Everyone’s favorite leche-loving, swashbuckling, fear-defying feline, Puss in Boots, returns in a new adventure from the Shrek universe as the daring outlaw discovers that his passion for adventure and heroic missions have taken their toll. Puss has burned through eight of his nine lives, though he lost count along the way. Getting those lives back will send Puss in Boots into the Black Forest to find the mythical Wishing Star on his grandest quest yet. With only one life left, Puss is forced to humble himself and ask for help from his former partner and nemesis: Kitty Softpaws. They are joined in their journey by a chatty and cheerful mutt named Perrito. Together, our trio of heroes will need to stay one step ahead of the fairy tale realm’s craftiest crooks including Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

For in-depth thoughts on Puss In Boots: The Last Wish, please see my colleague Andrew Fukui’s review from its original theatrical release here.

Video Quality

Puss In Boots: The Last Wish comes to 4K UHD Blu-Ray with an awe-inspiring 2160p Dolby Vision transfer. The colors present in this transfer are practically burning a hole through the screen with the wide range of hues permeating every inch of the frame in HDR. These colors are more than just bright and shiny, but they are presented with a greater bit of nuance in shading. The textures of the character designs and the environments are extremely impressive and give the film a real sense of depth.

One of the areas where the sequel improves on the original film is the fluidity of the character designs. All of the individual strands of hair on Puss are unique and billowing in a subtly more natural way that shifts along his journey. The level of detail these animators put into each environment along with the unique animation style shines through here. Black levels are incredibly strong with no hint of compression artifacts or digital anomalies of the sort. To say this is anything less than perfection would be ridiculous as Universal has knocked it out of the park.

Audio Quality

This 4K UHD Blu-Ray utilizes a Dolby Atmos track that gives this lively film a real sense of power. There is an emphasis on the front channels for a good portion of the dialogue, but activity kicks in to the surrounds and rears during the more kinetic and action-oriented bits. The film satisfies when it comes to the music from the opening song, and this track pumps the sound straight through your body in a really satisfying, enveloping way. Dialogue is crisp and clear without ever getting lost amongst the music or sound effects. The low end effects from the subwoofer give many moments that much-needed extra weight to completely wow the audience. Atmospheric sound effects are rendered appropriately within the mix so that directionality is never an issue. This is a track that you might be surprised to learn might just bring the house down. There are optional English SDH, Spanish and French subtitles provided.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Director Joel Crawford, Co-Director Januel Mercado, Producer Mark Swift, Editor James Ryan and Head of Story Heidi Jo Gilbert provide a fun and informative track in which they detail some of the behind-the-scenes aspects of production, developing the story after so long away from the character, the hidden easter eggs and foreshadowing throughout, the animation style from film to film, and many more worthwhile insights that are worth checking out for fans.

The Trident: A new four-minute short in which Puss recounts one of his most notable deaths during the course (well, not really) of a daring heist. There are some solid laughs in here.

Deleted Scenes: Eight minutes of unused material comprising three scenes are included here with intros from director Joel Crawfrod and Co-Director Januel Mercado. There are some fun moments shown through mostly rough animatics featuring Puss and Kitty having conversation with Perrito during an awkward moment, a montage that reveals the rules of the forest and more.

A Cast Of Characters: A look at the talented cast and the characters they portray in the story. This piece highlights what each performer brings to their characters, how they are similar to their characters, what they have gained from the experience and more.

- Puss In Boots (2:10)

- Kitty Softpaws (1:56)

- Perrito (1:59)

- Goldilocks and the Bears (3:34)

- Jack Horner (1:58)

- Wolf (1:45)

In The Beginning: A nine-minute featurette in which the cast and creative team discuss the respect they have for this universe, bringing new stakes to the character and more.

Jack Horner’s Line-O-Rama: A two-minute compilation of hilarious alternate lines from John Mulaney during recording.

“Fearless Hero” Lyric Video: A three-minute music video is provided here.

How to Draw The Purrfect Pawtrait: Director Joel Crawfrod and Co-Director Januel Mercado provide a 12-minute tutorial on how to draw some of your favorite characters from the film including Puss In Boots, Kitty Softpaws and Perrito.

How To Make A Paper Perrito: A seven-minute video that guides you through how to make your own paper Perrito. This would be a fun activity for kids.

Kitty Cam: A nearly 15-minute video of kitties playing with clips from the movie interspersed.

Final Thoughts

Puss In Boots: The Last Wish is the rare sequel which leaves the original film in the dust. The first solo film with this character was fine, but there was nothing about it that felt like the story needed to be told outside of just knowing that audiences would spend their money on it. With this follow-up, the narrative is tackling themes with the maturity level appropriate for the age of the franchise. The film brings greater depths to its titular character while both honoring what came before and introducing a world of wonder. Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has released a new 4K UHD Blu-Ray with a perfect A/V presentation and a nice assortment of special features. This is one of the best family films of the year. Recommended

Puss In Boots: The Last Wish is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.