One amazing detail in the Goldilocks cabin scene was when she was reading the "collection of fairytales" book. The first letter in every line on the right page spells out, "You already have it." basically telling her that the family she was yearning for is right in front of her

Jack Horner and Perrito basically perfectly balance out as opposites now that I think about it

I love Jack Horner’s final one liner of the film. He knows he has done terrible stuff to people, he’s just asking which specific bad thing was cashed in for his demise. Very simple character, yet he was used very effectively

I'd like to add the nuance that Goldie started out wanting to team up with both Puss and Kitty. She became an antagonist because they wanted it for themselves and if not for their internal conflicts they very well could have been a team from the start.

To be honest I was surprised that I as a viewer and a writer can keep up with 4 characters (3 villain groups and main characters group) in the story without causing confusing mess in the head, this is the achievement that I can respect, as my work focuses on one main character and his internal conflict (usually) (I know what I can and what I can't do being a writer for 4 years)

Hey, another detail that you didn't mention. The villains are something like counterparts. Puss is a daredevil, Wolf is Death Kitty knew she wanted Puss to be family but she knew it would take a miracle for Puss to settle down, Goldilocks wanted a family when she already had one. Perrito was good despite of having every reason not to be good, while Jack was bad and evil beyond reason. Imo, these 2 are perfect polar opposites.

For me, this movie had 3 kind of antagonists and used them perfectly: The force of nature one; destructive, but with a moral code (Rattlesnake Jake or Predator), the Wolf. The sympathetic one, that could be redeemed (Loki, Zuko or Darth Vader), Goldilocks. And the villanous one, irredimible through and through (Alien, Scar or Palpatine), Jack Horner.

9:56 - So the writers literally enlarged Jack in the climax to balance the equation, since by the end, there is no more antagonistic force but him, and he has no more minions left. I love how you enlarged his portrait for emphasis, very smart of you.

The Wolf also ended up being an example of one of my favorite character archetypes. (spoiler below) Death archetypes in Western media are often just life-hating monsters, which is boring. I think it is much more interesting to see the Deaths who have a secret love for life: the Death from Sandman, Death from Discworld, and the Death who narrates The Book Thief are all among my favorite characters. The Wolf struck me as brilliant because of the way he played with these two interpretations of death. When he needed to be a scary force of nature, driving Puss on his quest, he seemed to just be the death-as-a-monster variation. But as Puss's quest drove him deeper and deeper into self-awareness, we also got clues that Death's real motivation was anger at the arrogant way Puss had wasted his previous eight lives. This set us up to be satisfied when Death walked away from their final duel. He was gradually revealed to be the life-affirming interpretation of death - the one who wants people to use their lives to fully self-actualize, and is content to take them in the course of their natural lives, so long as they bother to appreciate the finite gift that they have. In a way, The Wolf was not an archetype, but a sort of mentor figure all along, secretly rooting for Puss to learn his lesson.

I am still impressed by how this movie manages to juggle three groups of antagonists with different goals, three main characters who have conflict between eachother, a magically hostile environment - and do it in such a way that the audience can follow without much issue

The Wolf's goal is not exactly to kill Puss. It's to punish him for not valuing his lives. That's why he haunt him as he does rather than killing him swiftly. PS: also, Big Jack Horner's quest for unlimited power is not quite for the sake of power itself. It's an overreaction to his perceived humiliation for lack of power in his youth, when he was outdone by Pinocchio because he had magical powers, while Jack was inconsequential, like his song was (it's about a boy eating pies). That's why he wants to be "Big" Jack Horner with all the power, because he is ashamed of "little" Jack Horner with no power. It's still the most simple and "pure" motivation for power though, I guess.

The more I see breakdowns and deep dives of this movie, the more I'm blown away by just how well-written this movie was. And considering it's a sequel to a spinoff movie about a side-character from a sequel, it really has no right being as good as it is. It's also a bit daunting looking at that, and then trying to look at my own writing and figure out if I'm anywhere close to the level of storytelling we see professionally. Thank you so much for the further insight!

