{"id":1808000,"date":"2023-03-04T14:03:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-04T19:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/platogaming.com\/plato-data\/puss-in-boots-the-last-wishs-directors-let-shrek-inspire-the-series-reinvention\/"},"modified":"2023-03-04T14:03:00","modified_gmt":"2023-03-04T19:03:00","slug":"puss-in-boots-the-last-wishs-directors-let-shrek-inspire-the-series-reinvention","status":"publish","type":"station","link":"https:\/\/platogaming.com\/plato-data\/puss-in-boots-the-last-wishs-directors-let-shrek-inspire-the-series-reinvention\/","title":{"rendered":"Puss in Boots: The Last Wish\u2019s directors let Shrek inspire the series\u2019 reinvention"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhen the first Shrek movie<\/a> came out, it was quite groundbreaking,\u201d Joel Crawford, co-director of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish<\/em><\/a>, told Polygon in a recent interview. \u201cWith CG, it was so impressive [with] the detail that you could feel, and audiences were wowed by that chasing of photorealism. So in order to make, 20-something years later, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish<\/em><\/a> feel like a fairy tale for our time, we said, We need to push it<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

And he and co-director Januel Mercado did. Unlike the four Shrek movies and the first Puss in Boots movie, which all take a standard approach to photorealism in lighting and design, The Last Wish<\/em><\/a> is more stylized. The backgrounds are lush. The lighting looks less photographic and more like an impressionist painting. The movements are more exaggerated and eye-catching. It\u2019s a massive departure from what audiences have come to expect from the Shrek franchise, but it was a departure the filmmakers were eager to take.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been over 10 years since the last Puss in Boots, and over 20 years since the first Shrek came out,\u201d Mercado says. \u201cWe\u2019re always talking about just how marvelous animation technology and its visual storytelling has evolved over the years. We felt like there\u2019s been enough time where we could retain the essence of this world and these characters, but we could take full advantage of the new technology and styles [with] which to share these stories. We weren\u2019t about to miss that opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mercado and Crawford were inspired by animated projects like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Arcane<\/em><\/a>, and <\/em>The Bad Guys<\/em><\/a>, not just for their use of stylized animation, but for their celebration of the mediums that inspired their stories. For Spider-Verse<\/em>, that was comic books. And for The Last Wish<\/em>, that meant fairy-tale illustrations. <\/p>\n

\"Kitty <\/span> <\/span>
I\u2019ve been thinking about the shading on Puss\u2019 hat here for weeks now.<\/figcaption>Image: DreamWorks Animation<\/cite> <\/span> <\/figure>\n

\u201cI remember growing up with children\u2019s books,\u201d recounts Mercado. \u201cEspecially fairy-tale books and illustrations, and how vivid these spreads would be, and how simple they are for kids, with just simple texts and storytelling. But I remember as a kid spending hours just looking at the drawings and the paintings, and seeing all the details that are in the environments. [\u2026] We wanted to do the same with the film medium for Puss in Boots<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur production designer, Nate Wragg, was really the one who helmed how to express our specific story,\u201d explains Crawford. \u201cSpecifically in this fairy-tale style. And so it was a trial-and-error thing where we look at things and go, Oh, that\u2019s too flat and graphic<\/em>, <\/em>or That\u2019s too realistic<\/em>. And so it\u2019s really a process of finding it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The animation wasn\u2019t the only element Crawford and Mercado hoped to evolve with The Last Wish<\/em>. After all, back in 2001, Shrek<\/em> was groundbreaking not just for the CG, but for the edgy humor and more mature references<\/a> that inspired a tonal shift in American animation<\/a> for the next decade or so. To keep <\/em>Puss in Boots <\/em>relevant for the 2020s, the filmmakers wanted to revisit that sharp wit, but also expand the themes the movie could deal with and tell a deeper story. <\/p>\n

\u201cWith the original Shrek movies, there\u2019s a fun play on what we know as fairy tales and Disney princesses that we love. There\u2019s always that subversive take that\u2019s clever and hilarious to experience,\u201d says Mercado. \u201cIt\u2019s always just like, Oh man, this is fun. I\u2019ve never thought about it this way. It\u2019s cool to turn things on its head<\/em>. That was one thing we wanted to go back to and continue as one part of the fold. And the other side of it is also a genuine message, and [an] emotional story to tell.\u201d<\/p>\n

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish<\/em><\/small> is currently available on demand and on DVD and Blu-ray. <\/small><\/p>\n