Puss In Boots

Funny Mexican movie, Antonio Banderas style. Puss In Boots manages to capture the typical Mexican narrative, featuring the classic wronged hero (with accompanying predictable storyline) and setting it in the middle of a humorous Fables'esque storyline featuring our (now) well known feline hero. Do I like the movie? Hell yeah!

Ok bad thing first: The storyline's predictable. Some people have panned it for that, and I think that's fair enough, but I think the refreshing take on the narrative and setting it in a novel setting have more than made up for that particular shortcoming. After all, it lets you forget about trying to understand the story and get on with appreciating the details in the movie.

On to the movie proper. I'd say the details are amazing and something that cat lovers and Mexican movie watchers would certainly appreciate. The show's got its own take on the fairytale characters, both making references to their iconic backstories and managing to fit them into the greater narrative. The movie even manages to balance between being outright goofy and quite poignant and serious. It's a fine tightrope, and I believe the team has managed to pull this one together rather neatly. They even managed to squeeze in an anti-cruelty message in the tale, which is downright commendable. Clearly, the folks have watched their movies (especially Mexican ones) and know about cats. The characters are human enough, yet catlike in all the right places. They're certainly not your average purely anthropomorphic animals you see in too many cartoons.

So how would I rate this feline tail of romance, betrayal and redemption? I'd say a clean 8/10. Yes I do recommend it, and I would watch it again just because. It won't beat How To Train Your Dragon, but it certainly is good on its own merits.