Great video. I think another part of the equation is that Death is an antagonist for Puss's internal conflict while the others are antagonists for his external conflict. Like you said, he doesn't care about the wish, he just cares about Puss's internal struggle and development. Once Puss grows internally, Death leaves.

I'd like to make a correction. Puss was fearless in the face of death before meeting Death because he had more than one life and thought he could afford to be reckless. At the end of the movie, he was brave in the face of Death, because he'd felt that fear and was then facing it.

Yeah Jack was certainly necessary for the plot to work. Puss has to face the Wolf while still having the option to try and use the wish as an escape, but then there also needs to be a reason to destroy the wish in the first place, which is why we got a small final fight with Jack after the Wolf.

2:42 The Jack Horner and Perrito portraits caught me off guard.

It's fascinating when you mentioned that there are three antagonists to mirror the three protagonists, because they line up so well. Puss fears Death yet doesn't respect him, so Death comes for him without respecting the fact that Puss hasn't died yet. Kitty is desperate for someone to trust and feels like she can't match Puss' true love of himself, meanwhile Jack Horner is surrounded by people willing to die for him and he is more than happy to let them while feeling unashamedly superior to everyone else. Perrito has nothing yet wishes for nothing, meanwhile Goldie wishes for something she already has.

I feel like the best about the Goldilocks subplot is that she is the "hero of their own story" antagonist, but she's also at the same time her own antagonist. Her whole conflict is started by her own idea of "I'm a person, they're bears. I should get my own family and get out of their hair so we can both have our just right.", and her happily ever after is only possible because momma bear pointing out how much they love her lets her realize that it was already just right for both of them all along.

The way it implements the three ways of Man’s personal struggles, (Nature, Self, and Man) is so GOOD and as a literature student fills me with so much joy, god I love this film.

i was trying to understand the balance of so many characters a few days ago. Of course I didn't thinking it this complex, but i said: - Perrito balances Jack - Kitty balances Goldi and the Bears - The Wolf balances Puss This was a much better explanation, and thanks for that! It makes me appreciate the writing of the film a lot more!

It's really cool that they can have so many characters in one movie, yet not make it feel overcrowded.

Also, in a way, all of the villains reflect a flaw in Puss’s character that he later develops out of. Death; it’s obvious, Death forces Puss to confront his fear of mortality, and to not take life for granted, and to appreciate those close to him. Goldi: Puss and Goldi both want something that is not as positive as they’d like to believe it is; Puss wants to reclaim his glory days, and Goldi wants a “proper” family. Both realize that what they want, they had alongside them all along (Goldi had a family with the bears, and Puss has everything he needs to make his life count already). Jack: Jack is kind of the anti-Puss, as a rich, animal-hating human while Puss is a vigilante talking cat, but they are more alike than they seem. Both begin with a disregard for life (Puss for his own life, and Jack for the lives of others). The difference is that Puss grows out of this flaw, and in doing so escapes Death. Jack never grows out of this, and it ends up killing him. Also, the villains can be defined by how they treat Perrito. Goldi and the bears never hurt him, even when they steal him, and they get along well after getting to know him, showing that they aren’t bad people. Death never speaks to Perrito directly, but he does push him out of the crossfire in his final fight with Puss, showing that while he’s adamant about killing Puss, he doesn’t want to harm anyone innocent in the process. And Jack carries Perrito by the scruff of the neck (which is seen as the wrong way to hold a dog) and tries to shoot him in between the eyes, showing how he’s a true monster.

Most of the videos I watch on this movie revolve around the Wolf, it's refreshing to see this video's focus on the whole cast's involvement to the overarching plot and themes throughout.

Death and Jack Horner are perfect to explain the difference between story and plot. Death is a pure story villain. His actions and intentions directly center around Puss as a character. He embodies Puss's internal conflict as an external force. Jack on the other hand is a pure plot villain. His actions and intentions all center around a plotpoint, the wish. He would have gone for the star anyway and opposes Puss only because Puss also wants the wish. He also drives the plot forward by giving Puss an effective deadline to reach his goal.

