December 15th, 2022 
Jackson Murphy 
It’s been 11 years since DreamWorks released the Oscar-nominated, hit Shrek prequel Puss in Boots. Now Antonio Banderas returns as the beloved cinematic cat in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (which takes place after the events of 2010’s Shrek Forever After). Universal screened The Last Wish in theaters nationwide over Thanksgiving weekend ahead of its official open this Wednesday December 21st. And it has already received Golden Globe and Critics Choice Awards Best Animated Feature nominations. In this Animation Scoop Q&A, The Last Wish director Joel Crawford details his goals with the story, visuals and tone of this new Puss In Boots chapter. (This interview was edited for length and clarity.)
Jackson Murphy: We spoke two years ago for The Croods: A New Age, and now you’re onto Puss in Boots. How have the last two years been for you?!
Joel Crawford: (laughs) Quite a ride! But a fun one. It’s amazing. I’ve been at DreamWorks for over 17 years and I love all these characters. To be able to take Puss in Boots and bring him back to the big screen for the next chapter… it’s such an honor to be part of the team to do that.
JM: There are fun elements, humor, comedy and action. There’s also a lot of drama. It’s about his last life. How did you feel, initially, getting into that concept and the dramatic possibilities of what you can do with this?
JC: The premise of this excited me. I love comedies and approaching everything in that way. Comedies disarm an audience. You just go and enjoy it, but there’s always a truth… heart… under that comedy. For me, the truth underneath the premise of a cat on his ninth life was: you have one life, and as human beings we only get one life. I was excited to tell a story that starts off like a fairy tale, bringing you on this ride of laughter, joy and action and then maybe surprise you with the question of, “How are you gonna live your life?”
JM: Definitely. I think the depth that’s in this story is one of reasons why it’s going to connect with audiences, along with the fact that this is a continuation in the Puss in Boots and Shrek saga. Without giving things away… there are great surprises… did you have any limits whatsoever on what you could and could not do in the Shrek saga?
JC: That is a great question. We had to limit ourselves. I love the Shrek world and there are so many great Shrek characters where you’re like, “I wanna see that character and that character again!” But this is Puss in Boots’ story, and we were very cognisant of the fact that this story is a big story to be told — a big, emotional ride — and we didn’t want to do anything and introduce too many elements that would distract from that ride. And by the way, Puss in Boots and Kitty Softpaws are so funny. There’s so much comedy with them. And introducing this dog Perrito, voiced by Harvey Guillen. And then adding Florence Pugh as Goldilocks, with the three bears. John Mulaney plays Jack Horner. And the Wolf… which is sure to strike fear in the hearts of kids everywhere. (laughs) It’s such a great balance of this fun chemistry with all these characters, and it is still an edgy comedy, much like the original Shrek.
JM: Yes! You mention Goldilocks and the three bears. They are terrific, legitimate supporting characters in this. They have real interest in them. What these Puss in Boots and Shrek films have done for fairy tales, to multiple generations of kids now, is incredible. How have you seen that impact?
JC: Kids learn from fairy tales — these really entertaining stories that teach you a moral lesson. But as adults, we can forget that fairy tales are for us too. It’s great to go to a world where you’re just entertained. A lot of the fairy tales are cautionary tale, and especially the new territory we dipped into in this story with the grim fairy tales. It felt right to be able to go to some darker areas that hopefully, coming out of the story, makes everyone appreciate the light.
JM: Certainly. I love the character of Ethical Bug. He steals the show. He has this Jimmy Stewart vibe. How did that character come to be? The humor is kind of old-fashioned, that’s spot on.
JC: (laughs) Ethical Bug is voiced by Kevin McCann. Interestingly, he was an editorial coordinator that did a great voice for us. He did a temp voice. When everybody saw it, he stole the show. We were like, “That voice cannot change!” John Mulaney plays this horribly funny character of Jack Horner. He’s so bad and it’s so fun to watch him. In order to bring out the comedy of that, you need to put him with the ultimate good. We improvise with the writers. Paul Fisher, one of the writers, came up with the idea of putting Ethical Bug, that cricket with a conscience, on Jack Horner’s shoulder. For us, there’s something going back to Jimmy Stewart with those Frank Capra movies. They were squeaky clean and the ultimate beautiful morality. Everything was so sweet and it crossed over into that having to be the voice of Ethical Bug.
