Puss in Boots (Shrek)
Encyclopedia
Puss in Boots is a fictional cat and a supporting character
in the Shrek film series, as well as the primary protagonist
of the 2011 spin-off prequel Puss in Boots
. He is voiced in English and both Spanish versions by Antonio Banderas
. He is based loosely on Charles Perrault
's fairy tale character of the same name
, and is the main "other fairy tale character" in the three sequels. He was introduced in Shrek 2
.
Recommended to King Harold by Doris (the Ugly Stepsister and barmaid of the Poison Apple Inn) as a famous ogre assassin, Puss is hired by the king to assassinate Shrek
. However, unlike his fairy tale counterpart, he does not try to trick the ogre into changing into a mouse, but instead makes a direct, frontal assault on Shrek, which works up until the feline gags on a hairball, spitting it up. Shrek and Donkey
think of what to do with him as Donkey even proposes to give him the "Bob Barker treatment
", but the swashbuckling cat begs for his life. Puss claims to have taken the contract to help his poor family, consisting of a litter of siblings, a sick mother and a father who lives off garbage. Ultimately, they spare his life, and Puss proposes to the ogre he owes a life debt
to him, in thanks. Although there is some tension/rivalry between Puss and Donkey (who seems nervous that Puss is taking his place as "annoying talking animal" and as Shrek's best friend), the three eventually become close friends and allies.
Shrek appears to have accepted this debt, as Puss in Boots stays with him throughout the course of the film. He has also stated that he "hates Mondays" just like the cartoon cat Garfield
. When Shrek and Donkey enter the castle to find Fiona and are being chased by the castle's knights, Puss repays his debt to Shrek by holding them off (he removes his hat, looks at the guards cutely, and then attacks them when they stop and say "aww!") After Shrek and Fiona get back together, and the king turns back to a frog, Donkey finds out he has become a dad. Due to the hatred that has developed, Puss decides to be Donkey's friend.
Puss and Donkey later lead the ogres in the battle against Rumpelstiltskin's forces, and helps save Shrek and Fiona from Dragon. Puss eventually disappears with everything else when Fiona's curse is broken and reality is restored. In the real world, Puss celebrates the ogre babies' first birthday with everyone else.
He befriended a young Humpty Alexander Dumpty, who gave him his name Puss, and they became brothers in heart with a dream: To find the Magic Beans so they may find the Giant's Castle and get the Golden Eggs of the Golden Goose, setting themselves up for life. Throughout their childhood, Puss and Humpty got in and out of trouble, stealing various beans in their search for the magic beans until one day, Puss saved the mother of the captain of the guard from a bull, and regarded as a hero when Imelda gave him a pair of boots to wear with pride.
This event, however, drove a wedge between Puss and Humpty as Puss didn't want to steal anymore while Humpty continued and thought Puss was breaking their promise. One night, Humpty tricked Puss into helping him rob the San Ricardo bank. Chased by the guards, they passed the orphanage and seen by Imelda, who was heartbroken to see, from her perspective, her son, Puss, having returned to his thieving ways.
The chase ended at a bridge where the money fell over the bridge and was lost, and Humpty fell and couldn't get back up as he begged Puss to help him. Angry that Humpty had tricked him and branded him an outlaw, Puss told him to help himself, left him to the guards and fled San Ricardo.
Over the next seven years, Puss became a swashbuckling hero but wanted by the law, as he searched for a way to clear his name and repay the stolen money, when he found himself at a bar where he heard of two murderous outlaws, Jack & Jill, in possession of the magic beans he had long sought. He broke into their hotel room, set on the stealing the beans but so did a masked cat with the same intention, causing them to get caught and run out. Puss chased after the masked cat back to a bar with a bunch of other cats, where they both have a dance fight and a sword fight, ending with Puss smacking her over the head with a guitar, which upsets the cat so much that she rips her mask off and reveals to a surprised Puss that she is in fact a woman. Puss then reunites with Humpty Dumpty who also introduces her as Kitty Softpaws, named because she can take things without anyone even noticing they are gone (as she does frequently with Puss's hat, boots, and money simply to tease him) and asks him to join them in finding the beans, planting them, and getting the golden eggs which lie at the top. Puss immediately refuses, and even after Kitty tries to woo him into going with them, he denies, and then tells her his history with Humpty and how everything went wrong.
