public to the point of becoming its protagonist with its own spin-off.

It was 2011 when ‘Puss in Boots’ arrived on the big screen, allowing us to get to know better this kitty skilled in swordsmanship and conquest with those little eyes that have never broken a plate. It has exceeded 550 million dollars worldwide, a not negligible figure but which has maintained a downward trend for the ‘Shrek’ franchise, which had reached its highest point with ‘Shrek 2’, close to one billion of dollars. Despite this, shortly after the release, there was talk of a second chapter of the adventures of Puss in Boots, to allow Shrek and Donkey to rest a little longer. However, We didn’t hear anything else until nearly a decade later..

Margie Cohn, current president of DreamWorks Animation, explains this when she joined the role in 2019 “there was already a script” for the sequel, but something was wrong. “The problem with previous versions was that the story didn’t hold up.” To add. And that they had asked for help from Chris Meledandri, president of Illumination Entertainment, home of the Minions. Cohn maintained that partnership with his colleague (both studios now operate under the Universal Pictures umbrella), and after many tries they finally found a team that knew how to find what was missing when Puss in Boots returned: “We found a team that had a vision and a big ambition for what they wanted the story to be., It was exciting. We’re only as good as our directors are.”.

That team is led by Joel Crawford, director of ‘The Croods: A New Age’, who feels the pressure to revive a saga as beloved as this one, but is also grateful that ‘Puss in Boots: The Dying Wish’ been around so long cooking before it came along: “The Worlds of Shrek and Puss in Boots are a beloved franchise from DreamWorks. The important thing for me was to make it grow. A lot of really talented people tried to make up the story, so we sort of had that advantage. I dedicated myself to looking for seeds, good ideas”.

The main suit, which was present in most previous drafts, it turned out to be death. Puss in Boots has always been a daredevil, a loose cannon. Normal when you have nine lives. But what happens when there is only one left? “All of the versions had this in common, and when we came up with it, it felt like a great story. We wondered how to delve into Puss in Boots, what he learns, how he changes it and how he evaluates life at the beginning and end of the film.” explains producer Mark Swift. Since the film had been around for so long, that added pressure, he says, came in handy: “We didn’t have much time either, which happens quite often actually. But sometimes that works in your favor because it forces you to stand behind your idea and sell it as much as possible”.

It worked. In the end “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” had a solid premise, which also proved that his studio didn’t want to just repeat the same thing over and over again. DreamWorks had previously addressed topics such as death in the fantastic stories of ‘How to train your dragon’, but with Puss in Boots they want to see what the ‘Shrek’ franchise is capable of beyond its jokes and charismatic characters . “We don’t have a ‘home style'” recalls Margie Cohn, “You can see it in the tone of our films. ‘Trolls’ is, for example, all glitter, glitter, psychedelia and music. And then there’s ‘Puss in Boots’, where death is a character, but you still laugh”. and keep having fun. We want to continue to be different”. The director emphasizes that the choice of such a dark subject “it allowed the film to have a brighter message. It’s still a family film, but the experience and tone encompass a wider spectrum of emotion”.

Putting Puss in Boots on the ropes gives us a very different take on the character: “We’ve always thought of him as Mick Jagger: he’s a pop star who’s always playing a part that isn’t real. We want viewers to dig into him a little deeper, hence the idea of ​​getting to the last of his lives and discovers fear. What is important in your life? Being adored by everyone or cultivating relationships?” says the film’s producer. Joel Crawford observes: “”The Last Wish” is essentially about death, but in a deeper way it’s a celebration of life.what does it mean to have had a good life”.

It’s not just the tone of the film that has changed in this decade since we last saw Gato. The visual style has also changed completely. Mark Swift explains how the idea came about, that he wants to remind us much more of the storybooks this universe is based on: “When we start developing a film, concept art artists paint beautiful illustrations to inspire us. Nate Wragg, head of production design, was the one who said, ‘let’s make it look like those illustrations!’. It was one of those ideas where we all thought, ‘that makes perfect sense!’. They are fairy tales, they should seem like something out of a children’s book. The challenge was to find the balance because Puss in Boots is a very well known character.”. And while it was hard for them to reach the end result, they couldn’t be more proud: “I’ll be honest: the movie “Shrek” is old. It was one of the first fully computer-animated films. We didn’t want to get stuck in that style. Now we have more technology and better tools. Now we have the ability to do that” Quick comments.

