A new season featuring The Adventures of Puss in Boots premiered Dec 11 and there’s an equal amount of episodes to enjoy. Puss has to face new threats in his quest to restore the protective barrier that once kept the town of San Lorenzo safe. He encounters new enemies and befriends the oddest of fairy tale creatures along the way. The humour that makes this series fun is intact and the cat has new dangers to face. A few of the new threats seem misplaced when considering the desert setting but this world is that of the weird west instead of ocean adventures. If Shrek is somewhere, he’s simply a marshland away.
Not all the episodes are worth checking out. Like the first season, the criticisms I made remains the same for this latest instalment. After a strong first episode (“Dragon”), the next two are not as strong. Mole men and mermaids do not belong in this oddball animation that’s trying to carve a niche in DreamWorks fairy tale universe. After a mixed start, the narrative does get better, and some much-needed character development takes place for the supporting roles.
Dulcinea, Puss’ love interest, is often clueless to what’s going on, and to show just how pure she is reveals there’s more to her when she puts her nose forward. In the episode, “Scimitar,” her good-natured demure is challenged by an evil talking sword. This tale is both thoughtful and cute. To see the belle of San Lorenzo turn bad makes for the best laughs, and to see what becomes of the sword begs the question if it will remain trapped on top of a mountain for good. This magical item’s fate seems sealed but by the season finale, it can’t stay there if the magic surrounding the town is to be restored.
This omission of continuity is noticeable when Puss finally gets around to locating all the remaining mission objects from the vaults belonging to the Great Mage Cino. He makes a return in “Si” and “No?” and he makes tough demands from the township in restoring the barrier that Puss knocked down in the season one premiere. Although, in what’s revealed, the story is not over and the citizens will have to learn how to face a greater world at large.
The swashbuckling adventures of the foolhardy Puss is not at an end. When this latest season ends with a soft cliffhanger, the next season may well shape up to be the best with a central villain for Puss in Boots to face. The next block of episodes should hopefully appear around April or May of 2016.
3½ Purrs out of 5
