“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” is one animated film that should not have worked or been entertaining based on the concept. It is the story of two talking cats and a talking puppy trying to reach a wishing star, but I was entertained and engaged for the duration of the runtime. This movie is a sequel to a spinoff of the sequel to the 2004 classic “Shrek.” Through the influences from other animated media, the story was brought to its fullest potential.
“The Last Wish” takes inspiration from the story beats and stylistic flourishes of many popular animated shows and movies. Perhaps the best example of this is the film’s opening sequence, which ends with Puss fighting a stone giant trying to destroy a village. The fight follows similar camera movements and animates Puss in the same style as the wildly popular Japanese anime “Attack on Titan.” The fight between Puss and the giant is highly reflective of one of the most iconic scenes from “Titan,” where one of the fan-favorite characters fights a massive titan single-handedly. That scene is one of my favorites in all of animated media, so I was overjoyed when I saw DreamWorks taking inspiration from such an acclaimed and technically advanced show.
The influences of Japanese art have been trickling into western media since anime started to become popular in the US. Most of the shows that we grew up with were only created because of the influences of anime. High fantasy animation was not a thing before anime came to the west. More complex stories and higher-quality visuals all stem from this same source. A read through the “Anime-influenced animation” Wikipedia page will make you truly appreciate how much of our current entertainment wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for anime.
The ideas of these movies don’t have to be complicated and can be as simple as enjoying your youth or loving your family, like some of the animated films created by Studio Ghibli, an acclaimed Japanese animation studio. Beautiful visual storytelling in addition to such lovely ideas make many of their films a jolly good time and a fun way to pass an hour and a half. That’s not to say that all of their films are a good thing to watch while unwinding from a hard day. Many of their movies are lighthearted, yes, but just as many are gut-wrenchingly depressing, featuring themes of death, persecution and the destruction of innocence. The studio puts all of its effort into creating films that are not only beautiful but also deeply, emotionally impactful and thanks to those efforts, the animated stories here in the west have more mature themes and are not just catered to children.
“The Last Wish” is not just creative with its influences and story but also in its visuals. It, like many new animated features, follows in the footsteps of the animated “Spidermen: Into the Spiderverse.” Out of all of the Spiderman films, “Into the Spiderverse” is probably the best of the bunch. It’s use of vibrant color and the blending of 2D and 3D animation revolutionized how studios produce animated content.
Animation continues to evolve and surprise audiences with its ability to tell meaningful stories and push the boundaries of visual storytelling. Even before “Spidermen: Into the Spiderverse,” Studio Ghibli introduced the world of animation to a new level of intricacy and vivacity. Before Ghibli, animation was rather unremarkable to look at, with duller colors and characters with simple designs. Their characters are full of life, with fascinating clothes and genuine personal agency. The ripple effects that all of Japanese animation had on western animation are still felt to this day by inspiring the likes of “Arcane” and “Castlevania” as well as shows that are made for kids like “Avatar: The Last Airbender” and “The Owl House.”
I am excited by the direction that animated films seem to be going in. As technology grows more advanced, the visuals of animated movies will become more complex. There is an increasingly large number of animated films that are well made and deeply thought out. In decades previous, animated films were mostly surface level and didn’t have as much emotional depth in comparison to the animation that is being produced today. “Puss In Boots: The Last Wish” represents an exciting future.