Puss in Boots: The Last Wish has a score of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes almost a month after its December release, and it’s definitely worthy of the praise it has received due to its mesmerizing animation and fantastic writing. 

The movie, released on Dec. 21, has racked up $247.4 million at the box office as of Jan. 15, according to Collider. The movie is a sequel to the original Puss in Boots, released 12 years ago in 2011. The famous feline made his first appearance in the movie Shrek (2004) which means the character has been around for around 19 years now. 

The movie explores concepts of life, but more prominently those of death. Puss in Boots, the legendary hero who “laughs in the face of death”, has found himself on the last of his 9 lives. He tries to shrug this off but soon finds himself face-to-face with death itself. He retires himself to a cat rescue home, burying the legend of Puss in Boots under a pile of dirt. 

As the movie unfolds, Puss slowly learns to appreciate life and acknowledge death until he finally decides to value his one life over anything else. He learns that although he was born with nine lives, many were born with only one and they still live their lives without fear. 

The movie teaches Dreamwork’s generally young audience to live life to its fullest, while also producing some great antagonists. 

Although the movie is rated PG, it is not necessarily intended for a younger audience. The characters within the movie make a few adult jokes at times, and some characters are symbols for some things which is better understood by adults than children; such as the wolf antagonist, who is later revealed to be death itself. 

The animation in the movie was phenomenal, certainly an update from the 2011 prequel. The animation was mesmerizing at times, further engaging the audience in the movie. 

In addition to the storyline and the characters, the humor within the film added a lot. Even during intense battles, there was always a quip or two regarding the situation, outlining the feline protagonist’s lack of worry at basically all times. When moments got depressing, the characters always seemed to be able to bring the movie back to its cheerful self with a jest or a funny comment. 

“I remember watching the Shrek movies as a kid, but I had forgotten about Puss in Boots’ character,” Junior Dany Sticlaru said. “Watching this movie really took me back to when I was a kid watching those movies for the first time. I would really recommend heading into theaters to watch it.”