Kulture Korner: "Puss In Boots: The Last Wish" Review

By: Jungha Kwon, Staff Writer

Directed by: Joel Crawford Written by: Paul Fisher, Tommy Swerdlow

Starring: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Florence Pugh

THE KELLOGGIAN'S RATING: 5/5 Cereals

Source: Artstaion (illustrated by Quentin Marroule)

If someone asked me what kind of movie my MBA experience was like, I would say it was an adventure film. An MBA has all the elements that an adventure has—except, of course, for the fact that the main character is not a cool, attractive person who solves everything. Instead, it’s just me. Just like a movie, there are companions who join my journey, and there are goals to achieve. The road to the goal is always a series of hardships, and these hardships usually make me stronger. This is not a results-oriented story about whether the goal was achieved or not; the adventure is meaningful in and of itself. In that sense, this sort of movie is the perfect metaphor for the MBA journey. While it may not look very mature at first glance, I believe it's a masterpiece that shows the depth of life.

This second adventure of Puss in Boots, Shrek’s ally and friend, is not just a simple quest (the first installment was a rather simple and unimpressive adventure). The story follows the titular character, who has exhausted eight of his nine cat lives, as he sets out on an epic journey to regain his nine lives with only one life remaining. MBAs could learn from Puss: have a goal.

During his journey, Puss in Boots meets companions and villains, making the adventure even more exciting. Many of his companions actually didn’t start out that way. Instead, they’re enemies-turned-allies, eventually building trust and sharing their hearts. This can also resemble MBA life. Who could have known that the person you competed for that internships with, or that role in Special K!, would eventually become your closest friend?

And the most important thing in an action adventure is the existence of villains. In this movie, two villains appear, both chasing Puss in Boots and his party.  A life of being chased… I feel like I’ve seen this somewhere. MBA life is plagued with FOMO, never allowing its students to rest. More events than you can imagine, news of friends passing recruiting interviews, disappearing bank account balances, and asset prices soaring to all time highs. While the MBA villain may not take the form of an animated wolf, villains can be found everywhere: classmates who don’t pull their weight in group projects, recruiters who refuse to respond to your email, and the host of that one SGD you didn’t get a spot in.

One of the highly commendable aspects of the film is its artistry of its action scenes. The movie is a full 3D animation, but it partially uses cartoon rendering in the action sequences. Thanks to the effect of cartoon rendering, it was able to depict more dynamic movements and effectively utilize a variety of colors. As seen in the opening sequence and the final duel, the action scenes use various colors to create a more visually appealing mise-en-scène.

The film also has an outstanding sense of balance in its narrative progression. The movie comprises stories from various groups, not just Puss in Boots and his party. Among these groups, each has its own main characters, but the narratives of the main characters revolve around similar themes, maximizing the message of the film. Due to the

nature of commercial films, especially family animations with a set running time and prespecified language parameters, maintaining this balance while driving the narrative is not an easy task. It can only be achieved with well-structured scripts and direction.

It's also interesting to note that the layers of metaphors in the film are densely packed. At first glance, it looks like a normal adventure story about Puss in Boots. But within it, there are various reflections, including an examination of fear, true love for family and friends, and even discourse on death (more on this later). The boldness its direction and screenplay come together perfectly, making it impossible to dismiss this film as a mere family animation.

Originally, I left the movie thinking about its manifestation of existential reflection on death, but when I apply it to MBA life, I think it’s also largely about the fear of failure. Just as Puss in Boots uses his nine lives without thinking, people tend not to worry much about failure if they think they have many chances. In reality, while doing an MBA, it’s not that we only have one chance, but there is a limited time for recruiting and the school itself has a set period, so it’s hard to say there are unlimited opportunities. This setting makes the fear of failure even greater. In the movie, failure, which is represented by death, constantly chokes the protagonist. When there is an important battle, it makes him abandon his companions and run away, and it makes it hard for him to even hold a weapon. It’s as if the fear of failure constantly creates failure.

It turns out the answer is within us. Even if we don’t fail in the present, we must live with failure at some point. We can always fail, and living while recognizing its existence would be better than living with constant  anxiety. As many people say, failing is not necessarily a good thing—but it is clear that getting used to its existence and not trying to avoid it can garner better results than avoiding it. Just as Puss in Boots gains ultimate enlightenment from his adventure, I have gained a lot from the adventure called an MBA, especially when it comes to learning to live with the possibility of failure .

Since this is my final film review for The Kelloggian, I’ll admit that I wanted to reflect on my experience here, so there might have been some forced connections. But I do sincerely believe we can feel our lives at Kellogg in this movie. I hope the various big and small adventures that have now passed will flash by as you read this review. If someone asks me what MBA life was like, I’ll say this. “It was a time of enjoying an adventure. Just like Puss in Boots.” More Kulture Korner Articles by Jungha Kwon: "Good Boy" Review "Hamnet" Review Thunderbolts* Review "The Materialists" Review "Mission Impossible" Review "Piece by Piece" Review"