"I know I can never defeat you, lobo. But I will never stop fighting for this life." - Puss in Boots

While the 2011 film was pretty decent, it didn't break any barriers. I have to say it's follow up 2022's Puss in Boots: The Last Wish doesn't just break barriers, but I'm willing to call it Dreamworks best film.

Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) discovers that his passion for adventure has taken its toll: he has burned through eight of his nine lives. Puss sets out on an epic journey to find the mythical Last Wish and restore his nine lives.

Antonio Banderas gives his best performance here as the titular character. Puss in Boots has really evolved through the years, since he was a side character in Shrek 2, and later became one of the best characters in the Dreamworks Universe mostly thanks to this movie.

Salma Hayek returns as Kitty Softpaws, and reunites with Puss, their relationship gives the film much needed character development. Meanwhile I did think Perrito (Harvey Guillén), a therapy dog who befriends Puss to be annoying but he really grew on me as the film progressed to the point that he must be protected at all costs.

The screenplay by Paul Fisher and Tommy Swerdlow is fantastic since it balances comedy, the darker tone alongside some great story arcs. A personal favourite of mine is the journey that Goldilocks (Florence Pugh), Mama Bear (Olivia Colman), Papa Bear (Ray Winstone), and Baby Bear (Samson Kayo) take throughout the movie.

A weak point in the film is Jack Horner (John Mulaney), the primary antagonist since I feel he could have had a smaller role and didn't leave much of an impact. Since the stakes are raised compared to the first film, they could have just had Wolf (Wagner Moura) as the main antagonist seeing how intimidating that character is.

The animation department have really upped their game here, seeing how flashy the action sequences are, and Joel Crawford makes the film riveting with his camera work during those sequences. The film has a great message about life, and the film did tug on my heartstrings near the end.

So yeah this is now my favourite Dreamworks film. I always thought Dreamworks to be underrated, but I know some of their films don't hit the mark. This one does though, and overall 2022's Puss in Boots: The Last Wish isn't just an amazing Dreamworks film. It's an amazing animation film, and will most likely be one of the most viewed films on Letterboxd this year.

9/10