Countries and cultures are always borrowing stories from each other. Disney took Mulan from China and Toei took this delightful title from the West. Enjoy the rambunctious feline action in:
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| Puss 'n Boots |
Background:
Released By: Discotek
Length: 120 minutes
Year of Production: 1969
Language: Sub and Dub, Dub Reviewed
Available on Netflix: Yes
When I was a child I had a talking clock named Grandpa Time who would read me stories at night and tell me when I needed to brush my teeth and go to bed. One of my favorite stories told by the anthropomorphic clock was the tale of Puss 'N Boots. This version was so popular that the cat, Pero, became the symbol of Toei Animation and still is to this day. Two sequels to this movie were released in Japan but never stateside. There was a video game for the NES released here based on the third movie in the franchise, but edited for American audiences.
This Week's Pet
Pero is the title character, the Puss in the Boots if you will. He has been rejected by his feline peers for his unwillingness to kill mice. Pero is generally goodhearted and seems to appreciate other kindly souls, going out of his way to help them with little motivation towards his own ends.
Unlike all of the versions of the story I had read previously, Pero has his clothes before meeting the main character and is not part of the inheritance at all. As in all variations of the story, Pero is a clever and cunning cat who uses his wits to prevail.
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| His whiskers twinkle when his is plotting |
Story:
The story opens with the Great Cat Council passing judgement on Pero for not killing mice. Since he refuses to kill them, the council sentences him to death. Much to their dismay, Pero escapes, so the council sends a trio of assassins after them, telling the assassins that they will be killed if they fail to murder Pero. Either way there will be blood.
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| The one time cats don't like string...... |
Pero dodges his assassins and takes cover from the rain outside a small country house. While glancing in the window he sees two young men feasting on food served by a small mousy boy. After the youngest leaves the other two discuss how to divide up the inheritance from their recently deceased father. The men, Daniel and Simon, decide their youngest sibling Pierre has no need for financial stability. Pero enters the kitchen to talk to Pierre who offers him shelter and food. Pierre is modest boy who knows his brothers are robbing and abusing him, but he really doesn't care. Pero tries to explain why Pierre should demand more, but before he can make his case the Cat Trio busts in and a fight breaks out.
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| They took occasional breaks to fix their swords |
During the fight Daniel and Simon are exposed stealing the last of Pierre's inheritance. Rather than apologize they kick him out with nothing but the clothes on his back and a ripped sack of potatoes. Pero offers to accompany Pierre and the two take off on an adventure together, singing Disney-style about friendship the whole way. The duo make their way to a castle town in which the King has posted a notice stating he will marry his daughter to the richest and bravest suitor to come forward.
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| Ye Olde Timey Craig's List: Single White Princess Seeking |
The princess's carriage passes by and Pierre fell in love at first sight. Pero declares that he will be sure the two get married despite Pierre's flustered objections. Pero sneaks into the castle during a meeting with the King, Princess Rosa and various suitors who show off their riches and dance skills. Pero watches the proceedings from inside a suit of armor. The proceeding are interrupted by a localized storm in the castle which blows everyone outside except Pero, Rosa, and the King. Then the Prince of Darkness Lucifer appears demanding the Princess's hand in marriage. He promises the King riches, prosperity and land as well as happiness for all his people. The King is willing, but Rosa refuses. Lucifer points out that the King promised Rosa to the richest suitor. No one has more money than Satan, and the King will be held to his word. Lucifer gives him three days to deliver the princess to his castle.
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| Lucifer makes it rain. Evil is the root of all money |
Pero reports all this to Pierre and explains all their problems will be solved if they can kill Lucifer. Pierre is unsure of all of this and feels self conscious about his ripped clothes and humble background. The despondent Princess Rosa sings a song about how the world all seems okay despite the fact her life is now effectively over. While Pero and Pierre are distracted by the song a gang of bandit mice try to steal their dinner. Pierre manages to catch the smallest mouse and the Cat Trio show up again, demanding Pero eat the mouse or face death. The Puss 'N Boots refuses and another fight takes place. Our feline hero wins of course and the mice pledge their loyalty to Pero and Pierre. As their first act of servitude, the mice promise to steal some fancy clothes for Pierre, coincidentally from Daniel and Simon.
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| They can't sew like the Cinderella mice |
Decked out in his new duds, Pierre attempts to woo the Princess with a little help from Pero. This goes a bit awry when the Trio appears, again, to fight. Their battle crosses through the entire castle, ending up in the King's chamber. Pero introduces himself to the King as the servant of the Prince of Carabas and assures his majesty that Pierre can kill Lucifer. The mice overhear the little lie and repeat the exchange to the princess, much to her delight. Pierre is less pleased about the lie and runs off. Pierre's brothers are also in town, trying to woo the princess with their meager inheritance. Pero pretends to be a guard in order to take the brothers' offerings and presents them to the King as gifts from the Prince of Carabas.
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| Nobody sees the Princess with Pero on patrol |
Pero then takes a trip to the countryside where he asks the farmers to tell the King their land belongs to the Prince of Carabas. The serfs don't see any reason to help Pero so he gives them a little incentive in the form of his Mice Army. Pero orders the mice to devour the crops and prick the farmers with tiny swords if the workers refuse, which they don't. As the King passes by the farmers, they praise Lord Carabas and the mice play a record which belts out a propaganda song extolling the glory of Pierre.