Joel Crawford and Jackson Murphy
JM: Works out so well. The visuals are incredible — the backgrounds and the movements in the action sequences. What amazes you about what you were able to do with the visual styles you were able to bring into this?
JC: Working on these movies, you have the best of the best in their own departments. The visual experience of this: Production designer Nate Wragg designed this painterly style. The head of character animation, Ludovic Bouancheau, found this nice balance between pushed hand-drawn, stepped animation and traditional CG, which is smoother. And Chris Stover was head of layout — all the camerawork. And it all comes together seamlessly to bring you into this contrasting experience, where at moments everything looks like a painting. Take Puss in Boots when he’s fighting the giant in the beginning. You’re dropped into this fairy tale painting. Everything is fun. You’re enjoying Puss fighting a giant. You don’t feel like he’s in any danger. We’re using this stepped animation. You’re getting to see pushed poses as he jumps through the air. Everything feels fantastical. Even the cameras — these long, sweeping shots that tell you it’s safe and you’re following this superhero.
Being able to have these concepts that come together to make you feel this… Puss’ worldview at the beginning is, “I’m immortal! I’m gonna live forever!”, as he’s oblivious to how many lives he’s lost. Then to contrast, you have scenes where he’s confronted by this wolf bounty hunter in the bar. And all of a sudden, the filmmaking style switches up. We go to these darker images. Still painterly but there’s striking imagery and flashes of red that take over the background at certain points. We go to quick cuts — contrasting the long ones in the opening that make it startling and shocking to the audience. You’re almost trying to keep up with the visuals. Much like Puss: he’s on his backfoot for the first time as the wolf is knocking him back.
And then you have these moments where the camerawork and the animation coincide where we go between stepped animation (Puss is trying to be the hero) and this smooth animation (this is gritty and real as the wolf cuts him). Because we really pushed the style and expanded our tools in this, it allowed us to not just tell the story literally but push it impressionistically. When Puss is cut by the wolf in that bar fight, we wanted the audience to feel that fear that sets in for the first time for Puss. He’s just been singing about how he’s fearless in the opening and taking out the giant. So it was important to go, “How can we make the audience feel the stakes along with Puss?” When the wolf cuts Puss, the whole background flashes to red. It’s super stylized. It’s impressionistic.
And then the very next shot is a close-up, like a spaghetti western close-up, of our hero. And the only red in the shot is a little drop of blood, which isn’t a lot. It makes the audience feel the shock that Puss is feeling in that moment. And then when his hair raises, our goal was for the audience’s hair to raise and for you to be brought on this experience with Puss.
JM: We’ve been with this character for 18 years. And to see him in legitimate danger and to feel what he feels: you’re right — the way and the art and the story suck you in really gets you. When Alex Trebek was alive, there was always this debate of “Mustache or no mustache?” on Jeopardy! How do you feel: “Beard or no Beard?” when it comes to Puss in Boots?
JC: (laughs) I think I side with Kitty Softpaws. “Get rid of it, Puss!” (laughs) But that was the fun. We created this beard for him and were like, he wears it well. I love that by the end of the story, he’s become this elevated hero and gone back to that Puss in Boots we love.
JM: Yeah. I have to mention how much I love that new DreamWorks intro. Isn’t it amazing?!
JC: It’s so cool, and I think it’s the perfect time for it. DreamWorks is such an exciting place right now where we’re really pushing all of the storytelling. Margie Cohn, the president of DreamWorks, was fully behind that new intro, with what’s in mind of each story being specific to the filmmakers. With every look of the movies, we’re using new tools to tell more specific stories. It’s so exciting to be at DreamWorks and to continue telling stories.
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