Puss in Boots, Nope not that one
Unsurprisingly to those who know me well, I happen to really enjoy the actor Christopher Walken. And because of that fondness, I find myself repeatedly going down the rabbit hole of trying to watch all the things he's been in–and oh, what an experience it has been!.
The filmography of Walken is an interesting one, one entrenched with a spectacle of amazing movies as well as some odd ones . And while the writing, and acting may not always be terrific, he gives it his all and there is something so admirable about that.
In a more recent attempt progressing through the archives, I stumbled upon Eugene Marner’s 1988 film, Puss in Boots. I can best describe this movie as a bit of a fever dream, but memorable in the way it occasionally pops into your mind to side track whatever you were thinking about and just leaves you contemplative and confused before you shake it off and continue going about your day, and kinda camp. In like a; what I am watching; why is it kind of musical for 30 minutes; I need another soul who has seen this so we can talk about what we have seen and also quote lines to each other; this is so ridiculous, kind of camp.
This rendition of Puss in Boots follows a miller’s youngest son inheriting his late father’s pet cat, whilst his older brothers got the family business or a donkey with a cart and some money. The son is on a quest of making a name for himself and eventually becomes worthy enough to marry the princess. It’s your classic rags to riches story intermixed with an ogre, who can shapeshift, that’s on a mission to wreak havoc amongst different villages.
You are probably wondering, “when does Christopher Walken come into the mix?” He actually plays the titular character Puss, that very cat the miller’s son inherited.
It would then make sense to think, “Oh so he voices the cat the whole time.” Almost. Almost, but not quite. Instead, the cat is able to turn into a human whenever he steps into a pair of boots. The boots are not even magical, he just needs any pair of boots and then he is able to turn into a noble gentleman whose mission is to help the Miller’s son get the princesses hand in marriage. Through all of this your brain becomes broken, the world falls out of logic as it loses any sense of reason. It sort of becomes a musical in the middle of the movie and abruptly drops it completely only to have a final song. The only thing you are left with from this movie is a blank reaction instead of understanding the plot because so many things are happening at once.
What kind of logic is it that only boots work, and how did the cat figure this out? I know this is a reference to the fairy tale but then why is he able to flicker in and out of his human form to tell the son he needs boots to stay before he gets them? What kind of line is “Get me some boots, I can’t stay without boots.”
Exploring the filmography of Christopher Walken isn’t always an easy journey, but how else would we learn about the hubris of man? Only man, a creature of arrogance who defied gravity through the airplane and invented fire, would dare make a movie without actual follow-through or commitment to reality.