After Humpty, who had followed the two, explains to Puss that he wants a second chance, Puss agrees to help him find the beans/golden eggs, making it clear that he is doing it for the town and his mother who adopted him, not for Humpty. The three of them set off to find Jack and Jill, finally seeing them coming towards them, hiding in a canyon type place in the desert. Kitty jumps onto their cart which is pulled by warthogs, followed by Puss, while Humpty readies their getaway vehicle. Puss lowers Kitty into the back of the cart, who struggles to open the box the beans are held in (which is around Jack's hand), with Puss urging her to use her claws. She finally admits to him that she has no claws, which wakes up one of the baby pigs sleeping in the back. Puss drops in beside her and opens the box with his claws as Kitty quiets the baby pig, giving him to Puss as she uses her paws to get the beans from Jack's hand, giving them to Puss. Just as they are about to leave, Puss accidentally backs up and steps on two pigs' tails, alerting Jack and Jill, who drop into the bottom where they are. They manage to get outside, jam the levers to force their seats to stay up, and tie up their heads, signaling Humpty to get their own cart beside the one they're on now. Kitty jumps onto the cart, but Jill headbutts Puss before he can, briefly knocking him out and causing him to drop the beans, which bounce around the top of the cart, almost falling off. Puss gets them back while fighting Jill, who somehow escaped, but she grabs him and dangles him over the edge of the cart and the canyon, about to drop him. Humpty rams the side of their cart and Puss lands back in their cart, and they get away. Kitty explains to Puss, as they are riding in the cart, that her adoptive owners got her claws removed for an unknown reason.
They make it to the perfect spot to plant them, being directed in the right way by Humpty, and plant the beans in a bare, sandy area, right as a storm cloud comes overhead, and a giant funnel of green-lit clouds and wind comes spinning down the place they planted the beans, cracking the sand, then suddenly disappearing, leaving only a small weed where the beans are buried. Kitty suggests Humpty talk to it, which he does, but barely gets a few words out before a giant beanstalk shoots up out of the ground, taking them with it, higher and higher into the clouds before it finally stops. The three got off and surprisingly are able to stand and walk on the clouds without difficulty, although their voices grow higher due to the thin air (their voices return to normal in the normal air pressure of the castle.) They see a castle type building and they enter it, not having to fear the giant, as Humpty says it's been dead for years; although, there is a beast in the castle, which if gazed upon, allegedly turns the gazer to stone. They cross the water far below and get to the island. With only a small run-in with whatever the beast is, they find the golden eggs and a gosling that lays them. They take the gosling because the eggs are far too heavy and make it to the edge of the island before the rope they used to get across is broken, and they fall down into the canyon, the beast not far behind. As they are trying to get away, Kitty falls into the water, unable to pull herself back onto the branch due to her not having claws, but she is saved by Puss. They escape and get back down to the ground, cutting the beanstalk down and rejoicing over getting the golden goose. They briefly dance, and Humpty pulls Kitty aside to tell her to not lose focus, obviously talking about her falling in love with Puss. Kitty leaves to get rest, and Humpty and Puss lay outside with the goose. Puss tells Humpty he is glad to have his brother back, and Humpty goes to sleep with the goose lying on top of him. Meanwhile, Jack and Jill suddenly come up behind Puss and knock him unconscious.