I actually gave the characters a lot of thought last night, there's another reason they work so well - each character is a representation of Puss in one way or another. Death is his fear. Jack Horner is his ego, while the cricket is the little voice that stops his ego from making him hurt others for no reason. Kitty is his distrust in others. Goldilocks is his failure to see what's right in front of him. The bears are his desire for things to be simple and just... how they are. Purito is his desire for friends.

As a huge Disney/Pixar junkie I've been clamoring for a great new villain since my 1st son was born. I was certainly not expecting DreamWorks to deliver the goods first, but here we are, and I love it. Not to mention, they essentially gave me 2 top-tier villains.

By maintaining all the characters quality, being consistent of the character traits, and also make sure the screen time is divided for each character and also try to make it an impactful scene at the same time with these characters by having dialogue that actually makes sense it doesn’t feel out of place or out of character and makes the character more consistent and grounded to the point that you feel for them, and that you feel for her motivations and what they’re trying to accomplish at the end plus little comedic moments sprinkled between the moment with our characters in the movie, therefore making all characters have a meaning to the story and playing important role make an all characters valuable to the point that any scenes with our characters, don’t feel dragged therefore, that’s why everybody cared for every character in their best moments. That’s why I put some boots is a 10 out of 10 movie. Sorry, I was caught in the moment typing this

I never saw the first PiB nor The Last Wish, but I will say that it looks like it deserves all of the praises it is getting as a movie

The film definitely deserves to win this year’s Oscar.

Can’t believe how value-packed this entire channel is. I have started taking notes on your videos for future reference. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with the writers of the world! You’re the best teacher I never had!

You said it better than I could. And honestly it's how tight the script is that lets the movie do this. There is not a wasted scene in the entire movie.

I think it works really well cause (almost) everyone has the same goal, allowing them to bounce off of each other naturally. They're all very different too, which help highlight different topics surrounding a shared core theme. The core theme here is appreciating the value of what you already have. Then the story has an avatar of the thesis in Perrito, and the antithesis in Jack. Death is the protagonist's motivator. Kitty and Goldy are such a fun balance.

Usually films with this big of a cast I’ll find myself only caring for a few characters, but in this film I loved EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER.

Your analyses are always such a nice time. Always makes me understand and appreciate the movie better. And bald Jack is something I both wish I knew I needed to see and also something I want to unsee

I've seen 2 movies in theaters this year and both had 2 rather specific thing in common that I appreciate a lot. 1. balancing numerous subplots and characters within one coherent story. puss in boots has the protagonist and his friends, 2 different groups of antagonists and 1 "final boss". some of them get more screentime than others but all the characters are fleshed out just enough to not feel underused. they made some absolutely brilliant choices. same applies to avatar 2. you have the main family and the group of villains. but then almost every family member branches out to have their own little adventure and arc. incredibly well balanced imo. if we dissect it, we get a bit of backstory on the dog in PIB and the blue family's youngest daughter has no arc because she is a little kid. but that's fine because we get just enough to care about them as part of a family/group/team/whatever. this balance is what many stories fail at. and 2. one of my favourite tropes. the "human character is shown real humanity by non-human characters". the moment where goldi is confronted with her own beliefs and realizes these wild bears showed her what family actually means. for me the emotional high point of the movie. they made me care about what would've been throwaway villains in most kids movies. and in avatar we have the whales that are simply more noble, compassionate and "human" in every way than all the speaking characters in the movie. good stuff.

one thing i was wondering was whether Kitty went through growth in the movie. or whether it was just Puss who did? and then she benefitted by his self improvement? I mean maybe she learned to be able to trust somewhat again and that was her growth?

I also love how each of the antagonists have a connection towards one of the protagonists. Puss in Boots is hunted down by Death who hates him personally. Kitty Softpaws used to work for Jack Horner and stole from him. Perrito is taken by Goldi and The Three Bears, and they connect over both being orphans, but Perrito is able to find happiness in his situation while Goldi isn't.

