Puss in Boots

I've now seen three of the five nominees for Best Animated film--those that are Hollywood released and computer generated (A Cat in Paris and Chico and Rita are hand drawn and outside of the Hollywood system). Of those three, I anoint Puss in Boots as the best, which kind of surprised me, as the Shrek films, from which it is spun off, had exponentially deteriorated in quality with each sequel.

This film takes the title character, voiced to the hilt by Antonio Banderas, from supporting character in Shrek to the star of his own prequel. We get his backstory: an orphaned kitten, brought up in an orphanage in a town of Spanish provenance (Mexico? Spain? Not sure). He is "egged" on to commit petty crimes by his best buddy, Humpty Alexander Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis), and then later framed by his ovoid companion. Years later they meet again, Humpty wishing to set aside their grudges so they can team up to capture the greatest score of all--the treasure in the giant's castle, which exists up in the clouds.

They are aided in their quest by a stealthy and sexy cat, Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek). As with the Shrek films, there are two levels of humor--one for the kids and another for adults. The sexual innuendo between Puss and Kitty is pretty heated. There are also pop culture references to entities like Fight Club.

Puss in Boots, directed by Chris Miller, comes very close to matching the original Shrek in its playfulness, adventure, and originality. I liked Rango, which won the Oscar, but this film succeeds more as pure entertainment, not relying so much on references to other films. There are even a few twists that I didn't see coming. And Antonio Banderas is so in tune with his character that it's kind of scary.