When Puss awakens, he is lying in the desert surrounded by birds, which he shoos away. He finds footprints and wagon tracks around him, and he follows them to the town he was adopted in. He sees a shadow of Humpty being held by Jack and Jill, and he follows them to save him, only to find them laughing and celebrating. Humpty explains to him how the only thing he wanted against Puss was revenge, and everyone had been working for him, even Jack and Jill. Puss doesn't fight against arrest (told not to by his adoptive mother) and sees Kitty as he is being led away in a carrier, knowing she has betrayed him. While in jail, he finds the Jack who had the beans first in the same cell, and he tells Puss that the beast is in fact the gosling's mother and will destroy the town trying to get her baby back. Puss escapes using his adorably big eyes to practically hypnotize the guard, and Kitty comes back to do the rest. She helps Puss escape, and he goes to find Humpty. Puss tells him that the mother is going to come back for her baby, and Humpty finally agrees to help save the town. They lead the mother goose to the bridge, which breaks under her weight, and Puss has to hold onto a rope that Humpty is holding onto to be sure he doesn't fall into the wreckage. The gosling was also caught by a rope, but it is breaking, and Humpty lets go of his rope, so Puss can save the baby to make sure the mother does not destroy the whole town. He does save her, and later finds Humpty has been turned into a golden egg, which the mother takes and flies back to the castle.
Puss and Kitty get away from the guards still, and Kitty says she will see him again soon, showing that she has taken his boots. During the first half of the credits, it shows Humpty once again in his regular egg form riding the goose in the clouds, and Puss and Kitty finally kiss.
television special
, Puss tells the story of Santa Claus
as a smooth Spanish
cat similar to himself. He is distracted from telling the tale when he sees the white ball from the top of his Santa hat and begins batting at it. When he realizes what he is doing, he walks away, muttering, "I have shamed myself". Later, when Shrek explains that he never celebrated Christmas before and wants it to come out right, Puss tells his friend, "Christmas just comes."
television special
, Puss and Donkey share the job of telling a scary story that spoofs the Alfred Hitchcock
movie Psycho, but they end-up fighting in the end.
he does this to Donkey, while he is trying to clean himself. Due to the fact that he is an obese cat now, he couldn't reach the spot he was trying to clean and saw that Donkey was doing what he usually did. He asks Donkey if he could "borrow his tongue" and at first, Donkey says no, but once he does his technique, Donkey agrees, but isn't able to because it is interrupted. Puss is also seen as having a rougish charm and womanizing attributes towards female cats; he immediately begins to flirt with other cats after claiming one is the 'love of his life', even saying to one "I don't know you, but I'd like to."
from Three Musketeers, but with Banderas' accent, Puss became Zorro. Puss's characteristics are heavily influenced by Zorro
's (whom Banderas also portrayed in The Mask of Zorro
and The Legend of Zorro
) fighting style, Spanish accent and personality. While attacking Shrek, he used his sword to scratch up a P, a parody of Zorro's trademark move. In Shrek the Third, Donkey, while in Puss' body, scratches a D instead.
His hat is known as a Cavalier hat
.
show Shrek the Musical, during the number "Travel Song", in which Donkey says, "Hey, look, a cat that's wearing boots, that's crazy!". Puss tips his hat to Shrek and Donkey and walks off. He is one of the many puppets seen in the song.
Supporting character
A supporting character is a character of a book, play, video game, movie, television or radio show or other form of storytelling usually used to give added dimension to a main character, by adding a relationship with this character...
in the Shrek film series, as well as the primary protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of the 2011 spin-off prequel Puss in Boots
Puss in Boots (2011 film)
Puss in Boots is a 2011 computer-animated adventure Western film produced by DreamWorks Animation, directed by Chris Miller , executive produced by Guillermo del Toro, and written by Brian Lynch, with screenplay by Tom Wheeler. It stars Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis, Billy Bob...
. He is voiced in English and both Spanish versions by Antonio Banderas
Antonio Banderas
José Antonio Domínguez Banderas , better known as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish film actor, film director, film producer and singer...
. He is based loosely on Charles Perrault
Charles Perrault
Charles Perrault was a French author who laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from pre-existing folk tales. The best known include Le Petit Chaperon rouge , Cendrillon , Le Chat Botté and La Barbe bleue...
