Voice Actors Shine in Shrek Spin off “Puss in Boots”

October, 28, 2011 , by Isaac Weeks

After watching the new Puss in Boots, I finally figured out why the Shrek sequels have all been such subpar viewing experiences. It was Mike Myers and the titular character hogging the spotlight from what turns out to be better voice actors and more exciting characters.

Puss in Boots is the story of Puss (voiced by Antonio Banderas), a scoundrel known throughout the land as much for being a lover as a thief or skilled swordsman. Tracking down the villainous pair Jack & Jill (Billy Bob Thornton & Amy Sedaris) upon hearing that they are in possession of magic beans, he runs into his long-lost brother Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis) and his new partner-in-crime, a cat burglar named Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayak). The trio team up to snatch the beans and climb up the beanstalk to grab the Golden Goose's eggs.

Let's face it, I'm not going to surprise anyone by telling them that this movie doesn't exactly play as if Aaron Sorkin wrote the screenplay. It is first and foremost a child's movie, so you have to take it on its own terms. That being said, the film has several positives going for it.

First, the screenwriters eschew the Shrek route of storytelling and don't feel the need to shoehorn modern crap into the movie just for a tired joke. The director of the film, Chris Miller, also helmed the last two Shrek sequels, but here he steps up his game.

I can't help but wonder if one of the reasons Miller succeeds with Puss is the lack of superstar interference that has to be abundant during the making of any Shrek feature. Something tells me Banderas is a little more open to suggestion when it comes to a comedic performance than either Myers or Eddie Murphy.

Another key difference is what appears to be a substantial amount of the animation budget has been cut for Puss. The majority of the film looks great, but there are moments where it's one step away from being a Hanna-Barbera cartoon, with the characters walking past the same backgrounds for what feels like minutes at a time. While that sounds awful, I can't help but think it helped in forcing Miller into realizing the other aspects of the film would have to compensate for this.

While Banderas and Hayak do fine work here, the movie belongs to Humpty Dumpty, or more to the point, Galifianakis (The Hangover). I have admitted to a prejudice against animated film in past reviews, but his work here is perhaps the best acting of his career. I suppose the best compliment I can give is that there are moments during the movie where the character feels very real, and that's hard to pull off with a talking egg.

If you have kids, or you are the resident crazy cat lady on your block, I would recommend getting out of the house this weekend and catching this flick. I will even go so far as to recommend splurging on IMAX at Marbles tickets, and I haven't suggested that since The Dark Knight. If you do go, you will be experiencing one of the most fun films to be released in 2011.