I could listen to you for hours, there's something captivating to me in someone knowing the intricacies of storywriting in such deep detail. I think I'm too ADHD to ever write a story myself but it's people like you that still give me the opportunity to find joy in dissecting stories and learning to understand the many different ways one can write a great story, with meaning and impact. It helps me understand why I personally liked or disliked a story, and there's just something that tickles my brain just the right way when there's fictional characters that are actually relatable to human experiences - and then understanding what makes them that way. Very enjoyable, thanks for making this!

Very, very good review!! Most classify Death as a villain, but I really liked how you point out how he's not just Not a villain, but the only true antagonist to Puss! Hi-quality stuff, most recommendable

You have verified me in my writing, creating stories, & characters. In my research. Most people in my life are discouraging. Especially when I am working on other people's projects. A lot of people don't take writing seriously & prioritize graphics over writing. But I'm the opposite & have been since I was 10. Gald to know that my 20 years of research & studying of how to make remarkable content wasn't a waste & everything I know is correct. I need to be surrounded by better people..

So many persons and no one is boring, this movie is stunning

You first need to learn to play by the rules, before breaking them

The Wolf and Perrito also kind of got their wish as wekk despite not going for the Wish. Wolf wanted respect from Puss. Perrito wanted companionship

This was really cool to see! I especially like how you highlighted a flat character being the right choice when you have a lot of dynamic other characters around. Great work, and it was cool seeing you on camera!

dude, your narrating voice is amazing. I could listen to you all day.

This was really eye-opening. Everyone knows when they finish a story or walk out of a theater when something just wasn't right about it. It had all the right elements, but still missed the mark somehow, and you can _feel_ it. Your description of the protagonists/antagonists as an equation gives one more vocabulary to begin to dissect why that might be the case. Bravo!

A voice smooth as butter, intelligent and analytical and now you're telling me he is handsome as well? He has won the gene lottery for sure.

While I was watching the film for the first time I was amazed by how well all the characters fit into the story. Thank you for putting my feelings into words, great video

As a person who has always been good at math, this is a PHENOMENAL analogy!

woah, i think i've never thought about a story in this way, it's amazing! i wasn't very familiar with this sort of dissection but you made it very clear! it makes a lot of sense and it's way more complex than one would initially think!

Great analysis. Slightly unrelated, but I've seen some people misinterpret Puss rejecting the wish as a depressing analogy for accepting a terminal illness. However, I prefer to think of it as a superhero losing his superpower, and then realizing he never needed it in the first place.

This 15 minute video on the internet was more useful and insightful than any creative writing class I've ever taken

Dude, I love your videos. Thank you for clearly explaining and getting straight to the point.

I could argue that Perrito had some conflict and character growth as well, though it is taken for granted. He starts in a situation where he is friendless and impoverished but surviving and relatively safe. He meets Puss and confesses his dream of being a therapy dog to the discomfort of Puss, naturally. What is so often taken for granted with personalities like Perrito is that his devotion was a matter of choice and opportunity, over and over, not a given. His goal was thwarted by his lack of opportunity and then through his choices to devote his friendship to Puss, he realized his dream and really was a therapy dog in the end. It's the hidden conflict in a personality like that that is virtually invisible. He could have stayed in his situation, or saved himself on numerous occasions...devotion isn't a guarantee, but a new choice in every moment to cleave to one's dream or abandon it, free will is the antagonist. BTW, this has been my favorite YT vid about this film I have seen. Thank you.

This is such a lovely video with so many well thought out points that i KNOW I'll come back to just to watch again.... but i kept having to double take at the bald jack horner in the chart 🤭

Thanks for giving me a better understanding why Puss and the Last wish is truly a work of art.

