If only a similar depth were reflected in the plot or characters. Even for a Shrek spin-off, Puss In Boots is mighty thin gruel, based more in outsized emotion than actual narrative. What plot there is centers on the eponymous fairy-tale cat burglar’s attempts to steal some magic beans from Jack and Jill (a pair of thick-set, frowny villains voiced by Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris) for reasons that make little sense, at least until he teams up with his bean-obsessed estranged childhood friend Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis) and gold-loving criminal minion Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek). There’s a great deal of posturing and drama among all of them, both in flashbacks and in the present day, but none of it amounts to more than a handful of excuses for flashy setpieces where Puss and Kitty face off in a dance fight or confront Jack and Jill atop a racing boar-drawn cart, or the three protagonists zip skyward on a rapidly growing beanstalk.
Granted, the Shrek series has seen worse. Puss In Boots gets much of its mediocre comedy from kitty reaction shots and absurd juxtapositions of Puss’ tough-guy persona and his feline nature (as when he breaks character to lap up milk, chase a moving light source, or lick his privates). But it doesn’t rely on Shrek-esque referential comedy or meta-humor, and it largely steers clear of cheap shots and gross-out gags. The drama half of the equation is more difficult, given that it comes largely from Banderas’ and Hayek’s exaggerated Latin-lover personas and a series of betrayals and reversals so abrupt and half-assed, the script doesn’t even try to make them stick. Nonetheless, the characters react to every unsurprising turn as if they were dealing with earth-shattering shocks; it’s opera-sized emotion in reaction to kazoo music. As a sheer visual experience, Puss In Boots makes a great theme-park ride, a thrill-a-minute feast for the eyes and the semicircular canals. But while the settings are impressively multidimensional, the characters are flatter than old-school cel drawings.