's fairy tale character of the same name
Puss in Boots
'Puss' is a character in the fairy tale "The Master Cat, or Puss in Boots" by Charles Perrault. The tale was published in 1697 in his Histoires ou Contes du temps passé...
, and is the main "other fairy tale character" in the three sequels. He was introduced in Shrek 2
Shrek 2
Shrek 2 is a 2004 American computer-animated fantasy comedy film, produced by DreamWorks Animation and directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon. It is the second installment in the Shrek film series and the sequel to 2001's Shrek...
.
Recommended to King Harold by Doris (the Ugly Stepsister and barmaid of the Poison Apple Inn) as a famous ogre assassin, Puss is hired by the king to assassinate Shrek
Shrek (character)
Shrek is a fictional character from the children's book Shrek! and the Shrek films. He is the main protagonist of both the book and the films...
. However, unlike his fairy tale counterpart, he does not try to trick the ogre into changing into a mouse, but instead makes a direct, frontal assault on Shrek, which works up until the feline gags on a hairball, spitting it up. Shrek and Donkey
Donkey (Shrek)
Donkey is a fictional talking donkey from the Shrek series of films and he serves as the deuteragonist of the films, voiced by Eddie Murphy. The character has also featured in the original story Shrek!...
think of what to do with him as Donkey even proposes to give him the "Bob Barker treatment
Neutering
Neutering, from the Latin neuter , is the removal of an animal's reproductive organ, either all of it or a considerably large part. The process is often used in reference to males whereas spaying is often reserved for females. Colloquially, both terms are often referred to as fixing...
", but the swashbuckling cat begs for his life. Puss claims to have taken the contract to help his poor family, consisting of a litter of siblings, a sick mother and a father who lives off garbage. Ultimately, they spare his life, and Puss proposes to the ogre he owes a life debt
Life debt
A life debt is a cultural phenomenon in which someone whose life is saved or spared by another becomes indebted or in some way connected to their savior. A life debt sometimes involves servitude, possibly until the indebted can return the favor. It may involve some spiritual or mystical...
to him, in thanks. Although there is some tension/rivalry between Puss and Donkey (who seems nervous that Puss is taking his place as "annoying talking animal" and as Shrek's best friend), the three eventually become close friends and allies.
Shrek appears to have accepted this debt, as Puss in Boots stays with him throughout the course of the film. He has also stated that he "hates Mondays" just like the cartoon cat Garfield
Garfield
Garfield is a comic strip created by Jim Davis. Published since June 19, 1978, it chronicles the life of the title character, the cat Garfield ; his owner, Jon Arbuckle; and Arbuckle's dog, Odie...
. When Shrek and Donkey enter the castle to find Fiona and are being chased by the castle's knights, Puss repays his debt to Shrek by holding them off (he removes his hat, looks at the guards cutely, and then attacks them when they stop and say "aww!") After Shrek and Fiona get back together, and the king turns back to a frog, Donkey finds out he has become a dad. Due to the hatred that has developed, Puss decides to be Donkey's friend.
Shrek Forever After
In the fourth film, Puss is seen as a regular guest at Shrek's home, eating dinner with Shrek's family and telling the children of the tale of how Shrek met Fiona. He is not properly seen again until Shrek has entered the alternate reality made by Rumpelstiltskin. Here, he has retired from swordsmanship and has become obese and shiftless, and Fiona's pet as well. He befriends Shrek when he realizes there was a spark of romantic interest between Shrek and Fiona. Puss takes part in the ambush on Rumplestiltskin's ogre hunt, but Fiona's army of ogres are captured by the Pied Piper. Puss and Donkey rescue Shrek and Fiona from the Piper, but Fiona leaves in anger when she thought Puss told Shrek everything about her.Puss and Donkey later lead the ogres in the battle against Rumpelstiltskin's forces, and helps save Shrek and Fiona from Dragon. Puss eventually disappears with everything else when Fiona's curse is broken and reality is restored. In the real world, Puss celebrates the ogre babies' first birthday with everyone else.
