This article contains major spoilers for Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.One of the biggest cinematic sleeper hits of 2022 was without a doubt Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. Despite coming out over a decade after the previous film, the latest entry in the Shrek franchise immediately made a splash upon release thanks to its vibrant animation, stylish visuals, and memorable, well-written cast of characters.
However, out of all the characters in the film, arguably the most impactful of all are the movie’s villains. There’s a veritable rogues’ gallery of antagonists to be found, and all of them manage to be unique and striking in their own individual ways. In fact, the villains of The Last Wish work so well that they’re arguably the greatest bad guys that any animated film has had in years.
Don’t Fear the Reaper
Whenever anyone talks about The Last Wish, there’s a good chance that the first thing they’ll bring up is the film’s main antagonist: the mysterious wolf voiced by Wagner Moura, who is eventually revealed to be none other than Death himself. From his very first scene, it’s clear that Death is a special kind of villain — he’s menacing and ruthless, yet charismatic and casual in his demeanor. He’s the kind of bad guy who can be funny one moment and terrifying the next, thanks to a perfect combination of top-notch acting, writing, and animation. Not only is he a blast to watch, he’s also dangerous enough to make the seemingly unbeatable Puss in Boots petrified with fear, effortlessly trouncing our intrepid hero.
Throughout the film, the looming presence of Death continues to haunt Puss, always seeming to be one step behind him wherever he goes. Once his true identity is revealed, Death explains exactly why he’s so intent on claiming Puss’ last life: he’s watched Puss carelessly throw away all of his previous lives, and he’s had enough. Enraged by Puss’ devil-may-care treatment of his own life, Death intends to personally kill Puss for good before he gets the chance to restart the cycle all over again using the wishing star. It’s a perfect motivation — not only does it organically tie into Puss’ character arc and the central themes of the story, it also fleshes out Death as a character.
Death may be cold and vicious, but he’s not evil for evil’s sake. He’s noble in his own way, with his own code that drives his actions, and the audience is capable of understanding and even sympathizing with his point of view. And ultimately, when Puss rejects the wish in favor of valuing the life he has left, Death leaves peacefully out of respect for his rival. In a sense, he even ends up getting what he wants. From his design to his fight scenes to his performance to his characterization, everything about Death just works. He’s the rare villain who manages to strike the perfect balance of intimidating and nuanced, and even a little funny at times. It’s no wonder that he seems to be the most popular character among fans of the movie.
A Fistful of Magic
But while Death may be the film’s main antagonist, he isn’t the only one to be found. There’s also Goldilocks (Florence Pugh) and the Three Bears: Mama Bear (Olivia Colman), Papa Bear (Ray Winstone), and Baby Bear (Samson Kayo). In classic Shrek fashion, these famous fairy tale characters are reimagined as a deadly crime family. With their cockney accents and constant bickering, they wouldn’t feel out of place in a Guy Ritchie movie — aside from being cartoon bears, anyway. That premise alone is a strong enough gag to justify their presence in the film, but the writers didn’t stop there. There’s an entire subplot revolving around Goldilocks’ insecurities over being an orphan, without a human family to call her own. But in the end, she comes to embrace the bears as her found family. It’s rare to see a group of antagonists in any movie with their own character arc, let alone such a touching one.
However, there’s one more villain in the film, who’s everything Goldilocks and the Three Bears aren’t. Comedian John Mulaney lends his voice to Big Jack Horner, a megalomaniacal crime lord who’s as hilarious as he is reprehensible. Unlike the rest of the movie’s antagonists, Horner isn’t nuanced or humanized, and he has no sympathetic motivation. He’s a cruel, petty man driven by nothing more than envy, greed, and spite. And as it happens, he realizes this. In one particularly fun subplot, Horner butts heads with a Jimmy Stewart-esque Jiminy Cricket stand-in, gleefully rebuffing the bug’s attempts to appeal to his better nature. Horner has no better nature, and he revels in it. Complex, humanized villains are often the best kind, but sometimes it’s fun to have a bad guy who just loves being bad.
Most movies are lucky to have one memorable antagonist. As such, it’s all the more impressive that Puss in Boots: The Last Wish manages to have three — or six, if you count the Three Bears. All the film’s villains are unique in their designs, motives, and personalities, running the gamut from sympathetic to loathsome. They all have their own distinct role to play in the story, and manage to avoid feeling underdeveloped without overcrowding the narrative. Bringing so many brilliant bad guys to life is a true feat of skill from the cast and crew of the film. Thanks to them, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish has given us some of the greatest animated movie villains in recent memory.