Le chat botté

"Puss In Boots" was the last of the Cannon Movie Tales produced. Another attempt to elongate a basically simple story, it is graced with a lively performance from Christopher Walken (who still thinks highly of it) as Puss, a straightforward performance from Jason (son of Sean) Connery as the miller's son, and a charming one from Carmela Marner (one of the sisters in Cannon's "Beauty And The Beast") as the princess. Physically, the film looks fine, and the photography is good. The songs, however, go in one ear and out the other, and merely stretch the running time more than necessary. Not one of the better movie tales, but not the worst, either.

Although this was obviously a low-budget production, the performances and the songs in this movie are worth seeing. One of Walken's few musical roles to date. (he is a marvelous dancer and singer and he demonstrates his acrobatic skills as well - watch for the cartwheel!) Also starring Jason Connery. A great children's story and very likable characters.

This is one of my personal favorite Cannon Movietales because, believe it or not, it's full of great performances. Christopher Walken is a great actor, and who knew he did children's movies? Jason Connery (yes, Sean's son) does a great job too, although he does have a habbit to look a little embarrassed that he's in this. Carmela Marner is lovely as the princess and is (I believe) related to the director Eugene Marner. My rating: **** out of *****

If you fast forward through the horrible singing, you will find a classic fairy tale underneath. Christopher Walken is very humorous and surprisingly good in the role. His trademark style of acting works well for the sly Puss in Boots. The other actors are well for their parts. I did not find any of the acting terribly fake or awkward. The king in particular appears a real dunce though, and I wonder if he is supposed to be. I can not remember the original tale. The special effects are typical of the eighties, but at least they are not overly fake like some of the computer generated fare that we see today. Overall, I recommend this movie for children and adults who are a child at heart.

When I was a kid I watched this many times over, and I remember whistling the "Happy Cat" song quite often. All the songs are great, and actually memorable, unlike many children's musicals, where the songs are just stuck in for no real reason. The scenes and costumes are lavish, and the acting is very well-done, which isn't surprising, considering the cast. Christopher Walken is very catlike, and doesn't need stupid make-up, or a cat costume for the viewer to believe he's a cat transformed to a human. And Jason Connery's so cute, as the shy and awkward miller's son, Corin, who falls in love with beautiful and the bold Princess Vera. This is a really fun, enjoyable, feature-length movie, where unlike most fairytales, the characters are given personalities. Some of my favourite parts are when Puss makes Corin pretend he's drowning; at the ball when everybody starts dancing a country dance, as it's "all the rage abroad"; when Walken is in the kitchen, dancing on the table (he's a pretty good dancer, too!); and when Vera tells Corin all the things she used to do when she was young, like pretending she was a miller's daughter. I'd recommend this film to children and parents alike, who love magic and fairytales. And it actually IS a movie you can watch together, as it won't drive adults up the wall.