History FridgeBrilliance / PussInBootsTheLastWish

** However, it's shown multiple times throughout the movie that while ''Kitty'' is able to always land on her feet, Puss doesn't.
*** It's the boots and hat (with a big ass feather). They mess with his balance. Unlike Kitty, Puss is also shown keeping all sorts of items in his boots, which randomly change the weight of them.

* It may seem odd that it was Perrito who indirectly helped Goldi realize the bears are her family, but it does when you realize dogs and bears are closer than you think -- While both species aren't related to each other due to evolution, they both share an ancient ancestor. Meaning that while not related, they ''have'' a connection.
** Also, Goldi is a Human. Dogs are Man's best friend after all, so of course Perrito would help her.

* Perrito will be a great therapy dog. Why? Because he's a MagneticHero - people are just naturally drawn to him and thus able to let their guard down.
** It's more than that, he's a natural therapist too. Everyone's talking about the panic attack scene where Perrito performed an actual therapy dog maneuver, but he also listens to Puss after he's calmed down, respects his wishes to not tell Kitty about his last-life situation, and advises Puss that apologizing for Santa Coloma might be a good first step, for both his and Kitty's sakes. And it's not just Puss either. He's very good at figuring out just what makes his 'patients' tick - the orphan lottery comment to Goldi, or how Kitty opens up to him of her own accord floating down the River of Relaxation (albeit cryptically).
* Of the characters who hold the map, Perrito has the easiest route to the star. It's implied the star makes harder maps for everyone because it wants to be left alone, but Perrito would leave it alone because he's the only one who doesn't want a wish.
** That interpretation is also supported by the fact that the path is very much dangerous for anyone that's actually going after the star as Jack Horner can attest to. After all when you're going after the wish who would stop to smell the flowers?
** It could also be tied to the amount and type of baggage someone has and being the Pollyanna (to the point of brushing off literally everything about his DarkAndTroubledPast up to and including being drowned in a sack) he simply doesn't have the baggage to make his journey to the wish difficult, [[{{Irony}} which is ironic considering that if you don't have that much baggage you wouldn't need a wish to begin with.]]

** Also note that Death is played seriously because Puss treated him as a joke for eight lives already.

*** Speaking of, in keeping with the FairyTaleMotifs, probably the best known Western fairy tale that features Death as a major character is "Literature/GodfatherDeath". That version also features lives as candles as shown by a Grim Reaper who's not to be cheated and possibly a tad sadistic.
*** And of course, the Doctor's warning to Puss before he leaves: "Death comes for us all."

*** His weapon of choice are a pair of sickles, hook-shaped blades referring to Death's classic long scythe in most media. In fact, anyone who played the ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'' expansion is bound to lose all doubt the moment they glimpse those, since they are a dead ringer for Malthael's.

** Immediately after this, where the Wolf takes a big sniff in the air, he declares "I just love the smell of fear!" One might expect a wolf with a typically canine sense of smell to notice the smell of ''blood'', but while this initially can be read as the Wolf simply being metaphorical in his speech, it's also in keeping with him being a metaphysical entity, and thus can literally sense Puss's fear.
*** He could be literal [[PottyFailure that]] [[BringMyBrownPants way]] as well.

** Unlike the other main characters, the Wolf doesn't have a wanted poster in his introduction. It can easily be [[RedHerring chalked up]] to him being a bounty hunter and therefore ''not'' having a bounty on his head. ...then again, wanted posters were ''[[TomatoInTheMirror his]]'' bounty, for when he eventually claims their lives.
*** Plus, The Wolf never actually admitted to being a bounty hunter. Puss just assumed as much because he had the wanted poster on him.

* The Wolf only appeared before Puss whenever he was reminded of his mortality. Since he is Death itself, he is always around the corner, especially to those who fear him. But he never appeared before him when Puss was in Mamma Luna's house, as Puss was in no serious danger living there. But as one can see, this led to the other problem of hiding in fear so much, you essentially stop living. It's only when Puss finds a balance between the two extremes, appreciating the gift of life while giving death the respect and fear it deserves, does the Wolf leave Puss alone to live the rest of his last remaining life before he inevitably comes to collect it.
** Another reason the Wolf never comes to Mama Luna's: Puss retreats there because he's hiding in fear of Death, thus showing more respect for the wolf (which is all Death wants, in the end) than he has throughout all 8 other lives by that point.

