🐱 Nine Lives, Zero Chill

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2023)

Lets start by showing y’all the trailers shall we?

🎬 Trailer

Also here’s the iconic song Fearless Hero.

⚠️ Massive spoilers ahead. You’ve been warned.


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📝 Non-Spoiler Rundown

I’ve seen this film three times (twice in theaters, once on Prime), and it somehow gets better with each watch. Honestly? This movie had no right being this good — especially after the first Puss in Boots film, which was fine but forgettable. The Last Wish goes from 0 to 100 within the first 10 minutes and never lets up. It’s a darkly funny, surprisingly violent family film that doubles as one of DreamWorks’ most heartfelt stories.


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👤 Character Rundown

Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) – Still the fearless hero, but now grappling with mortality. The nine-lives gag isn’t just funny — it’s the emotional core.

Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek) – His old flame, still sharp, still distrustful, still amazing. Their “Santa Coloma” backstory adds depth.

Perrito (Harvey Guillén) – A therapy-dog-in-training disguised as a cat. Pure cinnamon roll energy. His bleep-filled rant and backstory (his owners tried to drown him in a sock!) hit harder than expected.

Big Jack Horner (John Mulaney) – A hilarious, unapologetic monster. “Don’t you know I’m dead inside?” might be the most savage line in a DreamWorks film.

Goldilocks (Florence Pugh) & The Three Bears – Family goals… kind of. Her wish to find a “real family” adds heart.

The Wolf / Death (Wagner Moura) – Straight-up one of the best DreamWorks villains ever. Not a metaphor, not a bounty hunter. Death, in the flesh. Whistling. Waiting. Terrifying.



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✅ Pros

That opening sequence doubling as a tutorial and a Raiders-style set piece. Genius.

The panic attack scene. DreamWorks nailed the reality of anxiety without making it cheap or exaggerated.

Death as the villain. Every frame he’s in is nightmare fuel, in the best way.

Perrito. Comedy, heart, emotional backbone. He steals the movie.

The humor hits across the board — the dialogue about names (“Dog, Bad Dog, Butt Nugget… (bleep) for brains”) had me rolling.


❌ Cons

Honestly? The only “con” is that this movie sets the bar way too high for DreamWorks sequels.



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🎭 Final Thoughts

This is the rare sequel that blows away the original. It’s action-packed, emotionally deep, scary at times, and hilarious throughout. By the time the Shrek music kicks in at the end, you realize DreamWorks didn’t just revive Puss in Boots — they revived your faith in this entire franchise.

Rating: 10/10.
See it. Love it. Live it.


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⚠️ Spoiler Warning

Okay, here’s where we go full detail mode.


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🩸 Full Spoilers & Scene Breakdown

🎉 The Opening

We kick off with Puss throwing a full-on rager in a mansion with peasants and a mariachi band singing about him being “everyone’s favorite fearless hero.” It’s instantly catchy (yes, it’s my new favorite).

Mansion owner barges in → “Bring me Puss’ head.”

Fight with guards, mariachi band still playing.

Fireworks. Chaos. Boom.

Enter: Giant stone monster.

Puss saves everyone with insane stunts (gets launched with an instrument string).

Ends with the bell crushing him.


Cue the doctor/barber/dentist/witch doctor telling him: “You died.” Turns out Puss has burned through eight lives:

1. Bullfight gone wrong.


2. Poker night with angry dogs.


3. Milk drunk + building fall.


4. Crushed by weights.


5. DIY cannon = kaboom.


6. Shellfish allergy.


7. Baking with Gingy = oven fire.


8. The bell.



Now he’s on his last life. Doctor recommends retirement.


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🐺 Enter the Wolf

At the bar, candles snuff out. Whistling. The wolf appears. “Sign here,” he says, pointing to the “DEAD” line on Puss’ wanted poster.

They fight → Wolf draws blood.

Puss, terrified, flees → literally flushes himself down the toilet.

This isn’t just a bounty hunter. This is Death.



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🐱 Life as “Pickles”

Puss buries his old outfit, mourns his legend, and gets dumped at a cat lady’s house. He grows a beard. Becomes depressed. Shares a litter box. Befriends a weird “cat” — actually a dog (Perrito).


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🌟 The Wishing Star & The Map

Goldilocks + Bears, Jack Horner, Kitty Softpaws, and Puss all collide over a magical map leading to a wish. Hilarious banter ensues:

Goldi: “Puss?”

Puss: “Goldi, bears.”

Kitty: “Hola Jack.”

Jack: “Kitty Softpaws! You robbed me!”

Kitty: “And you set me up!”

Goldi: “You’re supposed to be dead.”

Puss: “Eh, I got better.”


Perrito gets roped in as their bumbling sidekick. The map changes depending on who touches it — Puss & Kitty see deadly paths, Perrito sees “sniff flowers, walk safely.”


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😂 Perrito’s Dialogue Goldmine

Kitty: “What’s your deal anyway? Chihuahua gang?”

Perrito: “I don’t think so.”

Kitty: “What’s your name?”

Perrito: “Oh, I’ve been called… Dog, Bad Dog, Butt Nugget, (bleep)-for-brains… but nothing that stuck.”

Kitty: “Is he deranged?”

Puss: “Yeeep.”


Later:

Perrito: “Team Friendship!”

Puss/Kitty: “No, that’s awful.”


And of course, the censored rant:
“You knuckle-dragging, honey-scrounging, grub-(bleep), oafish-(bleep)… mangy (bleep)-nugget!”


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🐺 Death Returns

One of the best scenes: Puss flees into the forest, has a panic attack, Perrito lays his head on his chest. It’s tender, heartbreaking, and beautifully accurate to real panic attacks.

Later, Death reveals himself fully:
“I am Death. Straight up. Not a metaphor.”
🔥 Fire circle duel. Chills.


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🎭 Goldilocks’ Wish

She wants a “real family,” but when her bear brother almost dies, she chooses him over the wish. The bears accept her fully. Sweetest subplot.


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🍰 Jack Horner

Jack is a highlight:

Using a phoenix as a flamethrower.

Blowing up his men with unicorn horns (confetti corpses everywhere).

His moral cricket screaming: “You’re irredeemable!” Jack: “What took you so long?”


By the end, he consumes his magic bag, becomes huge, and almost makes the wish. Cricket resigns. Phoenix burns the last piece of the map. Jack → gone.


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⚔️ Final Duel with Death

Puss: “No. Just this one life.”
He stands his ground, finally facing mortality. He fights Death to a standstill, earns his respect, and Death leaves.
“Live your life, Puss in Boots. Live it well.”
🔥🔥🔥


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🎵 The Ending

Puss chooses not to use the wish. Kitty: “I already got my wish. No star required.” Perrito: “My wish came true — I have friends.”
They sail off together toward Far Far Away as Shrek music swells.


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🌟 Verdict

DreamWorks didn’t just make a sequel. They made one of their best movies ever. Funny, heartfelt, action-packed, scary in all the right ways. And yes — it might just rival Shrek 2.

10/10. Highly recommend.