Representation in Puss In Boots 2: The Last Wish

 

Puss In Boots 2: The Last Wish represents themes of anxiety, mortality, and love

throughout its runtime. The premise of Puss In Boots 2 is that as a cat, the main

character (Puss) has utilized 8 of his 9 lives, yet he still acts carelessly and

parades around as a daredevil vigilante, taking on danger wherever he goes.

The conflict begins when Puss comes across a bounty hunter who is a wolf

that he can’t beat effortlessly, as the hunter even draws blood from him.

This causes Puss to feel fear, as for the first time in his life, he genuinely

might not be able to bounce back.

(The red background when Puss is cut sharply contrasts the cool colors of the bar this fight took

place in, emphasizing how monumental this blow is to Puss.)

Throughout the course of the movie, Puss is constantly chased by this bounty hunter, as they constantly

taunt and terrorize Puss, holding the fact that he’ll never stop hunting him over his head. This perfectly

contrasts mortality in the real world, as death is inevitable, and there is zero escaping it. As a character,

Puss has never had to deal with this problem due to his many lives, so death being portrayed as an

unstoppable wolf that follows Puss wherever he goes is an accurate representation of death.

The film later reveals that this wolf is the personification of death, confirming that Puss is quite literally

trying to escape his own demise.

 

The wolf taunts Puss throughout the movie with a reoccurring leitmotif in the form of a whistle to constantly remind Puss that "death" is coming for him.

The wolf or Death strikes fear into Puss, as he worries that this is a foe that he can’t defeat.

In the film, this is demonstrated when Puss’s hair stands up as a result of Death taunting him with his

whistle. Puss’s anxiety is put on full display when he has a panic attack, as he feels as though the legend

of “Puss in Boots” ensures that he shouldn’t feel afraid as Puss in Boots laughs in the face of death, yet

he is still afraid. In the panic attack scene, no words are said as Puss simply collapses at the trunk of a

tree and hyperventilates, until his friends calm him down. This representation shows how everyone can

succumb to fear and anxiety, even a character who is never supposed to feel fear, like Puss

(There is a droning heartbeat sound effect over this scene to further emphasize the situation Puss is in.)

Alongside his fear of death, Puss struggles to reconnect with his past lover, Kitty Softpaws, who he left

at the altar during their wedding. This was another act done out of fear, as Puss felt as though the

“legend” is always alone, and got scared of the future he and Kitty would have together. Not only

does this tie in with the main theme of fear, but it also represents love and forgiveness, as Puss

genuinely apologizes for the pain he caused Kitty, and they end up with a stronger relationship

at the end of the movie as a result of this. This parallels modern society, as people can make

mistakes out of fear yet still atone and become better as a result.