The last time we saw fan favourite feline Puss in Boots on the big screen was back in 2011 but Puss in Boots: The Last Wish picks up 11 years later and we find him arrogantly waking up after his eighth death and realizing that he only has one life left. Suddenly, the devil-may-care feline is wondering if he's forever lost his mojo and with it, the very essence of what makes him Puss in Boots. FILMHOUNDS sat down with the film's director Joel Crawford to talk about bringing back such an iconic character to the big screen, the different style of animation the film uses and the darker tone of the film.
Firstly, congratulations on the film, I really enjoyed it, and given the Oscar nomination, the BAFTA nomination, it seems everyone's enjoying it too.
The reception has been just more than I could have ever imagined. It's awesome. I'm so happy that it's resonating with so many people.
It's been over 10 years since the last time we saw Puss in Boots on the big screen. What is it about the character of Puss that you think makes him so timeless and means you're able to jump straight back in to the character, almost as if no time has passed?
There's something with when he showed up in Shrek 2. Antonio Banderas with his rich voice and Puss in Boots being this little cat. There's something to the charm of him. He's both a superhero and an adorable cat and I think there's so much charisma that Antonio brings to this character that makes you just love him.
Even with his bravado and ego, it's all so charming. I think in a way he's become even more relevant over time as the rise of superhero movies has just taken off since over 20 years ago when he was introduced. Puss in Boots is essentially a superhero. And so, I really looked at him as that way of, we're bringing back a hero to all audiences and even introducing him to a new audience who maybe didn't grow up with the Shrek films.
Talking of that superhero comparison, one thing I saw someone saying about this film was that it's almost the Logan of Shrek films. I thought that was a really interesting comparison. What was it like make something much darker and to bring up the topics of mortality and life and death? And to bring that to an animated film that's for kids but also for adults?
I love what you said right there that it's for kids, but also for adults. And I think we looked at it as let's tell a story that everybody gets something from when they watch it. And I think for us, we just went, and we have this superhero in Puss in Boots, who essentially has this point of view of ‘I'm immortal' because he's a cat and he has nine lives and he's kind of been cavalier with all his lives. It really felt like this is a journey in Puss in Boots, a superhero discovering that he's vulnerable.
And I think that's why the comparison to Logan is very fitting, he's someone who has been immortal and is essentially mortal again. But it was also important for Antonio Banderas in our early conversations. He wanted to bring a new side to Puss in Boots, he wanted the audience to see more than just a fearless hero who's hilarious, but that there's a depth to him and I think that was something that we aspired to do and has been really surprising. In a way, he feels more real than ever, and it has really expanded not just the character but also the world of Puss in Boots in doing so.
One thing that's often wrongly said about animated films is that they're for children and are a lesser form of art, what do you have to say about this criticism?
I think that's what's so exciting in seeing how this movie is being received. Because we set out to tell a story that is essentially- it's for everybody. We get one life, how are you going to live it who you're going to live it with? And there's nobody that doesn't apply to from young to old. And I think we set out and thought we're not going to age this down, we're not going to water it down. We're going to trust the audience, that we can elevate the material and they'll come up to it.
Kids have been reacting to the positive feeling they come away with and even the range of emotions that they experienced with Puss in Boots. At the same time this movie has been really embraced by teenagers, 20 year olds and 30 year olds, who are just going on their own or with their friends to watch it because I think it says this is a movie that takes on mature themes that is executed in a sophisticated way.
And even to go back to your question about the lesser form of storytelling. We put so much love into this where there's so much layered storytelling in this from the visual foreshadowing, things that you're intended to feel unconsciously but that reinforce the story and are the reason people are feeling so much watching this. Film is an art. Animation is an art that can tell endless stories and not to be put in a box. And I think that's the most rewarding thing for our team of over 400 people who put all their blood, sweat and tears into this. It's been awesome to see how it's resonating with everybody.
I think that's really clear with every single frame of the film, there's just so much love and detail and time that's been put it into it. I loved the style of animation in this film, clearly inspired by films like The Bad Guys and Into the Spider-verse. How have those films changed the way that you've been able to make animated films and the style of animation you use?
It's really cool how in the industry, especially in western animation, big studios are trusting that these movies don't all have to have the same look. When CG first came about it, was chasing after photorealism. It was chasing after a kind of a smoothness in the animation that feels more grounded.
Essentially being able to go and say we should make these movies look whatever tells the story more specifically, and for us being able to use traditional CG animation to tell moments of Puss feeling very grounded, real emotions like fear, anxiety, joy, but then to contrast it with stepped animation- or like what you might feel when you watch anime- which is images being held for a little bit longer. So you see poses and the action feels more fantastical and more exciting. And you get this juxtaposition of a character who's thinks they're invulnerable and going to live forever. And, and then you get these very real grounded moments. And so for me, I just love that as a storyteller, as a filmmaker, that I can use more tools to tell my story more specifically.
What's next for Puss in Boots? Are we going to have to wait another 10+ years to see him again? Is there going to be Shrek 5? Puss in Boots 3?
Oh, man, that'd be a crime if we had to wait that long. No, I think the world is ready, it's so excited for Shrek, for Puss in Boots, for all the characters. For more of them. The reception to this movie has definitely shown that. As far as the specifics of that, I don't know. I can just hope that there's more. I will do my part to just keep trying to make more of this.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is released in cinemas on Friday 3rd February.
