Puss in Boots (2011)

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Overview

Puss in Boots is the first spin-off film in the Shrek franchise, focusing on the titular hero's adventures prior to his first appearance in 2004's Shrek 2. Along with his sidekicks Humpty Dumpty and Kitty Softpaws, he tries to stop Jack and Jill-two outlaws who have discovered an ancient power so great, it threatens the world.

Creation

Perrault's original manuscript

"Le Maître Chat, ou Le Chat Botté" or Puss in Boots was originally a fairy tale from France told in prose that told a story of a cat who used tricks and deceit to gain power, wealth, and the hand of a princess in marriage for his master. The tale was originally written in the late seventeenth century by Charles Perrault. He originally wrote and illustrated the story in a manuscript before publishing it with his other works two years later in 1697 in a book titled "Histoires ou contes du temps passé" or "Stories or Fairy Tales from Bygone Eras" as it was called in English. The book was a success and the tale of Puss in Boots became a very popular children's story still beloved by children in France today. Though the character's long lasting fame or even the stories' fame did not extend to the United States until Shrek which introduced the character to North Americans who were largely unfamiliar with the character at the time.

The project (at the time titled Puss in Boots: The Story of an Ogre) was first announced in 2004 when Shrek 2 was released and was originally planned to be released in 2008 as a direct-to-video release. However in 2006, DreamWorks decided the film was better as a theatrical release instead. Production actually only began though after Shrek Forever After was completed and released in 2010. Antonio Banderas in an interview for Shrek Forever After stated that at the time he had all his character's first recordings finished.In late 2010, Guillermo Del Toro announced he would be serving as Executive Producer on the film.

Puss and Kitty

The film was to feature all new characters with the exception of Puss in Boots. Like Shrek, it used famous nursery rhyme characters like Humpty Dumpty but also introduced brand new characters like Kitty. According to co-writer David H. Steinberg, the film was not going to overlap with the Shrek films at all as it was set before Puss even met Shrek. That was done so because at the time, the story for Shrek Forever After had not been completed and they did not want overlapping story lines or ones that would contradict one another. It was first teased in Forever After at the end of the film when Shrek puts down the book of Shrek and set it down next to a book called "Puss in Boots". It was originally set to be released on November 4, 2011 but was pushed back a week earlier to October 28, 2011 for the Halloween weekend as it would make more money over that weekend than it would in November.

Reception

Unlike the previous several Shrek films, Puss in Boots received very positive reviews, even garnering an 81% approval rate from critics whose reviews were posted on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Out of 80 reviews from critics, 81% gave the film a positive review while 19% did not. The consensus for the film was "It isn't deep or groundbreaking, but what it lacks in profundity, Puss in Boots more than makes up for with an abundance of wit, visual sparkle, and effervescent charm.". Reviews from audiences were also positive as out 13,567 user ratings, 82% gave the film a positive score while 18% did not. Out of the 22 "Top Critics", 19 gave positive reviews while only three gave it a negative or mixed review. Many critics all pointed out that Banderas' performance was a highlight of the film and was one of the main reasons why they enjoyed it.

Marketing

As with many kids' films, Puss in Boots had numerous tie ins to capitalize on it's predicted success and to promote the film. Like with the Shrek films, DreamWorks made a deal with McDonalds to have their Happy Meals come with toys from Puss in Boots from November 4 to November 29, 2011. The film also received two video games designed to tie in to and promote the movie.

Puss in Boots was developed by Blitz Games and released by THQ and was released for the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo 3DS, and the Nintendo DS. The game supports the Xbox Kinect and the Playstation Move as well. The game is similar to Kung Fu Panda and other movie tie in games released in the past.

The second video game based on the film is Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots which is a Puss in Boots themed Fruit Ninja game released for the iOS App store and playable on Apple's iPod Touch and iPhone.

Music

The film's score was primarily composed by Henry Jackman and was inspired by Latin style music. It was primarily composed using folk instruments to produce the Latin sound that Jackman wanted for the film because Antonio Banderas who voices Puss in Boots is Spanish. The sound was inspired by famous Latin composer Manuel de Falla y Matheu and so Jackman blended guitars with Latin percussion to give him the sound he was looking for. Twenty-two of the twenty-four tracks were composed by Jackman and two were composed by Rodrigo Y Gabriela.