Children’s movies, some people love them, some people hate them. This year the new movie Puss and Boots the last wish is no exception. It has greatly divided its loyal fan base made up of young kids, teenagers, and even adults. This movie is a combination of old nursery rhymes such as Goldy Locks and the Three Bears, Little Jack Horner, Pinocchio, and many more. Puss and Boots the Last wish is a story about a bandit cat named Puss in Boots who goes on adventures. It comes as a sequel to the much loved Puss in Boots the movie which was released in 2011.

The movie begins in the fictional town of Del Mar where Puss hosts a huge party. After waking a sleeping giant he defeats it and he then dies after being crushed by a falling bell. Upon waking up he finds out he has used eight of his nine lives. That night, he is in the bar drinking milk in sorrow when he is visited by a wolf bounty hunter named Death who claims he wants to kill Puss for a reward. Puss then retreats to a cat sanctuary where he becomes domesticated.

Soon after an evil version of Goldy Locks and her three bears come along in search of Puss hoping he can help her steal a map to the wishing star. Puss then decided that he was going to steal it and wish for his lives back. When he arrives at the castle of Big Jack Horner (the evil grown-up version of the nursery rhyme Little Jack Horner) he finds that his former friend, Kitty SoftPaws, stealing the map. While at the castle we meet another major character, a dog named Perrito, who followed puss because he thinks they are best friends. Puss tries to leave the dog but eventually decides to let him come.

The three friends Puss, Kitty, and Perrito all go on an adventure to find the wishing star, each with a different wish (even though the star only grants one wish). As they proceed on the trail they are chased by Jack Horner, Goldy Locks, and the wolf Death. The movie ends with puss defeating death and continuing to live his last life heading off with Perrito and Kitty SoftPaws. The last wish was used to destroy evil Jack Horner.

Overall this movie received a score of 95 percent according to Rotten Tomatoes, indicating that fans enjoyed the movie. Many positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes focused on the strong plot of the movie, its humor, and its animation style. People of all ages reviewed the movie in a positive way. In comparison with the good comes the bad and according to a large majority of parents the wolf character named Death made up a large portion of the bad. Many parents of young children who gave the movie a one-star rating berated the wolf character in their review. One parent even went as far as to say, “This movie was dark with hidden messages all over it. Constantly talking about death and killing. It has a character named Death! The wolf is super terrifying. This movie is not for kids!” Another fan who was not a fan of the animation style exclaimed, “What the **** was that? I started watching the movie; 20 minutes in I just gave up.”

In contrast, Pennridge High School Student Chris Ganley, an avid movie goer, was a fan of this movie. When asked where he would rank it he described it as his “favorite movie of the year, it brought back parts of my youth so I really appreciated that aspect. I’d even put it above “Avatar” which was my favorite movie of 2022-2023 so far.” Soulayman Abdi of Pennridge North Middle School also really enjoyed the movie specifically the animation he described the animations as “way more detailed than in years past, there were times where I felt like I was playing a video game with the attention to detail.” While some people did have concerns, overall the movie puss and boots was an enjoyable film and one that people of all ages can appreciate.