TPA 17

Yesterday, I got to watch the full "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish." I've been meaning to watch it for a while ever since I've seen breakdowns and clips of it. It's a good, short, to the point, movie that everyone that I've watched has praised. Let me see if I can break it down from memory.

Puss narrates about a wishing star that has fallen to the earth years ago and that anyone who finds it will have a wish granted. Puss in Boots celebrates with a song at a party he's hosting in the govenor's house, unknown to the govenor who's off on vacation. His party is so loud it wakes up a giant who attacks the town. Puss runs to the rescue and defeats the giant but "dies" in the process. He wakes up in the doctor's office who asks how many lives Puss has used. Puss realizes that he's on his last life and it is recommended by the doctor to no longer go on adventures. The doctor tells Puss to retire at a cat retirement home which Puss refuses. At a lonely bar, we see Puss down his eighth glass of milk (like the eight lives he's wasted). The chadellier goes out and a figure in a robe joins him. The figure, a wolf, freaks Puss out as he asks for his "autograph" on Puss' wanted poster. Puss fights and even uses the same move that defeate the giant earlier that day but it fails. The wolf uses scythes and nearly kills Puss again. Puss feels fear as his hair stands up and his lives flash before his eyes. Puss loses his sword and refuses to pick it up when the wolf offers it to continue the fight. Instead he runs into the bathroom and out the drain when the wolf follows. Puss has a funeral for himself. Feeling defeated he laments the loss of his usual life and burries his boots, cloak, and hat. He goes the retirement home and grows a beard, all the while the wolf leaves him alone. He also meets a dog who is later named Perrito who says he wants to be a therapy dog to help people out. Puss says he just wants to be left alone. Time passes and Puss is tracked down by Goldilocks and the Three Bears who sniff him out. They want to hire him for a job to steal a map from Big Jack Horner that leads to the last wish. Puss realizes that he could get his nine lives back and the dog tags along. At Jack Horner's baking goods empire, Puss sneaks into the bakery. Inside, Jack Horner waits for the Serpent Sisters who deliver the map to Jack who collects magical stuff. After the sister's make fun of his nursery rhyme origin Jack explains that he collects magical items since he never had magical stuff. He pays the girls by turning one of them into gold with the Midas touch. Puss is able to steal the map with the help of his scorned lover Kitty Softpaws. Goldi and the bears break in and a fight begins for the map to the wishing star. Puss, Kitty and the dog, named Perrito, escape but not before Puss sees the wolf return to threaten him. As the bears and cats escape, Jack gathers his magical gear and follows after them. Puss and Kitty discover that the map transforms the landscape of whoeve touches it. Both Puss and Kitty have tough roads ahead but Perrito's path is easier so they let him hold the map. He tries to teach them that they have to stop and smell the roses, shown but them being blocked by ravenous roses who only stop when they are smelled. Jack takes out the bears with Excallibur still stuck in the rock and has his men chop down the voracious roses. When that fails he tries to get a magical locust, which is Jimminy Cricket, to eat the roses. When that fails he uses a phoenix as a flamethrower while Jimminy seems to realize "he has his work cut out for him." Jimminy tries to appeal to Jack's human side while Jack doesn't seem to have one. 

I think that's good for now. I'll write the rest when I get back home. I want to relax for now. 

The cats are ambushed by Jack and the bears looking for the map. Goldie manages to steal the map and Puss runs off after having a panic attack after almost dying. Perrito tries to comfort Puss and Puss tells the story of how he left Kitty at the altar because he was too scared. Kitty overhears Puss lament and Perrito tells him that it would fix things if he apologized. The gang go after the map that has transfomred the area into a place of Goldilock's memories which distracts them. Before the heist, Puss apologizes and Kitty forgives him by shrugging it off. They steal the map and become seperated. Puss is inside a chrystal cavern where he meets with his past lives. This also leads to my favorite scene where the wolf reunites with Puss and reveals himself to be death. Death says that Puss never appreciated his lives so he's going to take Puss' last one. Puss escapes and tries to make the wish telling Kitty that death is after him. Jack and the bears catch up and fight with Puss and the others. After defeating Jack, Death returns and Puss and him fight in another great scene. After besting Death, Death lets Puss go now that he's no longer the arrogant "legend" that he thought he was. Puss offers the wish to Kitty who turns it down. Jack returns after being defeated as a giant. Puss, Kitty, and Goldie fight giant Jack and destroy the map which destroys the wish. Jack is defeated and everyone goes on with their lives happily. The end.

Ok, I know I rushed the explanation at the end but that's because I can't remember the rest of how the movie went. There's a few things I like which I guess I'll call "call backs." Like in the opening on film, Puss defeats the giant by stabbing it under the thumb nail with his sword. Jack is defeated the same way with Kitty and Puss doing the same to him. There's also this call back to what saves Puss from death, this small blade that Kitty gives him. In the first fight against Death, Puss loses his sword so Perrito gives him a stick. The stick is useless but Kitty gives him her knife. After losing his sword again against Death's second attack, Puss uses it, which I guess is a metaphor for relying on your friends, to block against Death's scythes. So these call backs really add to the movie because they establish traits and ideas and I guess metaphors in the watcher's mind. You watch this and you're like "Oh, I remember that." It's good story telling. If there's anything I wanted more of it's probably Jack. The Death Wolf is my favorite character but Jack was funny enough that I thought we needed more of him. Also, when the bears and Goldie are in focus, there's too many jokes about porridge. Jokes about things being "just right" are funny once but they keep using them. 

Over all, great film. I'm trying to analyze it to get a better grip on my own stories for KIY. I wonder how I can use this.