Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

The Last Wish is that rare thing: an animated sequel that actually delivers.

Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado get the tone Goldilocks-right — not too scary, not too bland — and add some stylish angular slow-motion fight sequences.

The Last Wish offers something different and unexpected: Puss has grown up with his audience.

Harnesses the familiar appeal of the self-aggrandising feline (Antonio Banderas), while also adopting a distinctive and original graphic visual style.

There is a lot to like here, not least Ray Winstone’s Papa Bear. The forests are Skittle-coloured. The set pieces are wild and kinetic. But it is Banderas’s star power that saves the day.

There’s an entire pick ’n’ mix stand of eye candy here – more than enough to satisfy younger viewers. But alas, it’s all empty calories.

The film’s biggest issues come down to the choice of animation techniques for fight sequences, which makes the events feel a little choppy and overly stylized

Puss N Boots 2 is a shockingly phenomenal movie tackling much deeper themes than one would expect from a kids movie.

It is designed that both young and old should find the tale equally as enjoyable.

Overflowing with ideas that all land, DreamWorks’s latest offering is surprisingly nuanced, wholly cathartic, and one of the best films of the year.