By: Miguel Ernesto Yusty

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is a film released in December 2022 that became the highest-grossing animated film of that year. In addition to a script geared towards comedy and adventure, the film is surprising because, although computer-generated, its aesthetic is closer to painting than to most digitally created images. The actor who voices Puss in Boots is Antonio Banderas, who has been portraying the character since the Shrek films. This further solidifies Banderas's position as Hollywood's go-to actor for bringing to life vigilantes who rely on their cunning as their primary weapon.

The origins of the 2022 Cat in the Hat lie in the character of Zorro, created for literature in 1919 as a defender of the downtrodden in Northern California during the time of the Spanish Empire. Around 1998, Amblin Entertainment brought a version of the Zorro story to theaters, starring Banderas, achieving overwhelming box office success. This masked vigilante lives in the 1820s, is a skilled swordsman, but above all, he manages to outwit villains, making them look foolish thanks to his superior intelligence.

Puss in Boots is also a literary character, originally from France, who appears in the Shrek films. The green ogre, portrayed by Banderas, has a Spanish accent, and although he doesn't wear a mask like Zorro, he wields a sword and compensates for his lack of size with considerable cunning. The Spanish touch gives Puss a Quixotic air, so much so that the feline is now as Spanish as Antonio Banderas himself. Zorro, like Puss in Boots, is an icon of universal culture, and in the case of the latter, Banderas's excellent acting has given him new characteristics that enrich the character and appeal to wider audiences. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC0qux8MVLs