xbox — get up and get moving

I got the kid an Xbox for her birthday. I've been resisting a video game system fo a long time, as it's such a time suck, and we already spend a lot of time goofing off on the iPad. But the kid had been making a beeline to the Xbox exhibition model every time we go to Best Buy. After watching her playing a Puss in Boots game, where she was actually "dancing" and "dueling" and "walking" on a tightrope, I thought it might not be such a bad idea. I like the idea of the active playing you can do with the Kinect system.

I have always liked games, since I first got my computer, but I was mostly drawn to the intricate puzzle worlds of Myst or strategy games with ancient civilization themes. Watching (and joining) her play Lego Harry Potter makes me realize how slow my reaction skills are compared to hers. As familiar I am with the Potter characters and stories, I just don't see some of the little Lego objects and their obvious translation into action or gameplay as quickly as she does.

She is not only getting to act out, via the Lego universe, scenes with characters related to movies that she hasn't even seen yet (and books she hasn't read) like Voldemort's horrible snake Nagini, but she is pretty quick at solving problems — like which power/spell to use in her wand. It will be interesting to see how these sorts of games translate into some of her problem-solving in the future, although I notice she has a typical 8 year-old's frustration with getting stuck on a level — well, the frustration is typical for any age, really.

Besides the Harry Potter game, we picked up a few others — the Puss in Boots, of course, which is a lot of fun (Antonio Banderas voices his most famous character), and one based on the television show LOST for me, although I really haven't had any time to play it yet. So far the Kinect system seems to feature more shoot-em-up and adult- or adventure-themed games, so it's good that the kid likes the few that are more geared to her age. There are some workout and sports-themed ones, too made for the Kinect system, so we'll see if these video games can get me up and moving and off my laptop for a spell.

puss ... all that he needs are the boots

Cat people may be crazy, as Puss tells master thief Kitty Softpaws, but they can also propel a movie to the #1 box office in the country, to the tune of $34 million. Puss in Boots proved this past weekend that it is more than just a spin-off from the successful Shrek film series — it is well on its way to becoming a successful franchise on its own — with an ending definitely left open for a sequel (or two or three.)

If there are indeed more Puss movies to come, that would be fine for star Antonio Banderas, who is obviously having the time of his life portraying the feline swashbuckler. His delight came through loud and clear in his very expressive voicework.

Audiences first met the character of Puss in Shrek 2, when he was introduced as another comic foil to Shrek (Mike Myers), much to the dismay of Shrek's original sidekick Donkey (Eddie Murphy), who told Puss that the position of "annoying talking animal" was already taken. Puss won over Shrek and everyone he met, pretty much stealing the movie from the ogre and his friends.

No matter how bombastic his boasting may get, Puss is never too proud to pull out "the look"
when he's in a tough spot and needs to win someone over.

Banderas was the perfect choice to play the tricky Puss, and the role quickly morphed from a French cavalier to a more Zorro-like bandit. He was encouraged to not only bring his own personality to the part, but his humor as well, as he told blackfilm.com (about Shrek 2):

If there is a word that defines this type of movie, and not just the second one ... is wit. I think that's the type of humor that they are trying to create.

Puss in Boots is witty. And silly, but it's not so much a comedy as an action-adventure, super-hero origin story. We learn through flashbacks how the kitten Puss was raised in an orphanage, where he met and befriended Humpty "Alexander" Dumpty (a very funny Zach Galifianakis). Humpty and Puss are outsiders, and they bond over Humpty's dream of finding Jack's magic beans and climbing the beanstalk to steal the Giant's golden eggs. But boys grow up. Puss moves on from the dream but Humpty doesn't. The two have a falling out, and through a series of misunderstandings Puss is accused of a crime he didn't commit. He flees, becoming an outlaw. Years later Humpty enters his life again, with a new ally, Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek), and the same old dream, to steal the magic beans, which he has tracked to be in the possession of bandits Jack and Jill (Billy Bob Thorton and Amy Sedaris). But can Humpty and Kitty persuade Puss to join him on their quest?

Jill: [as she dangles Puss over a canyon] Is it true a cat always lands on its feet?
Puss in Boots: No! That is just a rumor, spread by dogs!

Puss in Boots mixes the fairy tale world from Shrek with bits of Zorro and Sergio Leone westerns to create a fun  back-drop for the fearless feline. You may never think of Mother Goose the same way again.

Directed by Chris Miller (Shrek the Third) Puss in Boots is a good-looking film (as surely Puss himself would agree). We saw it in IMAX and it was truly impressive. The 3D looked the best I've ever seen it, with objects really appearing as if they were in front of each other. The sheer size of the screen highlighted the detail with which every hair on Puss had been rendered, the little bumps and imperfections on the surface of Humpty's shell, even dust motes floating in the air.

Dreamworks's Glendale studio worked with Indian animation company Paprika Animation Studios (which also created Scared Shrekless), and the results are indeed impressive. But beautiful images aside, Puss in Boots wouldn't work without the power of personality, actor and character. Audiences have come to love Puss. He is strong and interesting enough on his own to carry the movie without any of his old Shrek chums. Hopefully there will be more films to come featuring the feline hero.

"pray for mercy from Puss ... in boots!"

None other than Guillermo Del Toro is an executive producer on the upcoming Puss in Boots movie, "The reason I wanted to become so involved with "Puss" is because I came in and I was thinking, 'It's gonna be a spin-off of a Shrek ... with the ambition of narrating a great Sergio Leone Western combined with a heartbreak story of friendship against an ever-changing landscape that went with great agility from a Western, hardcore tone to a huge hijinks adventure to an incredibly delicate landscape of fairy tale lore. I was absolutely transfixed by this." — from Hitflix

This is a Shrek-friendly household. My daughter's first word was "Shrek," I think. There's something about the green ogre and all his pals that just delights her. Puss has always been a favorite of mine as well, and I love Antonio Banderas's self-mocking Zorro-spoofing character. This could actually be a load of fun.

scared shrekless

We watched the latest Shrek holiday special, Scared Shrekless, this week. I actually love that they are continuing to make shows with these characters—but short form, not movie-length. The latest Shrek film was OK, and was enjoyed by my Shrek-obsessed daughter, but the long-form script ideas were showing their strain. This special was episodic, so it could even be broken up into shorter cartoons, a la Looney Toons.

What might put some people off by Scared Shrekless was the subject manner. Shrek and his friends all try to out-scare or out-gross each other by telling spooky Halloween stories. Anyone hoping to plop a small child in front of the television and then walk away would have been in for a rude awakening.

Shrek has always been a little gross, a little creepy, and very curmudgeonly. Probably why I like him. The Shrek of the movies is not even as nasty as the Shrek from the classic book, but he has always stayed true to his eyeball-eating, swamp living, mud bath bubble-blowing self. The stories were all riffs on classic horror films. And shouldn't Halloween be a little scary?



Gingerbread Man Gingy told a Night of the Living Dead/Bride of Frankenstein-like story (this was the only one that scared my daughter, just a little) of gingerbread love gone wrong. Donkey and Puss-in-Boots relate a Psycho-inspired adventure. Shrek's show-stopper was The Exorcist redux, with Pinocchio as the creepy, head-rotating kid. It was all good fun, and I'm sure the clever puns were mostly enjoyed by adults, and I'm O.K. with that.

I don't know about my daughter, but I'm certainly looking forward to what horrible holiday Shrek might tackle next. Bloody Valentine's Day perhaps?