Puss in Boots
He starred in the film "Puss in Boots" (2011), which also revealed Puss's beginnings. He was abandoned as a kitten in a basket, which somehow found its way to the doorstep of an orphanage in a town called San Ricardo. He was taken in by the head of the orphanage, Imelda, who became his foster mother.He befriended a young Humpty Alexander Dumpty, who gave him his name Puss, and they became brothers in heart with a dream: To find the Magic Beans so they may find the Giant's Castle and get the Golden Eggs of the Golden Goose, setting themselves up for life. Throughout their childhood, Puss and Humpty got in and out of trouble, stealing various beans in their search for the magic beans until one day, Puss saved the mother of the captain of the guard from a bull, and regarded as a hero when Imelda gave him a pair of boots to wear with pride.
This event, however, drove a wedge between Puss and Humpty as Puss didn't want to steal anymore while Humpty continued and thought Puss was breaking their promise. One night, Humpty tricked Puss into helping him rob the San Ricardo bank. Chased by the guards, they passed the orphanage and seen by Imelda, who was heartbroken to see, from her perspective, her son, Puss, having returned to his thieving ways.
The chase ended at a bridge where the money fell over the bridge and was lost, and Humpty fell and couldn't get back up as he begged Puss to help him. Angry that Humpty had tricked him and branded him an outlaw, Puss told him to help himself, left him to the guards and fled San Ricardo.
Over the next seven years, Puss became a swashbuckling hero but wanted by the law, as he searched for a way to clear his name and repay the stolen money, when he found himself at a bar where he heard of two murderous outlaws, Jack & Jill, in possession of the magic beans he had long sought. He broke into their hotel room, set on the stealing the beans but so did a masked cat with the same intention, causing them to get caught and run out. Puss chased after the masked cat back to a bar with a bunch of other cats, where they both have a dance fight and a sword fight, ending with Puss smacking her over the head with a guitar, which upsets the cat so much that she rips her mask off and reveals to a surprised Puss that she is in fact a woman. Puss then reunites with Humpty Dumpty who also introduces her as Kitty Softpaws, named because she can take things without anyone even noticing they are gone (as she does frequently with Puss's hat, boots, and money simply to tease him) and asks him to join them in finding the beans, planting them, and getting the golden eggs which lie at the top. Puss immediately refuses, and even after Kitty tries to woo him into going with them, he denies, and then tells her his history with Humpty and how everything went wrong.
After Humpty, who had followed the two, explains to Puss that he wants a second chance, Puss agrees to help him find the beans/golden eggs, making it clear that he is doing it for the town and his mother who adopted him, not for Humpty. The three of them set off to find Jack and Jill, finally seeing them coming towards them, hiding in a canyon type place in the desert. Kitty jumps onto their cart which is pulled by warthogs, followed by Puss, while Humpty readies their getaway vehicle. Puss lowers Kitty into the back of the cart, who struggles to open the box the beans are held in (which is around Jack's hand), with Puss urging her to use her claws. She finally admits to him that she has no claws, which wakes up one of the baby pigs sleeping in the back. Puss drops in beside her and opens the box with his claws as Kitty quiets the baby pig, giving him to Puss as she uses her paws to get the beans from Jack's hand, giving them to Puss. Just as they are about to leave, Puss accidentally backs up and steps on two pigs' tails, alerting Jack and Jill, who drop into the bottom where they are. They manage to get outside, jam the levers to force their seats to stay up, and tie up their heads, signaling Humpty to get their own cart beside the one they're on now. Kitty jumps onto the cart, but Jill headbutts Puss before he can, briefly knocking him out and causing him to drop the beans, which bounce around the top of the cart, almost falling off. Puss gets them back while fighting Jill, who somehow escaped, but she grabs him and dangles him over the edge of the cart and the canyon, about to drop him. Humpty rams the side of their cart and Puss lands back in their cart, and they get away. Kitty explains to Puss, as they are riding in the cart, that her adoptive owners got her claws removed for an unknown reason.
