2012 King of the Hill Movie Challenge

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes v. Puss in Boots

After a series of older movies, it is time to move back to modern flicks. This time, I return with an animation from Dreamworks and the Shrek spin-off movie, Puss in Boots. It should be noted that the winner of this match is going to face Hunger Games next. I'll be catching a midnight showing of that and I don't foresee me catching another movie before then.

For those who do not know, the 2012 King of the Hill Movie Challenge is my system for determining the best movie of year that I saw. One movie from each month will be selected and, at the end of the year, I will do a tournament style showdown where they will take each other on until the final movie has been selected. Bracket placement will be determined by the number of movies the monthly movie faced and won.

Challenger: Puss in Boots

Director: Chris Miller

Writers: Charles Perrault and William Davies

Starring: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, and Zack Galifianakis

Puss in Boots, is the story of Puss (voiced by Antonio Banderas) from the Shrek series and his adventure to recover the legendary fabled magic beans. This movie focuses on the back story to Puss from his earliest days including his upbringing by means of a flashback. In the story, Puss has finally managed to locate the magic beans, something he and his childhood friend, Humpty Dumpty (voiced by Zack Galifianakis), have been questing for before fate separated them.

Puss in Boots is entertaining, but is not noteworthy. The plot is dry and fairly predictable. Puss is betrayed, must fend for himself, and eventually wins over the misguided Kitty Softpaws (voiced by Salma Hayek) to the side of good. This obvious plot doesn't make this a bad movie, in fact, I enjoyed it emensely. It just doesn't make it particularly noteworthy. The Shrek formula was already used and brought everything new to the table long before Puss in Boots. The high energy of the three main stars and the clever writing make it a movie you should watch, but not a movie to knock down Marilyn Monroe.

Winner: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes