Puss in Boots

Shrek's feline philanderer finally gets his own starring vehicle with the eponymous Puss In Boots which sees the titular hero meet a swathe of fellow fairytale characters and a rather Batgirl-esque love interest on a quest to redeem himself and his good name in this prequel to the Shrek franchise.

The story sees Puss on a mission to relieve Jack and Jill (of "the hill" fame) of the magic beans they have stolen in order to grow the famous fairytale beanstalk and retrieve the goose that laid the golden egg so that he can return to the village where he grew up, repay the debt he owes, clear his name and finally live the classic "happily ever after". Only things don't go according to plan, for one Jack and Jill aren't so much fairytale as they are nightmare, plus Puss' perfect heist is hobbled by Kitty Softpaws, a sultry thief with a (super) heroic choice of costume, who it turns out is working with Puss' childhood friend and former cohort, one Humpty Alexander Dumpty...

Voiced once again by Antonio Banderas, Puss once again has a lot more in common with Bandera's other famous role of Zorro than the original French character Le Chat Botté - the same swashbuckling bravado as the legendary swordsman, tempered this time only by his cat-like tendencies and an inability to refrain from chasing "tail". Banderas is joined by his Desperado co-star Salma Hayek as the foxy feline thief Kitty and everyone's favourite funnyman Zach Galifianakis as Humpty. Together the trio blaze up the screen with some of the wittiest banter outside of a comedy club thanks to a script that plays to both children and adults - throwing in the odd adults-only joke (which will no doubt sail over the heads of the children in the audience) to make this a true family viewing experience.

The story and script are in fact the real strong points of Puss In Boots, not only is the film funny, it also has a grandiose scale and a real epic sense of adventure that is more than matched by fantastic characters, richly detailed CG animation and a great use of 3D (the best in an animated movie since Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs). Of the rest of the voice cast it Billy Bob Thornton who has the most impact as hardened criminal Jack, a real brute of a man who longs to give up the life of crime and settle down with Jill and a couple of children.

Expecting something purr-fectly mediocre I was instead surprised to find that far from being a cheap spin-off of Shrek, Puss In Boots is instead much more than the film that spawned it and puts the adventure back into "fairytale adventure". With set pieces that both stun and delight - the dance fight is a particular highlight - and some of the best 3D I've seen on the big screen for over a year, Puss in Boots is the closest Dreamworks has ever come to matching Pixar.

In a word. Unmissable.

Puss In Boots is released in the UK on December 9th 2011.