'Puss in Boots: The Last Wish' review: Antonio Banderas' feline hero fights for his (last) life in an existential sequel

More than a decade after "Shrek" prequel/spinoff "Puss in Boots", the flamboyant feline is up to his old tricks - but has yet to meet the computer-animated ogre he's destined to crash into "Shrek 2." As this series has progressed, the "Shrek" franchise has taken on so many popular supporting characters that by the fourth outing, there wasn't much room left to swing a cat.

A knee-high hero who walks, talks and stands, Puss was one of rare tagalongs rich enough to warrant its own origin story. Now director Joel Crawford ("The Croods: A New Age") goes dark, bringing the fearless cat face to face with his own mortality. By forcing Puss to think about her priorities, the sequel justifies more than her own existence, while also setting the stage for how her path meets that of the big green guy.

The stakes may be higher this time around, but the movie is just as fun as you'd expect from the smart-as-ever team at DreamWorks Animation, which has had a bumpy few years, taking a backseat of sorts for Illumination at Universal ('Minions' maven Chris Meledandri serves as executive producer here). 'Puss in Boots: The Last Wish' marks DWA's best film since the 'How to Train Your Dragon' trilogy, reflecting some of the lessons learned on that series, including the idea that cartoon characters become much more interesting. 'They are not. immortal.

Co-written by Paul Fisher and Tommy Swerdlow with lovely, embellished dialogue in Spanish throughout, this adjacent fairy tale adventure begins with Puss losing her eighth life. This kitty is too arrogant to realize at first, but the town vet gives him a rough rundown of his previous deaths, making for a hilarious (for us) and sobering (for Puss) montage. in all the ways his grandiose ego (so perfectly captured by the voice work of "The Mask of Zorro" star Antonio Banderas) has put him at risk thus far.

Cartoon cats can take all kinds of abuse - just ask Tom, after years of Jerry's violent shenanigans - but it's probably best not to test fate if you stand in Puss' shoes, especially when he's being chased by a big bad wolf bounty hunter (as Wolf, "Narcos" boss Wagner Moura gives a terribly menacing turn). Crawford stages Puss' first run-in with this grim reaper like a scene straight out of a Sergio Leone movie, as Frank Miller might have drawn it for one of his "Daredevil" comics: all the strong poses, the extreme angles and the high-contrast graphics effects. (Composer Heitor Pereira delivers the Morricone-style music to match.)

After this dramatic confrontation reduces Puss to a trembling frightened cat, our hero flees to live with mom Luna (Da'Vine Joy Randolph), a self-proclaimed "cat lover" whose feline-infested home always has room for one more stray. Desperate and humble, Puss buries his cavalier hat, cape, and boots in the yard and tries to blend in, encountering an unnamed mutt disguised as a kitty among Mama Luna's nearly three dozen rescues.

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The film continues to pile on characters as it goes - from Goldi (Florence Pugh) and the crime of the Three Bears family to good-boy-turned-bad Jack Horner (John Mulaney) — until the whole thing swelled to "Shrek"-like levels. But do not worry ! Mother Goose rejects Jack Horner makes a lame villain. But as complicated as the plot is, it's all about characters with clearly defined desires, which makes sense, since they're all looking for the same thing: a shooting star has landed in the Dark Forest, and whoever reaches it first is entitled to one wish.

Puss wants her life back. The others, including Puss' former lover, Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek Pinault), have equally compelling motives. Only the mangy canine friend of Puss (Harvey Guillén) seems content with what he has, which you better believe will rub off on others. Still, it takes a sharp script to do it in such a surprising way, and it's more than most toons could wish for.