BLU-RAY REVIEW: Puss in Boots

[JessHorsley]

Dreamworks' latest home video delivers action, adventures, and plenty of bad kitty...

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A spin-off of the super-successful Shrek series, Puss in Boots takes action, adventure, and comedic laughs to new heights – literally. Puss in Boots (voiced by Antonio Banderas) learns Jack and Jill (voiced by Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris) have magic beans, the same magic beans Puss has wanted for a very long time. Now, together with Kitty Softpaws (voiced by Salma Hayek) and Humpty Dumpty (voiced by Zach Galifianakis), Puss faces off against Jack and Jill in order to find out what’s really at the top of the beanstalk.

While the story seems somewhat convoluted at times – a life-long hunt for magic beans motivating Puss to steal them from Jack and Jill, a second cat burglar likewise trying to steal the beans, a brotherhood broken between Puss and Humpty, and more – the story features an awesome assortment of action and adventure scenes thrown together to make a film that’s both engaging for the kiddies and includes a few laugh-out-loud moments for the adults.

While the story seems a bit thrown together, it does include some awesome individual scenes. There’s everything from a cat dance which turns into an exciting sword fight to a road race the likes of which could only take place in a fantasy. Of course, the animation itself is beautiful and brilliantly made. Puss in Boots is gorgeous to watch no doubt about it. The animation is fluid, the characters well rendered, and the detail is breathtaking. The settings are amazing, vast, and gorgeous to behold. Overall, the film is amazing to see. Likewise, the film’s Dolby TrueHD 7.1 lossless soundtrack helps breathes life into the story. Every background noise, every cat’s purr, every cannon blast, every clash of steel blades helps the story deepen and develop.

As for special features, the 2-disc set includes the Puss in Boots film on blu-ray, DVD, and digital copy and the 13-minute The Three Diablos short. Other special features include a couple of blu-ray exclusives: “DreamWorks Fair Tale,” in which viewers can make character rhymes, “Puss’ Paw Pouncing Challenge,” an interactive game which should delight the young ones; and a Trivia Track with informative facts and details about the film, settings, characters, and more.

Other special features include “The Animators’ Corner,” which features director Chris Miller and producers Joe Aguilar and Latifa Ouaou in a Picture-in-Picture look at everything from storyboards and animation tests to cast and crew; the 10-minute “Purr-Fect Pairing: The Voices Behind the Legend,” a look at the voice actors; the 12-minute “Kitten to Cat,” which follows the Puss in Boots character throughout the Shrek films through this new film; a 5-minute “Glitter Box Dance Off!,” which featuring the stunning dance from the film’s beginning, “Klepto Kitty,” a 4-minute chat with Dusty, the cat burglar; as well as other short special features like “Kitty Keyboard,” “Fairytale Pop-Up Book,” and “Kitty Strikes Again.”

Overall, Puss in Boots is a gorgeous film with a somewhat confusing story that’s jam-packed full of action, adventure, excitement, and fun. Entertaining for the entire family, Puss in Boots is a great family film.

- Jess C. Horsley