I think Perrito is what balances out death. Though it's never stated in such a fashion, it seems clear to me that Death and Perrito balance each other out in the internal conflict for Pusses soul. Even though Perrito never consciously goes on an "quest" for it, it is his "narrative quest" so to speak. Perrito wants a happy and healthy Puss, Death wants a fearful and dead Puss. In that sense, Death is Perrito's antagonist more than Pusses. He's Pusses consequence, sure, but Perrito's antagonist.

Metaphorically speaking, Death got what he came for. He came for an arrogant self-assured legend who took his life (lives) for granted. It can be said that man (cat) died when Puss found himself, his resolve to cherish life and at least some humility. Like another comment said, I have a fondness for the characterisation of Death as one that values life.

It's crazy to me that I keep seeing people saying "Death isn't a villain! He's just doing his job!" when his only goal in the movie is to murder Puss because he has a grudge against him. Meanwhile they say the Three Bears crime family are villains. They're set up almost immediately, and explicitly, as rivals. They're criminals & antiheroes, but so is Puss!

Every time I watch a video of yours the stories I'm writing evolve. Also this movie was so much more streamlined and well done than I thought. The mapping for the story and characters is so straightforward and well done! Thank you for these vids!

I saw Wolf as the manifestation of Puss' internal struggle. He helps Puss to finally accept to live a fulfilling last life.

I viewed Jack Horner as a perfect foil to Puss suffering from essentially the same basic problem. Like the Wolf says, Puss didn't value any of his lives. And like the Conscience Cricket says, Jack Horner doesn't appreciate the value of a life. They both just kept throwing lives away. But Perrito knew how to be in the moment and appreciate his life, and make the most out of the one he has. All of the characters needed to learn to appreciate what they had, especially the people around them (Goldilocks with the bears, Puss with Kitty).

I have recently stumbled upon your channel and just wanted to say that I am thoroughly enjoying your content and analysis. I don't have to hope, because I know you will continue to blow us away with future videos.

I think you missed Perrito's vital role in the story. He is another static character done well because he is both a parallel and antithesis to Jack. Jack treats his people as disposable in his selfish pursuit of the wish, while Perrito selflessly cares for everyone he meets and has zero interest in the wish. These two static characters remain at opposite ends of the spectrum throughout the story while the rest of the characters start somewhere in the middle and gradually move towards Perrito's side. In the end Perrito is surrounded by his new friends and family, while Jack dies alone, further reinforcing the themes of the story.

I really am wow’d by this presentation. I stumbled on this video and it makes me appreciate the movie even more.

Knowing about personal character goal, this video will certainly be helpful for future storytelling. Thank you!

Your insight in stuff like this blows me away. Great video as always

This is a very well thought out explanation of the balance this story has with its characters. You earn a sub good sir!

You could argue that Goldi was a middle ground “antagonist” from the beginning since they didn’t want to stand in Puss’s way, they wanted him to help them.

One awesome video and two watching this actually made me realize something about Perito and Jack Perito was treated with nothing but abuse practically his whole life and yet he chooses to be kind and compassionate and tries his hardest to help bring joy to those around him Jack on the other hand from what we’re told was treated with love and compassion by his parents and was given success on a SilverPlatter yet he chooses to act with nothing but cruelty This of makes Jack and Perito a two sides of the same coin scenario which is interesting

One thing I thought when you were mentioning it being an equation, was that Death/TheWolf's opposite was Perrito because neither of them want the wish. Both of them are static characters, and while they have goals, their ability to achieve their goals is reliant of the actions of Puss. Their main difference is that they are on whether Puss can find his happiness and confidence. Perrito pushes Puss to make up with Kitty, and helps Goldie realize that she has the family she wanted. Perrito's path when he held the map were things that encouraged people to treasure the moment (eg. stopping to smell the flowers). While Death only interacted with Puss, he seemed to make Puss focus on either the mistakes of the past or the terror of the future.

Phenomenal breakdown. Your videos always inform and entertain!

