Puss in Boots Review

Look, I'm not going to tell you to rush out and go see Dreamworks' new Puss In Boots, but if you have to see it with your kids, or just happen to see it for whatever reason, you have nothing to fear. Even though the past few Shrek films have been a chore and the character of Puss himself is fairly one note and perhaps better suited as a side character, this new spin-off film will surprise you with its clever script and hearty adventurer's spirit.

Yes, we're all sick of the revamped and exhaustively in-joked "fairy tale" movies and there is a bit of a strain involved in believing that Puss's tale, which takes place in some sort of quasi-Spanish "Mediterrania," could also involve Humpty Dumpty, the Jack and the Beanstalk story and the nursery rhyme characters Jack and Jill. It does feel like this film was left dealing with, well, whatever children's fare that was left over. You know, whatever stories that didn't get the modernization treatment from the four Shrek films. But, strangely enough, it all works and the core and heart of this story is really built on the great and complex relationship between Puss and Humpty.

And what a great voice turn for Zach Galifianakis as Humpty; an almost Loki-like brother/villain/childhood misfit. Banderas is perfectly suitable as Puss and there are really no surprises in his work other than the fact that the writers were able to tell such a fun and compelling story with a bunch of cat jokes at the center of it. Same goes for Salma Hayek as "Kitty Softpaws," Puss' love interest and fellow swashbuckler. It's really Humpty and his shared backstory with Puss, as two wide-eyed, scheming outcasts growing up in an orphanage in picturesque San Ricardo, that gives this film its flare. So the film becomes part Spaghetti Western and part crime saga.

The action definitely pops in this movie, although the 3D, as you can expect, is unnecessary. This movie actually has the luxury of having a good story so the 3D just seems like superfluous and obnoxious frosting at times. But the most refreshing thing about this movie, given that it's filled with sassily updated classic kid's lit characters, is that it lacks all the meta-jokes that make us cringe. There's nary a "Ye Old Starbucks" or "Ancient American Idol" to be found here, so the story can breathe. Other than one "dance off," we're actually given good jokes and smart plot twists in place of laziness.

Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris liven things up as the vile, dust bowl thieves Jack and Jill – who are meant to be this film's take on the two famous nursery characters. But their remodeling doesn't make much sense and it seems completely arbitrary to have chosen that rhyme and turn it into these characters, but after a while you just don't associate them with the original incarnation anyway. No, Puss In Boots ain't perfect, but it's still a very capable treasure-hunting tale that will pretty much satisfy all ages. See what I did there? I wrote "perfect" normally. I could have gone with "purrfect" but I resisted. Bye for meow!

• More Movies Reviews
• Latest Movies News, Reviews, and Videos