October 24th, 2011 by Stinkhead
This Saturday I took the fam to an advance screening of Puss in Boots 3D (IMAX) and thought it was great. Click below to read how it was great for little kids (my son is 4) and adults without compromising.
I’m not sure if you’re aware, but I’m not a big fan of the Shrek franchise. I’m a Pixar junkie, and brand loyal to the end. I eventually warmed up to other studios, because they actually started putting some effort into their story telling (why is that so hard?). I thought Kung Fu Panda was spectacular, and I can’t recommend Monster House enough right now. Wonderful movie, how did it fall below the radar? Anyway, I thought the Shrek movies played too much to all-too-current pop culture references that won’t be funny in 5 years for the parents in the audience, and too many potty jokes for the kids. Cap that off with an empty feel-good music montage at the end so you walk out of the theater feeling great, but you don’t know why.
Puss in Boots first of all, has an excellent stand alone story. You don’t need any knowledge of the Shrek universe to enjoy this movie. It had a little bit of morality and character development, but they didn’t hit you over the head with it. Another nice touch was that there were no overly scary or gut punching emotional scenes. I love Toy Story 3, absolutely perfect movie, but I am not ready to inflict that amount of heart-string pulling on my kid all at once. We’ll start with something a little lighter, and more pleasant like Dumbo. Yikes. Anyway, I agree that kids can be scared and sad sometimes, but this movie kept everything at very acceptable doses. BUT, it’s not just a kiddie coaster, the 7-10 year olds in the audience were loving it too. There are tons of action scenes, and plenty of jokes and ridiculous imagery throughout.
So the subject matter is appropriate and entertaining for 4 year olds up to parents, but is it worth the 3D treatment? I’ve seen my share of 3D movies over the last few years from the fantastic to the ridiculous. What I liked in particular with Puss in Boots was that the 3D was used appropriately. The movie would work in 2D just fine, but the 3D gave it a great edge to make it worth going to the theater.
This was the first time we took my son to a 3D movie. He had only been to a movie theater 3 or 4 times before and like I said he is only four years old, so we were easing him into the experience. But he did great, he wore his glasses the entire time and didn’t complain.
If you like CGI movies, or 3D movies, this one is a lot of fun and doesn’t pander too much. My favorite part was during all the cat fighting, there is plenty of dialogue from Banderas and Hayek, but they liberally throw in real cat noises. Hilarious.
There is a free Puss in Boots app for your smart phone. We were having fun with the Pose with Puss app. Works great.
Check out tickets for Puss in Boots on Fandango.
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Posted in 3&up, Movies, review | Comments Off on Puss in Boots 3D review