** Likewise, Death is pissed off enough with Puss for wasting eight lives [[note]]when most people have just one[[/note]] to physically manifest, because with reckless abandon Puss' treating life like ''it's all just a game'', which of course, makes its end and passing also a complete joke. If you deprecate Life, you are also insulting and belittling Death.

* The Wolf being literally Death itself makes sense given how many times Death has appeared as an actual character in many fairytales.
** Also, since the Big Bad Wolf is often the antagonist of said stories by virtue of wanting to eat (and thus kill) the hero, wolves have technically stood in for Death (metaphorically, those times) in several stories.

** Death is a large, canine-like creature. In Egypt, there are two canine-like deities associated with death. While the more famous is Anubis, the judge of the dead, there's also his brother Wepwawet, who guided souls through the Duat and is portrayed as having the head of a ''white wolf.'' (On that note, while we don't know what real animal it's supposed to represent, if any, the ''sha'', associated with Set, the god of evil, chaos and destruction, also seems to be canine, fitting with Death's more malicious tendencies.)
*** Don't forget the other hellhounds and various death dogs in other mythologies, including but not limited to: the Greek Cerberus, the English black dog, Garmr and Fenrir from the Norse sagas.

** Speaking of Jack being KilledOffForReal, Jack was noteworthy the only one of the main cast who wasn't there for the last fight between Puss and Death. Jack was trapped in his bottomless bag at the time. Why was it important? Jack's obsession with power and his fantasy was blinding him to the reality: that obsession with power and living in a fantasy only means that your life is empty when you die, making the death of such a person the exact kind of death Death calls Puss out for. Death probably was offended that someone was throwing away his life ''right after he convinced Puss to value his''.

* Death only attacks Puss when he's alone; if there's bystanders around, he just stands there menacingly. He's coming specifically for Puss, and him alone; he doesn't want to risk having innocents interfere or get caught in the crossfire.
** The only exception is at the Wishing Star where Puss has the chance to ask for his lives back, which prompts Death to directly intervene even while the other fighters are around. Even then, he immediately creates a wall of fire to separate himself and Puss from everyone else (note how Perrito is blown away by the barrier, but isn't actually harmed).
* Death's [[HellIsThatNoise taunting whistle]] is in a major key, sounding [[DissonantSerenity cheerful]] rather than mournful. But of course it is - it's a [[BigSleep lullaby]]. It also gives a whole new meaning to the term "wolf-whistle".
** Considering that it's ''Death'' that's whistling, it could very well also be another meaning to "death-whistle". This is fitting, as the death-whistle is an instrument the Aztecs would play before an attack with sounds that very much resemble a scream.

** Which raises the question of why he can get hurt (or at least smacked back) by Puss during their second fight despite being supposedly invincible. It has something to do with his role: Death can get anywhere no matter how dangerous it is (in fact, he's ''more'' likely to be present in dangerous places) and reap anyone's soul at the end of their lives. But trying to personally kill Puss, who is still alive, falls outside of his normal jurisdiction; so he gets a handicap.
*** This also works on a symbolic level, since it is, in fact, entirely possible to fight Death, and even drive him back... for a time. Doctors, for example, do it every day by saving gravely ill or injured people whose death should be all but assured. He always comes back to collect in the end, but resolve and determination to live '''can''' buy you a few extra years.
** It might have to do with the fact that the Wishing Star knows that Death doesn't want, nor cares for, the wish, he wants Puss. Everyone else were in danger because they were after the wish for themselves or someone else, even Perrito.
* Death might not be able to get Puss because he needs a proper excuse. The Bar Fight? Puss was likely drinking himself to death, so Death could get him. Pie Factory escape has Puss dodging flaming arrows, the Lake of Relaxation fight has Puss fearing for his life and real potential of death, not to mention his panic attack could have led to a heart attack. Really, only when Puss has a real possibility of dying is Death at his most dangerous, when Puss starts respecting his mortality more, Death can't get his last life as easy.

* Why does Death find the idea of nine lives absurd? Because that's not how it works in real life!
** Also, no life is worth more than another so of course Death is angry that cats have such a privilege. You are supposed to have one and only one life.

