I think our generation knows a whole big bunch of fairytales. We grew up with them because they were everywhere: we would read them in books or comicbooks for kids, we would watch animated movies or even listen to these stories at the radio.
There were tons of stories and I for one always wondered what would happen if the characters from one story were to meet those from another. Of course, I outgrew that and started watching more serious movies but from time to time there’s no harm in relaxing in front of a cute movie. One that combines lots of childhood stories.
Puss in Boots is one of those movies. It mixes up many stories like, for starters, puss in boots. Then we have Humpty Dumpty, Jack and Jill, the famous beanstalk, the Goose That Laid Golden Eggs and so on, all meeting eachother into a Spanish setting, the town called San Ricardo.
Puss in Boots (voice by Antonio Banderas) is presented to us as a fugitive. He is trying hard to clear his name for years and everything changes in one night when he finds out the magic beans are real. This is Puss’ best chance to do something good. Well, besides stealing the beans from Jack and Jill (voices by Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris).
If Puss in Boots were to steal the beans at the beginning of the movie, it would have been over to soon. So, in order for things to get rough, we meet Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek) who gets in his way and, of course, makes Puss mad.
Being a proud tomcat, Puss cannot let things go and follows Softpaws. After a serious duel involving serious flamenco dance moves we discover that Kitty is a “she” who works for Humpty Dumpty (voice by Zach Galifianakis). Yes, the most famous egg I know and yes, there will be egg jokes during the movie. Saddly, Puss is not best friends with Humpty anymore. He tells us the story about how he was betrayed by… and egg and both went their separate ways.
Turns out the egg is not trustworthy but somehow all 3 of them join forces. Their mission is to find the magic beans, climb to the sky on the beanstalk, find some magic castle and steal some golden eggs from inside. Easy-peasy, right?
The plan goes well, as expected. All our heroes in this story are skilled and smart. What do not go according to plan are Softpaws new feelings for Puss in Boots. Our main character is a charming fellow. Well, of course, Antonio banderas has this effect on women if you remember the famous legend of Zorro.
Kitty tries to warn Puss but it’s to late, Humpty manages to betray him once again and Puss gets arrested. The egg has more than he wished for: gold, fame, revenge. He basks in glory but little does he know that Mother Goose is on her way to get back her baby who “craps gold”.
With Puss in Boots in jail and a giant goose heading over to San Ricardo the plot gets serious. At least as serious as an animated movie can be. The ending is obvious but I will let you find it out on your own, along with other story details.
I wouldn’t put the movie on my favourite movie list but it’s a nice one to watch if you wish to take a break and relax a little. I enjoyed the 90 minutes of fairytale mix and even laughed so if you have the time, watch it, it’s cute.