They make it to the perfect spot to plant them, being directed in the right way by Humpty, and plant the beans in a bare, sandy area, right as a storm cloud comes overhead, and a giant funnel of green-lit clouds and wind comes spinning down the place they planted the beans, cracking the sand, then suddenly disappearing, leaving only a small weed where the beans are buried. Kitty suggests Humpty talk to it, which he does, but barely gets a few words out before a giant beanstalk shoots up out of the ground, taking them with it, higher and higher into the clouds before it finally stops. The three got off and surprisingly are able to stand and walk on the clouds without difficulty, although their voices grow higher due to the thin air (their voices return to normal in the normal air pressure of the castle.) They see a castle type building and they enter it, not having to fear the giant, as Humpty says it's been dead for years; although, there is a beast in the castle, which if gazed upon, allegedly turns the gazer to stone. They cross the water far below and get to the island. With only a small run-in with whatever the beast is, they find the golden eggs and a gosling that lays them. They take the gosling because the eggs are far too heavy and make it to the edge of the island before the rope they used to get across is broken, and they fall down into the canyon, the beast not far behind. As they are trying to get away, Kitty falls into the water, unable to pull herself back onto the branch due to her not having claws, but she is saved by Puss. They escape and get back down to the ground, cutting the beanstalk down and rejoicing over getting the golden goose. They briefly dance, and Humpty pulls Kitty aside to tell her to not lose focus, obviously talking about her falling in love with Puss. Kitty leaves to get rest, and Humpty and Puss lay outside with the goose. Puss tells Humpty he is glad to have his brother back, and Humpty goes to sleep with the goose lying on top of him. Meanwhile, Jack and Jill suddenly come up behind Puss and knock him unconscious.
When Puss awakens, he is lying in the desert surrounded by birds, which he shoos away. He finds footprints and wagon tracks around him, and he follows them to the town he was adopted in. He sees a shadow of Humpty being held by Jack and Jill, and he follows them to save him, only to find them laughing and celebrating. Humpty explains to him how the only thing he wanted against Puss was revenge, and everyone had been working for him, even Jack and Jill. Puss doesn't fight against arrest (told not to by his adoptive mother) and sees Kitty as he is being led away in a carrier, knowing she has betrayed him. While in jail, he finds the Jack who had the beans first in the same cell, and he tells Puss that the beast is in fact the gosling's mother and will destroy the town trying to get her baby back. Puss escapes using his adorably big eyes to practically hypnotize the guard, and Kitty comes back to do the rest. She helps Puss escape, and he goes to find Humpty. Puss tells him that the mother is going to come back for her baby, and Humpty finally agrees to help save the town. They lead the mother goose to the bridge, which breaks under her weight, and Puss has to hold onto a rope that Humpty is holding onto to be sure he doesn't fall into the wreckage. The gosling was also caught by a rope, but it is breaking, and Humpty lets go of his rope, so Puss can save the baby to make sure the mother does not destroy the whole town. He does save her, and later finds Humpty has been turned into a golden egg, which the mother takes and flies back to the castle.
Puss and Kitty get away from the guards still, and Kitty says she will see him again soon, showing that she has taken his boots. During the first half of the credits, it shows Humpty once again in his regular egg form riding the goose in the clouds, and Puss and Kitty finally kiss.
Shrek the Halls
In this ChristmasChristmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
television special
Television special
A television special is a television program which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Sometimes, however, the term is given to a telecast of a theatrical film, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Ten Commandments, which is not part of a regular...
, Puss tells the story of Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
as a smooth Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
cat similar to himself. He is distracted from telling the tale when he sees the white ball from the top of his Santa hat and begins batting at it. When he realizes what he is doing, he walks away, muttering, "I have shamed myself". Later, when Shrek explains that he never celebrated Christmas before and wants it to come out right, Puss tells his friend, "Christmas just comes."