* More Fridge Humor than anything, but reaping those fishes Shrek killed with his farts all the way back in the first movie probably was embarrassing for Death. And King Harold passing away was a parody of dramatic plot-driving death scenes, with two fake-outs, so Death was probably awkwardly standing in the room waiting for Harold to kick the bucket for real.
** And there's of course the climax of the first Shrek movie, where Lord Farquaad had Shrek surrounded by his knights and shouting to the ogre that he will have him tortured so much that he'd be "begging" for death to save him. And that's ''exactly'' what he did moments later when Shrek managed to free his hand just long enough to whistle for Dragon.

* Death's feud with Puss meeting its climax at the Wishing Star works not just for pacing, but to tie Death into the CentralTheme. While Death doesn't pursue the star, he, like every other character, persues a "wish" almost mindlessly and without seeing the forest for the trees (in his case, hunting down Puss to bring down his ego, despite that also validating Puss before Death and thus making him someone he is unwilling to kill). Only here does Death come to that realization, just like everyone else does; his pursuit is a waste, since he already got his "wish".
** It also adds further Brilliance to the aforementioned contrast with Jack. Death looks his most "mortal" here, struggling and even panicking against Puss before throwing a comical tantrum over said lack of foresight, while Jack, the only one left wanting his wish and being totally unfettered about it, takes over as the final menace. Death fell for the same selfish pitfall everyone else did, while Jack knows exactly what he wants and there is no changing his mind.

* The character design parallels between Goldi and the Bears show that even the former isn't related to the latter, she is still connected to them. She's part of the family. Goldi and the bears personalities started to rub off on each other, hence the accessories.

** Let's not pretend the family wasn't watching Puss' dance with literal Death from start to finish. It gives them some newfound respect for Puss since he not only did reaffirm himself as a "legend" without trying to, but he also indirectly showed them how short, fragile, and precious life and its contents are, which only helped Goldi realize that her FamilyOfChoice is worth fighting for.

* When Goldi and the Crime Bear family are smacked by Jack Horner's stone-encased, Excalibur, Mama Bear instantly goes to cushion Goldi from the fall. Why is her concern only about Goldi and not also about her husband and son? Because they are bears -- a species that can take heavy hits and falls better than humans. Since Goldi is the only human, she would've been less lucky.
** Related to that, Papa Bear and Mama Bear probably show favoritism towards Goldi in general because as a human, she's less durable than Baby, therefore they're more protective towards her.
* Papa and Mama Bear not having any issue with adopting Goldi makes sense for two reasons - First, in RealLife, bears have been known to adopt orphan cubs; Second, they were already a crime family when Goldi broke into their home, it's highly likely they saw Goldi's burglary as something respectable.

* Goldi riding on each of the Bears' backs makes sense for a couple of reason -- First, they are large and muscular bears and can handle the weight of a relatively skinny and small human girl. Second, in RealLife, bears are known to travel longer and faster than humans, so Goldi riding on their backs would be less tiring for her.
** Bear cubs when they are little ride on their mother's backs as their main form of transportation. Also, at one point Goldie does a two step, using Papa's side as a stepping stone to jump on Mama's back, showing it to be a well trained and often used move. Goldi is human, compare to the bears she will always be little cub fit to ride on their backs.
* Unlike Jack or Puss, Goldi doesn't read the Wishing Star's incantation when given the opportunity and soon (even sooner than Puss when he was facing Wolf/Death) abandons it to help save Baby. Why? Because unlike the people who earlier held the map, Goldi didn't get obstacles. She only received words, good advice. So, Goldi seeing the incantation reminded her of the earlier advice about her wish being right in front of her. Her small smile when looking at the incantation isn't her struggling to choose between making her wish or saving Baby. It's her dawning realization that her wish ''did'' come true in the form of the Bears.
** Also, between the three of them, when Goldi holds the map, her eyes are given the most focus on the map and its' incantation. She's following the map's earlier advice: She changed her point of view.

** On a similar note, Mama Bear in the original fairytale sleeps in the softest bed, so not only would she be sensitive to, e.g., a light attack on her knuckles but she would be the one best suited to cushion Goldi's fall when Jack Horner struck the family with Excalibur.

