Actors: William Shatner, Yolande Moreau
Directors: Jerome Deschamps, Pascal Herold
Rated: G (General Audience)
I recently reviewed The True Story of Puss ‘N Boots from Phase 4 Films that was released on DVD, October 4, 2011. It is based off the characters originally created by Charles Perrault. There is the miller’s son, a princess, queen and king, and of course, Puss ‘N Boots, the infamous cat. The villain is a bit different and there are the addition of other characters I don’t remember from the fairy tale I was told as a child, like a talking monkey.
This movie does has Puss ‘N Boots bringing fine birds to the king and queen to eat, the Grand Maraquis of Carabas being found without clothes from a supposed ambush from thieves, and a few other similarities to the original story, but most of the events are quite different.
We watched it as a family tonight with our two daughters, who will be three and five in a matter of days. My soon three-year-old went off to play with toys about half way through it. My oldest daughter watched it in its entirety of 79 minutes. My girls liked the music that was an updated version to a few classic pieces.
William Shatner provides the voice of Puss ‘N Boots and I loved watching Mr. Shatner for many years as the captain in Star Trek with my dad while growing up. I did not like his high pitched, whiny voice in this film. It was even hard to understand him at times. I would have preferred his typical “in charge” tone from Star Trek.
I disliked the queen for she seemed to have slurred speech and almost seeming inebriated the entire time. She was never shown taking any alcoholic beverage, but it just didn’t fit for a kid’s movie. If you are threatening to grind a liar into hamburger, you need to present yourself differently.
When the miller’s son was without clothes in the water (Grand Maraquis of Carabas having clothes stolen by thieves to be suited in clothes then for royalty), and the mention of being nude, the queen tried to get an extra peek of Peter. I don’t think that was needed in a movie for children. The king was pretty much sleeping every time he was shown in the movie.
The princess could have been made less voluptuous and the movie could have done without a kissing scene near the end that placed the couple in front of a bed. It could have been outdoors or in a different location to not be a problem then to me. Most children would not find this suggestive, but I did.
I don’t think this will be a film we will watch again as a family. Maybe it is suitable for older kids than preschoolers and toddlers, like I have.
On a postive note, my daughters really enjoyed the music. They danced with the characters singing. The landscape is beautiful in this animation.
If you would like more information about The True Story of Puss “N Boots, please visit http://www.pussnboots-themovie.mk2.com/
The Blu-Ray/DVD Combo Pack is available for $24.99 and DVD is available for $19.99.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this movie as a Team Mommer for review purposes. No monetary compensation was received for this review. The thoughts and feelings expressed are my own.
