Puss in Boots: The Last Wish looks surprisingly different to Shrek, as the Puss in Boots 2 animation has changed drastically from the first few DreamWorks releases in the franchise. However, in so doing, its release will follow and expand on a greater industry trend. In the time that has passed since the original’s 2011 release and the introduction of the titular feline in 2004’s Shrek 2, much has changed in the animation industry. In particular, the visual styles of these films have been slowly altered and modified, following a now-established pattern in the genre. It resulted in the Puss in Boots new animation style.
The second Puss in Boots movie told the story of the heroic Puss in Boots, as he realizes he only has one of his nine lives left. However, he learns of a way to restore the original eight lost lives, but he ends up in a battle with other storybook characters who also want to reach the magical wishing star. This sounds like a story straight out of a fairy tale book and the animation reflects that. As a result, the Puss in Boots 2 animation style changed drastically from what fans might remember. However, with other movies like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and The Bad Guys using the same style, it is one that might end up playing a big role in the future of animation.
Puss In Boots 2 Used 2.5D Animation
The Puss in Boots 2 animation style features 2.5D stylized animation. 2.5D stylized animation, unlike the more realistic style that past animated films have utilized, evokes a choppy and illustrated feel straight out of a comic book or a painting. As a result, characters, backgrounds, and objects are shaded in a two-dimensional sheen, with frames dropped and smoothed out to accentuate the stylization. For a series like Shrek and its Puss in Boots spinoffs, which have run for over 20 years, such a stylistic refresh makes sense. However, it is not the first series or franchise to test these waters.
When Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was released in 2018, the trend it set for animated films with the 2.5D style was unmistakable. With Spider-Verse‘s comic book style and multiversal chaos, it only made sense for it to evoke the style, eschewing the more polished MCU Spider-Man films for something more comic-accurate. Leaping off the pages of a comic book and putting the various Spider-People in the film worked for it, and the guidebook for using that style or a variation on it was set for several franchises.
Similarly, as they have progressed, the Shrek series and its Puss in Boots counterpart have boasted an offbeat and fractured take on the fairy tale genre. By following the 2.5D wave, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish took the Shrek series to the next level, employing a successful brand of highly stylized, yet appropriate action and restoring some of the movies’ anarchic and energetic tendencies. The move to 2.5D ultimately explains why the Puss in Boots 2 animation looks so distinct, and also heralded a return to form for the franchise.
Puss In Boots 2’s Animation Style Continues A Great Hollywood Trend
With the 2.5D style, it is clear that DreamWorks have learned the right lessons from Spider-Verse‘s success. Its visuals look like a modern storybook, recalling the hyper-stylized looks of Little Golden Books being blended into the visuals of past Shrek films. In addition, the characteristics of many characters have not been lost – rather, they have been enhanced in visually pleasing and often hilarious ways. One visual gag from Shrek 2 given an appropriate 2.5D counterpart, for instance, is Puss in Boots’ puppy eyes.
In addition, the 2.5D style, having been applied correctly, makes several scenes feel brighter with more dynamic lighting. Gone are the somewhat duller colors and visuals of Shrek the Third and Shrek Forever After, replaced instead with ones that feel right at home with the original Puss in Boots and the first two Shrek movies. Such brighter colors and visuals are right at home with the visually and tonally pleasing stylizations of similar films like DreamWorks’ The Bad Guys and Pixar’s Turning Red and Luca.
Intriguingly, Puss is part of a larger franchise – something that might give the art style more exposure and further growth akin to that of Into the Spider-Verse‘s. With the success of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, a successful and intriguing trend in the field of Hollywood animation continues. The film’s use of stylized and choppy 2.5D animation, giving it a storybook feel, helped it stand out and work alongside its animated counterparts, breathing new life into the now over 20-year-old Shrek series.
The Puss In Boots 2 Animation Reflects Changing Audience Tastes
The entire idea of moving to 2.5D and the new Puss in Boots 2 animation was something done to please the audiences. Director Joel Crawford said that audiences want movies to move away from strictly-CG animation. According to the director, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse opened up people’s eyes to the idea that CG movies don’t have to look CG. “The computer wants to make things perfect, but I think there’s also a longing for tangibility,” Crawford said (via SFX Magazine). While he admitted that the realistic CG in the original Shrek was what people wanted at that time, they don’t want “perfect” CG all the time anymore.
The idea is that Into the Spider-Verse really tested the waters with 2.5D, and then The Bad Guys showed how DreamWorks could implement it in their animation. Now, the success of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is further proof that audiences love the idea of this new hyper-realized form of non-realistic animation. The movie was one of the highest-grossing movies of 2022, it picked up an Oscar nomination and has a higher Rotten Tomatoes rating than any other movie in the Shrek franchise. It isn’t just because of the Puss in Boots’ new animation style, but it didn’t deter audiences.
Crawford later described the process and how he helped create the Puss in Boots 2 animation into what audiences eventually fell in love with. “When Puss is running on the rooftops, the motion isn’t always super-smooth. That was important to us, to feel like this is a fairy tale that you’re being dropped into” (via SyFy). It ended up as a giant success, and it is realistic to believe that more movies from DreamWorks and Sony will implement the new 2.5D animation style, and Disney might not be far behind after Puss in Boots: The Last Wish‘s box office success.
