In a storybook Spain, a swashbuckling tomcat, Puss, who might well be the fourth musketeer, falls foul of Kitty Softpaws, a sexy thief in cahoots with his old foe, Humpty Dumpty. The trio have to work together to find the magic beans which sprout high enough to reach a giant's castle and the goose that lays golden eggs.
That's a rough précis of the plot of this entertaining but not exactly outstanding piece of animation from Chris Miller, for DreamWorks. Being made in 3D, it comes out at you like a strangely eccentric Zorro serial.
On the plus side, Antonio Banderas plays Puss, half alley cat and half a scion of the nobility, with some élan, ably assisted by Salma Hayek as purry Kitty and Zach Galifianakis as a simpering Humpty Dumpty. On the minus, the last quarter of the film is weakened by the necessity of redeeming the villainy of Dumpty and securing a happy feelgood ending.
What kids will get from it is plenty of fairly outrageous but not often witty fun with fairytale elements blended into a kind of latterday spaghetti western. For the rest of us, there is plenty of nice visual detail. But though these often catch the eye - like the cloud which spurts rain when trodden on - the general standard of animation hardly matches that of the best of the Shrek franchise.
Puss In Boots 3D
Cert: U