Death was never trying to actually kill Puss, he could have done that dozens of times in the movie. Death was trying to make Puss take his final life seriously and make the most of what he had instead of constantly squandering it away. I look forward to seeing the wolf again In Shrek 5

more of this! please! - - great insights i literally haven't stopped thinking about since i watched the video yesterday, my mind keeps referencing this video in attempts to improve my story. CANNot thank you enough, feels like i'm twice as good at writing now! So thank you! and more of things like this!

Puss in Boots the Last Wish is one of if not the best film to have multiple villains.

You forgot about Jack's antagonism for the sake of humor lmao. When the baker's dozen got killed off and Jack could not care less I was crying from laughter

I love the idea of seeing stories/narratives as equations, never looked at it that way - thanks for the food for thought!

Shout out to Zelda and Chill, which I've been hearing in the background of every Savage books video I remember hearing music in.

The three modern villain archetypes: The misunderstood, the neutral almost force of nature, and the heel

Bro, wonderful analysis, thank you. I've wanted to see an analysis like this and you made everything super clear.

I always love your insightful takes and wish I had money to hire you

Not me just coming out of puss in boots and this is the first KZfaq video I see lol

This is one of the best video's I've ever watched. Great analysis!

this is broken down so well, thank you!! absolutely fascinating :)

Far and away, this is my favorite video of yours. Great insight!

I love your channel man

What I love about the villains is that they also vary in difficulty massively Goldilocks. If it wasn’t for the star they would probably be friends. She’s good enough to hold up but not strong enough to dominate or even lead the race Jack. an op megalomaniac who’s only in it for himself. Plus to be honest probably could have done it himself but doesn’t want to just because. And then you have death whos a frikn agragor. Theirs op and then theirs being an agragor which is a “go fuck yourselves” level of power. You don’t beat agragors as their reality. This death was no basic reaper or jailer like we get in the standard western media. this death is much much more powerful as an agragor just is. Plus what makes it even better in his case was that he was playing with his food the whole time. He put no effort into it. Yet he still lost only because he alowed puss to beat him.

Excellent analysis / breakdown, thank you :) This movie really is the gift that keeps on giving

You're the first person who's into literature that said story writing is more like an equation. Which as a DM for D&D, is a very interesting way to think of story writing. Thank you as I'll take that knowledge and try to use it!

What, Mr Savage. First, that voice! Omg! Great instrument. Second, terrific breakdown. I become a bit obsessed with The Last Wish. Your commentary is excellent. Thank you.

The Last Wish really was "Oops, all rivals"

i learned a lot from this video thank you for the thoughtful analisys :D

For me I really appreciate the fact that there are all these antagonists and pseudo antagonists and that you come away with the nuanced message of "some people you think are your enemy really just have unmet needs similar to yours, and some of them really are just irredeemable assholes who need to be as far away from everyone else and any form of power as possible"

This movie follows four separate groups of characters for its whole runtime and manages to make all of the main members of these four more fleshed out and well realized than entire movies do with their whole casts. The Bakers Dozen are the only characters in any of these groups that aren't fleshed out, and they're not really supposed to be characters of their own. They're supposed to be used as demonstration for what a monster Jack is.

Love this video. Love learning about internal and external conflicts. Would love to hear more of your thoughts how to execute them.

Most of your points regarding Jack Horner are very good, however I will say, that while he’s a static character he does have a reason for his actions beyond just gaining power; since he had no magic growing up, he’s jealous and wants it for himself. Not necessarily because of being able to rule the world with it, but an ‘If I can’t have it, then no one can’ motive. (I’m sure you know that and just didn’t mention it, but worth adding that even with a reason, he can still fulfill this flat character role while being a more fun and unique antagonist.)

I really appreciate this movie when think about how the overall message (trust in yourself, make the best with whatever you have, find friends and lovers you can trust in) could fall really flat and boring in less talented hands. Nice analysis!

Very good analysis video!!!

Very interesting deep dive. I'm super glad yt recommend your video! That background picture is top shelf 👌

I watched Puss in Boots yesterday and had this inner feeling, that I'm aware of the complexity of conflict and characters, but I couldn't really get my head around it. Thank you man for this video, I'm just really bad at maths.