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| "Sing the praises of your artificial master peons!" |
Pero sneaks ahead, strips Pierre naked and shoves him in a River. When the King approaches the river Pero explains that the Prince was bathing when thieves stole his clothes. The King offers to replace the clothes and take Pierre back to the castle.
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| "Take your clothes off boy and we'll make you rich!" |
After getting his fancy new clothes in the castle, Pierre goes for a walk with the Princess. He can't take the lies anymore and tells Rosa everything. She doesn't care at all and says she still loves him. Meanwhile Lucifer is preparing for his wedding. Three nights have passed and he is impatiently waiting for his bride to be delivered. While he waits he uses his crystal ball to spy on the princess and sees her with Pierre. Lucifer is understandably annoyed and flies off to pick up his bride personally.
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| Sorry Pierre but your Princess is in another castle....Mine! |
Pierre gives chase on a white steed and Pero isn't far behind. The two sneak into Lucifer's palace and Pero approaches the demon lord. He blesses the dark king's union and informs him that Pierre is a yellow coward who has run away. Pero also asks Lucifer to show off his demonic power by transforming into large powrful animals like hippos and elephants. After this display Pero asks him to transform into something small, like a mouse. Pierre uses this opportunity to strike from his hiding place and he knocks away Lucifer's skull necklace. Without the necklace, the demon is unable to return to his true form. The Trio shows up again and attempt to eat Lucifer while the other mice try to keep the skull away.
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| The evil mouse has the facial hair |
After a short chase, Lucifer gets the skull back and turns into a fire breathing hydra. Our heroes and minor villains get chased onto a narrow bridge where they are trapped. Lucifer agrees to spar them if Rosa will marry him, an offer she reluctantly accepts. He uses his magic to transport them outside the castle, good as his word. While Lucifer brags about his powerful skull Rosa knocks it away in disgust which freaks him out. He reveals that his life force in in the skull, and if sunlight hits it when it is away from him he will die. One of Pero's mouse minions snags the necklace and another chase takes place.
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| You'll get this skull when you pry it from my cold, dead torso. |
Pierre and Pero use this opportunity to sneak back in and rescue the princess. The mouse with the skull bumps into the Feline Trio and the magic necklace gets stuck on the youngest cat's head. Lucifer then starts chasing the cats who hide in a hanging bird/bat cage full of bones. Pero snags a wayward skull and distracts Lucifer briefly while Pierre runs off with Rosa. Lucifer isn't tricked for long, and another greater chase takes place involving Lucifer clockwork, moving castle. Pierre blocks the demon's path and the two exchange blows with an ax and sword. Eventually the tiny cat assassin sneezes and the skull flies into Rosa's arms. Now it is the princess's turn to play keep-away with Lucifer and she climbs a terribly designed staircase, attempting to get high enough so the early morning sun will reach the skull.
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| That staircase terrifies me |
The mice army trips up Lucifer long enough for Rosa to meet up with Pierre and get to the tallest point of the castle. Lucifer won't take this lying down, and tries to knock down the tower with his ax. He succeeds but as the tower falls the sun peeks over the horizon, hitting the necklace. This turns Lucifer into bat, and all of his bat-birds into doves which catch Pierre and Rosa, bringing them softly to the ground. Presumably they go off, get married and live happily ever after. No way to confirm this though, since the sequels weren't released here.
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| I love presumably happy endings |
Why watch?
1. The clockwork castle - Lucifer's castle is fairly cool. The tricks and traps have no apparent purposes, but it is still very entertaining, especially when used in the chase scenes.
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| Maintenance is terrible though |
2. Classic Disney-style Fairy Tale - This is just a great, timeless story. I'm actually kind of surprised Disney never made their own Puss 'N Boots movie. The songs in the movie are decent in both Japanese and English, but the English versions are not terribly well synched.
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| Happy, Musical, Buddy Movies |
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3. Lucifer's Transformations - I love the animal designs when Lucifer shows off his magical powers to Rosa and Pero. Not a major part of the movie, but still a lot of fun.
4. Voice Cast - Sadly, there is are no vocal credits for the English dub. This is sad as a lot of the voices sound very familiar, possibly from old, animated Christmas specials, but I can't confirm this. One website I found listed Rosa as being played by the same actress who did all of the female voices in Speed Racer but I don't know what the source of this information was.
Why not to watch?
1. Dated Animation - This title hasn't aged all that well. It isn't terrible, but the designs on some of the human characters, especially Pierre, leaves a bit to be desired. His face is bland and sad looking.
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| I'm never happy, due to my poor sleeping habits |
Should you be watching?
Yes indeed. A classic tale, with nice musical numbers and a fun cast. Well mostly fun except for Pierre. He's a bit too bland to be a leading man, but Pero and the mice more than make up for that. If you enjoy older titles you really need to check this out. The recent DVD release by Discotek provides a nice clean transfer with excellent sound. I'm honestly amazed at the quality of this release. Go check this one out and tell them the Prince of Carabas sent you.
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