Puss in Boots: The Last Wish tells the story of the warrior Puss from the Shrek franchise and his eventual battle with the villainous embodiment of Death, one of the best villains in modern history. Released in 2022, The Last Wish was the second Shrek spinoff about Puss in Boots, and it was a huge jump in quality from the first movie. When all is said and done, it might be the best movie in the entire Shrek franchise, and much of it has to do with the villain in the film, which is Death himself.
In Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, there are several villains, but the main one is The Big Bad Wolf. However, it turns out later in the movie that the Wolf is actually Death, which makes sense, especially as the film reveals more about the long-lasting fairy-tale villain. However, what makes him most interesting, outside the amazing animation and fantastic voice performance, is the idea that Death really isn’t a real bad guy like fans see in most animated movies, and this makes him one of the movie world’s greatest creations.
The Wolf Being Revealed As Death Is Brilliant
No One Is More Feared In Fairy Tales Than The Big Bad Wolf
While some people debate if The Big Bad Wolf really is Death, the character openly says it when he literally reveals that he is the one true embodiment of death. Of course, while some people argue the Wolf is just saying that, there is a lot of evidence throughout the film that proves that he is telling the truth. For one thing, Death being the Wolf makes sense because, in fairy tales, what the characters fear the most is The Big Bad Wolf.
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There were also visual clues throughout the movie. The Wolf was there when Puss in Boots fought the giant. He was also in the corner of each of the death cards depicting Puss’ various deaths. There was also the moment in the movie with the force field that killed one of the Baker’s Dozen and almost killed Baby Bear. Wolf walked through it, and it had no effect on him at all. Finally, the map to the wishing star in Puss in Boots showed the bears, Jack, and more, but Wolf never appeared on that map.
The Big Bad Wolf would be the creature the characters fear the most.
In the end, it is a brilliant choice to make The Big Bad Wolf the actual embodiment of death. On top of the idea that The Big Bad Wolf would be the creature the characters fear the most, it is also important to compare this being with Puss in Boots, who arrogantly mocked death throughout his life. There is no better choice to be his greatest nemesis.
The Animation Style Of The Wolf Is The Best In The Franchise
DreamWorks Used The Groundbreaking 2.5D Animation
Puss in Boots did a lot with the animation style, and it stands out from any other movie in the Shrek franchise. When the first Shrek came out, fans praised the film for its animation. While it still stands up to this day, other movies copied so much that it isn’t inventive for newer fans like it was over 20 years ago. With releases like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and The Bad Guys delivering new animation that has rocked the movie world, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish chose to use this innovative new style.
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The animators used hand-drawn techniques in the opening and made it look like a fairy tale dropped onto the big screen. However, as Puss realized he was on his last life, the film changed animation. The technique for Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is called 2.5D animation. This was the same style that Into the Spider-Verse used, and it worked brilliantly for this movie. With Wolf created with the new animation style, he not only delivered an astonishing performance, but looked great doing so.
Wagner Moura’s Voice Acting Added So Much To The Character
Wagner Moura Also Played Pablo Escobar In Narcos
While the animation design of the Wolf was fantastic and his portrayal of Death was brilliant, voice actor Wagner Moura made it all even better. Most fans know Moura as Pablo Escobar from Narcos, and that gives him voicing Wolf an even darker meaning. However, there was more to Wolf than his evil undertones. He gave Death a great deal of personality and made him stand out as one of the most memorable animated villains in years.
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It could have been easy for Wolf to just sound menacing, but Moura did more than that. The Big Bad Wolf wasn’t a generic evil bad guy. He was equal parts charismatic and sarcastic, and everything he said was menacing, threatening, and unnerving. What could have been a generic villain ended up as a fantastic character that more than matched up with Puss in Boots.
The Wolf Inspired The Villains In 2025’s Sinners
Ryan Coogler Based Remmick On Wolf
It might seem shocking, but Puss in Boots: The Last Wish inspired Ryan Coogler when he created Sinners. The two movies couldn’t be any more different. In Sinners, a pair of brothers in the Jim Crow South moved back home to open a dance hall, but they found themselves in danger. It wasn’t the racist Klansmen that the brothers had to fight. It was a vampire who showed up in town and wanted to turn everyone into vampires, targeting the opening night of the brother’s joint.
It turns out that Coogler is a fan of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and he based his vampire villain on Wolf. Remmick in Sinners and Death in Puss in Boots both have red eyes, they have a casual demeanor, while remaining deadly, and have a lot more motivation than just being villains. Death is tired of Puss mocking him. Remmick wants to turn everyone to create a sense of community without racism. Coogler morphed much of this into Remmick’s character.
“So I talk about influences in this movie. In Sinners, that’s a massive one I love. Think about the villain [Death]. Think about his defining features [the eyes], think about his demeanor.”
Puss In Boots’ Final Confrontation With The Wolf Is Perfect
The Fight Subverted Expectations With Its Ending
What really worked in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish was how the final battle between Puss in Boots and Death went. Just as Puss, the three bears, and Jack Horner were all at the Wishing Star, and prepared to decide who gets the last wish, Death showed up and challenged Puss to a fight. This is where the movie proved smarter than an average animated film. Instead of a giant fight to the death, the final confrontation ended up as a draw.
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This was perfect. The movie was already subverting viewers’ expectations, and this was another way that it could deliver a surprisingly great story that never did what people expected. Death gave Puss his sword back to have a final battle, where Puss would put his final ninth life on the line. However, Puss was changed by this time. He saw his friends and realized he wasn’t just fighting for his own pride anymore. The two began to battle.
Puss admits he can never completely defeat Death.
Puss in Boots gains the advantage in this battle by disarming Wolf, and then he makes a shocking decision. Puss admits he can never completely defeat Death, and he just wants to keep the Wolf at bay so he can finally enjoy his last life instead of mocking death without a car in the world. Death stands there shocked and realizes Puss has changed. Knowing that Puss would actually live his last life with appreciation, he agreed to leave, saying he would be back when Puss’ time really comes to an end.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is a movie about facing mortality and knowing that a person should enjoy life and respect it, because they won’t have it forever. Puss ended the fight by finally admitting that he was wrong and understanding he needed to appreciate everything in his life, which is all Death wanted in the end. While Wolf was a great nemesis, he was not evil, making him one of the best villains in animation history.
