Puss In Boots: Into The Dream-Verse (2018)

Puss in Boots: Into the Dream-Verse is a 2018 American animated superhero film featuring the DreamWorks character Puss in Boots, The sequel to the spin-off film Puss in Boots (2011) and the sixth installment in the Shrek franchise, produced by DreamWorks Animation, and distributed by Universal Pictures. Directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Joel Crawford, co-directed by Januel Mercado, produced by Latifa Ouaou, Christina Steinberg, and Mark Swift (in Persichetti and Crawford's feature directorial debuts) from a screenplay by Tom and William Wheeler, Based on the character introduced in Shrek 2 (2004) and inspired by the fairy tale of the same name, the voice cast includes Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek Pinault reprising their respective roles as the titular character and Kitty Softpaws, alongside the voices of Sam Rockwell, Zachary Levi, Jacob Trembaly, Isabela Merced, Jim Gaffigan, Maya Rudolph, Kevin Hart, Ed Helms, Mike Myres, Lily Tomlin, Thomas Middleditch, Jack Black, Donald Grover, John Mulaney, Jim Parsons, Kimiko Glenn, Matt Damon, Nicolas Cage, Ryan Reynolds, and Liev Schreiber and more cast. Inspired by the Amazing Spider-Man story arc "Spider-Verse", while also taking inspiration from the Ultimate DreamWorks universe "The Death of Spider-Man" and Spider-Men that served as Miles Morales' debut, the film's story follows Puss as he becomes the new Fearless Hero and joins other DreamWorks characters from various parallel universes to save his universe from Kingpin.

Plans for a sequel to Puss in Boots began in November 2012 by Chris Miller and announced in April 2015. Persichetti, Crawford, and Ramsey in joined over the next two years, with Banderas and Hayek respired the cast in April 2017. The directors wanted the film to have a unique style, combining computer animation with traditional hand-drawn techniques inspired by fairy tale stories. The film required up to 140 animators, the largest crew used by Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Animation on a feature film.

Puss in Boots: Into the Dream-Verse premiered at the Regency Village Theater in Los Angeles on June 1, 2018, and was theatrically released in the United States on June 22nd, 2018. The film grossed $384.3 million worldwide against a $90 million budget and received critical acclaim. The film won Best Animated Feature at the 91st Academy Awards—being the first non-Disney/Pixar film to win the award since Rango (2011) and was similarly successful at the 76th Golden Globe Awards, the 72nd British Academy Film Awards, and the 46th Annie Awards.

A sequel, Puss in Boots: Across the Dream-Verse, was released in 2023 to similar critical and greater commercial success. A third film, Puss in Boots: Beyond the Dream-Verse, and a spin-off film focused on female cat-related characters are in development, with a television series being considered.

Plot
San Ricardo, Puss In Boots, lives with a 13-year old boy Luca Paguro who struggles to live up to the expectations of his father, police officer Top Cat and his parents Lorenzo and Daniela, who sees Puss In Boots as a menace. Luca and Puss' uncle Flynn Rider and Mufassa takes him to an abandoned subway station to paint graffiti to cheer him up. There, Puss is bitten by a radioactive toon and gains abilities similar to Spider-Man as a parody. Luca encounters Lucky Prescott as they met after school. Returning to the station, he discovers a collider built by the Kingpin, who hopes to access parallel universes to bring back his late wife and son. Spider-Man attempts to disable the collider while fighting Kingpin's henchmen, Green Goblin and the Prowler. Puss was able to fight but he is interrupted by his resentful ex-fiancée Kitty Softpaws.

Green Goblin shoves The original True Hero: Mr Wolf (from the book of The Bad Guys) into the collider, causing an explosion that kills Goblin and wounds Wolf. Wolf gives Puss a USB flash drive designed to disable the collider, warning that the machine could destroy the city. After watching in horror as Kingpin kills Wolf, Puss and Luca flees. Kitty ran away from them as she returns to her mission. As the city mourns Mr Wolf's death, Puss tries to honor his legacy and become the new Fearless Hero but inadvertently damages the drive. At Wolf's grave, he meets Mr Wolf, an older and worn-down version of The Bad Guys (from the movie) from another dimension.

The two infiltrate Kingpin's research facility to steal data for a new flash drive. They are confronted by mad scientist, who discovers that Peter will die from cellular decay if he remains in their dimension. Puss, Wolf, and Luca are saved by Lucky Prescott and Kitty Softpaws, a Spider-Woman from another dimension. They visit Mr Wolf's aunt, Ms Wolf; she is sheltering more DreamWorks characters who slipped into Puss' universe from other dimensions due to the collider explosion - Po, Alex, Shrek, Penguins, Jack Frost, and the rest of DreamWorks resident characters - who are also deteriorating. Puss offers to help the others return home but they tell him he lacks experience.

Distraught, Puss retreats to Flynn's home, where he discovers Flynn is the Prowler and so is Mufassa. He flees to May's house, where Poppy has completed the new drive; he is followed by Kingpin, Guy Guane, Pitch Black, Tighten, Tai Lung and the rest of the villains. In the ensuing brawl, he reveals his identity to Aaron. Unwilling to kill his own nephew, Flynn spares Puss and Luca, but is fatally shot by Kingpin in retaliation, and dies in Puss and Luca' arms. Puss and Luca just as his father arrives on the scene; Top Cat mistakes the fleeing Puss In Boots as Aaron's murderer. The heroes regroup with a devastated Miles. Mr Wolf chooses to sacrifice himself by staying behind and deactivating the collider. Luca leaves Puss behind as he sacrifices himself with rest of his friends.

Top Cat arrives outside Puss' door and expresses his faith in Puss, inspiring him. Puss manages to control his powers and creates his own outfit and tech suit. He joins the heroes, defeating Kingpin's enforcers and using the new drive to send them home. Kingpin fights Puss and Luca, attracting the attention of Top Cat, Luca and Lorenzo. Realizing that Puss In Boots isn't the menace he saw as, he encourages Puss, who throws Kingpin at the kill switch, causing the collider to explode. The city is saved, Kingpin and his henchmen are arrested, and Lorenzo receives evidence of Kingpin's murders of Wolf and Flynn.

Puss embraces the responsibilities of his new life. Later, Kitty finds a way to contact Puss from her own dimension. In another dimension, Miguel O'Hara, also known as Spider-Man 2099, travels to Earth-67 and argues with its Shrek.