Puss in Boots review ★★★½

Puss in Boots is a prequel to the characters' appearance in the second of the Shrek films. When first introduced back in 2004 Puss in Boots was a defender of he innocent, and renowned hero, in this earlier tale he is an outlaw with a bad reputation. The roguish lothario is drawn into a plot to steal magic beans from Jack and Jill by comely cat burglar Kitty Softpaws (Hayek). Puss is initially reluctant when he discovers the mastermind of the scheme is former childhood friend and criminal mastermind Humpty Dumpty (Galifianakis).  However the lure of loot and the fragrant Ms. Kitty are too tempting to resist. The trio need the magic beans to mount a daring heist of steal golden eggs from the giant's castle at the top of the fairy tale beanstalk. As the plan progresses we are also told the story of Puss' orphanage childhood and the roots of his enmity towards Humpty. This trebles the cute factor by featuring Puss as a kitten.

The film takes place (mostly) in a stylised Mexico. Although this is a CG animation, landscapes and backgrounds have the beautiful hand crafted look of classic Hollywood matte paintings. In the Shrek films Puss in Boots brought a dash of Errol Flynn to a parody of a Disney fairy tale, the swashbuckling feel of a Zorro serial is more pronounced in Puss' own film as you would expect. However the fairy tale magic beans plot and Humpty Dumpty character sit somewhat uneasily in a world that is part 30s swashbuckler and part Sergio Leone spaghetti western. It isn't helped by the fact that in comparison to the wonderfully rendered acrobatic antics of Puss and Kitty, Humpty is a rather visually boring character.

However, whilst the plot doesn't quite gell, Puss in Boots manages to rise above this by virtue of being great fun. The script is amusing - "it's for my glaucoma" says a mortified Puss when a bottle of catnip is discovered in his possession. Antonio Banderas and Selma Hayek give spirited voice performances, and generate real chemistry between their animated selves. There is a great mock Morricone score, with contributions by Rodrigo Y Gabriella. The animation is great, particularly in capturing the mannerisms of cats (clearly a lot of YouTube videos were watched). The 3D is good, particularly when sweeping over landscapes, or having beanstalks erupt from the screen. The films set pieces are palpable hits, my favourite being a chase scene with Puss pursuing Kitty over rooftops ending in a great dance number in a underground hacienda for cats. The Shrek films became increasingly blighted by movie in jokes, happily these are mostly absent here, the exception is a Fight Club reference that is both dated and inappropriate.