As director, Joel Crawford wanted to make sure this change wasn’t gratuitous: “I didn’t want us to do it because it was different or funny. I wanted it to add to the story. To let the audience experience what it’s like to be immersed in the story of one of the greatest legends”. He also believes that viewers are asking for animation to go out of the ordinary: “Audiences became more sophisticated and saw so much computer animation that the question was “why do something realistic?” Why not expand it and make it look like, for example, a drawing like this?’. We had to do a lot of redesigns and find the version that best suited the story. But Puss in Boots is spectacular!”. The president of the studio believes that live action cinema is what has awakened the creativity in the animators: “I think people are moving towards more artistic expressions because of all the CGI in the live action film.. Movies like Marvel or “Jurassic World” are basically made with a computer. Artists can create worlds that don’t exist in real life and not imitate life. They’re the ones who want to do that, express themselves fully.”. He says that most of the proposals that come to him have a visual style that doesn’t recall reality. And Joel Crawford also believes that the future of animation will be completely unexpected and diverse.

As unexpected as seeing a scene in “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” that is more reminiscent of an anime than “Shrek”. It is a fight between the protagonist and the big bad wolf, one of the new characters in the film. “That scene is the one that changes the film, because up until that moment Puss in Boots thinks that he will continue to be like this until his last life, bullying, without recognizing the danger. But then he gets a cut and everything starts to blur . Like the “game over” message popped up. For the first time in her life she’s scared, so that scene is pretty intense. Making her a little more impressionistic helps with the scarier part.” account Mark Swift. Joel Crawford adds: “I thought it would be great if we could let audiences experience the big moments in a bigger way than the story, where there are more subtle and real and vulnerable moments. traditional the public can experience these changes much more and verify the possibilities. I liked being able to tell the artists: ‘Leave reality and immerse yourself in a world of fantasy. Travel is what keeps your feet on the ground”.

Like any self-respecting sequel, ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’ introduces a number of new characters that will add to the adventures of Antonio Banderas’ character. Some will sound familiar, like Goldilocks and the Three Bears or The Big Bad Wolf, but others will demonstrate the twists and turns the team has taken to find unexpected denizens of the story world, like Jack Horner: “He’s a funny character because he comes from a nanny. In this fantasy world he grew up as the blandest character in the world: he has no power, no magic, no ability other than picking a plum out of a pie. That’s why he’s been turned into a bitter man and angry that he wants all the magic in the world” account the manufacturer. He will try to get it the same way Puss in Boots will try to recover his lost lives: by making a wish upon a star. All characters will run towards the Gloomy Forest, where the magic star fell.

Old and new friends, cameos and a more than possible return to the swamp

Puss in Boots will be accompanied by a chihuahua named Dog, and will ask for help from Kitty Softpaws, his nemesis and almost romantic interest: “People probably think that in the previous one they became a couple. But we will find that his arrogance and the way he appreciates life got in the way. Obviously Kitty will have a very important role in this film”. And we might even bump into an old acquaintance we haven’t seen since “Shrek”: “We wanted to clarify that Puss in Boots lived a life, and in that life, he crossed paths with Shrek and his friends, and they stayed in touch. In the flashbacks of his life we ​​wanted to show that they were important people to him. It’s a Puss in Boots movie, and Puss in Boots goes hand in hand with the world of Shrek. And I hope one day we can see the gang together again” Quick dreams.

And you may not have to hunt for a wishing star to see yours come true. The DreamWorks president doesn’t want to tease anything beyond the return of Puss in Boots, Universal’s main bet for Christmas. But Shrek is very present in his plans: “We’re definitely thinking about where Shrek might be heading in the future.” assures. Despite the time that has passed, the character and his films continue to be popular in streaming, and both the ogre and his friends are pop culture icons. “We have to take advantage of it” says Cohn. The return of cinema’s most agile swordsman is just the beginning of a new golden age for the world of fairy tales.

‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’ has its exclusive premiere in theaters December 21.