Scared Shrekless
In this 2010 HalloweenHalloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
television special
Television special
A television special is a television program which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Sometimes, however, the term is given to a telecast of a theatrical film, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Ten Commandments, which is not part of a regular...
, Puss and Donkey share the job of telling a scary story that spoofs the Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
movie Psycho, but they end-up fighting in the end.
Personality
Despite his small size, Puss is a capable fighter even when outnumbered against much larger opponents. He is skilled with a sword and often practically dances around his enemies who can't keep up with him. One of his defenses is using his cute nature by staring up at his foes with an innocent, wide-eyed expression, which softens his foes' hearts. In Shrek 2, he does this twice; while in the woods; trying to persuade Shrek to let him travel with him and Donkey, and in the castle of Far Far Away, while fighting the castle guards. He tried this technique twice in Shrek the Third, both times unsuccessful. The first time, he stands outside the window of Shrek's room but Shrek simply closed the curtains on him. Later, he tried this in Donkey's body, but the effect was spoiled by Donkey's crooked teeth which disgusted his enemies who promptly tried to kill him, to which Artie saved his life. In Shrek Forever AfterShrek Forever After
Shrek Forever After, taglined as The Final Chapter, is a 2010 animated fantasy-comedy film, and the fourth and final installment in the Shrek film series, produced by DreamWorks Animation. The film was released by Paramount Pictures in cinemas on May 20, 2010 in Russia, and on May 21 in the United...
he does this to Donkey, while he is trying to clean himself. Due to the fact that he is an obese cat now, he couldn't reach the spot he was trying to clean and saw that Donkey was doing what he usually did. He asks Donkey if he could "borrow his tongue" and at first, Donkey says no, but once he does his technique, Donkey agrees, but isn't able to because it is interrupted. Puss is also seen as having a rougish charm and womanizing attributes towards female cats; he immediately begins to flirt with other cats after claiming one is the 'love of his life', even saying to one "I don't know you, but I'd like to."
Inspiration
In the beginning, when Banderas first got the role, they told him that the character was thought to be French, kind of a D'artagnanD'Artagnan
Charles Ogier de Batz de Castelmore, Comte d'Artagnan served Louis XIV as captain of the Musketeers of the Guard and died at the Siege of Maastricht in the Franco-Dutch War. A fictionalized account of his life by Gatien de Courtilz de Sandras formed the basis for the d'Artagnan Romances of...
from Three Musketeers, but with Banderas' accent, Puss became Zorro. Puss's characteristics are heavily influenced by Zorro
Zorro
Zorro is a fictional character created in 1919 by New York-based pulp writer Johnston McCulley. The character has been featured in numerous books, films, television series, and other media....
's (whom Banderas also portrayed in The Mask of Zorro
The Mask of Zorro
The Mask of Zorro is a 1998 American swashbuckler film based on the Zorro character created by Johnston McCulley. It was directed by Martin Campbell and stars Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Stuart Wilson...
and The Legend of Zorro
The Legend of Zorro
The Legend of Zorro is a 2005 sequel to The Mask of Zorro , both directed by Martin Campbell. Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones reprise their roles as the titular hero and his spouse, and Rufus Sewell stars as the villain...
) fighting style, Spanish accent and personality. While attacking Shrek, he used his sword to scratch up a P, a parody of Zorro's trademark move. In Shrek the Third, Donkey, while in Puss' body, scratches a D instead.
His hat is known as a Cavalier hat
Cavalier hat
A cavalier hat is a wide-brimmed hat trimmed with an ostrich plume. Cavalier hats get their name from supporters of King Charles I during the English Civil War, known as cavaliers. Besides just fashionable hats, cavaliers also wore extravagant clothing....
.
In theater
Puss in Boots makes a silent cameo in the BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
show Shrek the Musical, during the number "Travel Song", in which Donkey says, "Hey, look, a cat that's wearing boots, that's crazy!". Puss tips his hat to Shrek and Donkey and walks off. He is one of the many puppets seen in the song.