** For Baby, who came up with the idea, can now wear the left behind purple clothes of the deceased Jack. And with how rich said factory is, Baby can afford to buy and/or make his own clothing. Also, given he's a BigEater with the sharpest sense of smell, Baby can also pick and choose the right ingredients for making pies.

** For Goldi, her presence could help bring in even more customers. Why? Both she and Jack Horner are humans, but the latter was known for his hatred for anything magical while the former was HappilyAdopted by [[TalkingAnimal talking bears]]. Goldi being part of the family could bring in magical creatures who most likely didn't want to do anything affiliated with the magic-hating Jack.
*** Also, given how easily distracted her family can be, Goldi can be the most focused one of them among directing their workers. And said workers will be appreciated having a fairer, and arguably kinder boss.

* Jack's entire villainous motivation boils down to the fact that he's always been unsatisfied with being an otherwise normal person in a world filled with magic and fairytales. Jack feeling like the odd one out makes total sense when you realize Jack Horner ''isn't'' from a fairytale, but a '' nursery rhyme''.
** Not only that, it's a rhyme that, despite being recognizable both in-universe and the real-life English-speaking world, is infamous for being plain and uninteresting (after all, it's about a completely ordinary boy pulling a plumb out of a pie with his thumb!) compared to the more interesting and fantastical fairy tales like Pinocchio (and even ''other'' nursery rhyme characters like Humpty Dumpty). After being upstaged by Pinocchio, Jack, rather than realizing that he needed to stop relying on a lame gimmick and make his act more engaging and interesting, decided to blame his failure on his lack of magic, causing him to develop a ''huge'' chip on his shoulder and [[BerserkButton become enraged]] when it's [[LampshadeHanging pointed out]] by one of the Serpent Sisters.

* How did Jack come across Fairy Godmother's wand? Since we now know their at least more versions of fairy tales, we only ever saw Fiona's supposed Fairy Godmother. Who's to say he just gotten a stolen wand from another one, it would explain how it's still has magic in it since we clearly saw the original Godmother's wand go dark.
* As an addendum to the above entry, Jack having Excalibur in his possession is pretty easy to explain. Either another Arthur failed to reach the sword in time (which in the Shrek universe, can happen, given how Shrek was never meant to save Fiona in the first place), or Artie's story in Shrek's universe never needed Excalibur in the first place, because again, thanks to Shrek, he was already in line to inherit a throne because Shrek never wanted it. To Jack, the sword was easy pickings.
** Alternatively, Excalibur in [[Myth/ArthurianLegend Arthurian myth]] is sometimes two separate swords. Jack might have the sword in the stone, but perhaps not the sword that the Lady of the Lake bears.

* The sheer poetry in The Ethical Bug being the one to do Jack Horner in. Jack has a major grudge against Pinocchio, and the Ethical Bug is basically Jiminy, so even years later, Pinocchio's influence still gets the better of him.
** Furthermore, a conscience is supposed to stop somebody from doing bad things by appealing to their guilt or inner good nature. When Jack makes it clear he has ''no'' good in him whatsoever and isn't remotely interested in redemption or stopping his callous villainy, how does his conscience stop him? By cutting out the middle man and ''making'' sure he cannot commit anymore bad deeds.

** This even applies to the Three Bears. Papa and Baby both tell the others their rather generic wishes for power and prestige, and they don't get their wishes either - although with Jack Horner dead, there is a power vacuum they decide to exploit - but Mama doesn't tell anyone her wish, and in the end she alone gets hers outright: To have Goldie recognize them as her family.

* The map changes the layout of the Dark Forest based on the personality of the one who's holding it. For Puss, a daredevil thrill-seeker filled with fiery passion, it becomes a LethalLavaLand. For Kitty, she gets a gloomy swampland reflecting how alone and miserable she truly feels. And for Perrito, a CloudCuckoolander, it becomes a colorful land of rainbows and flowers with no hazards at all (save for the posies), giving a straight shot to the Star. Why? Perrito already got what he wanted in making friends with Puss and Kitty, so the Wishing Star gives him the easiest route. Why bother setting up obstacles for someone who's not even interested in using it?
** It's similar to the [[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone spell Dumbledore places on the Mirror of Erised to guard the Philosopher's Stone]]: As he told Harry, "Only a person who wanted to find the Stone- ''find'' it, but not ''use'' it - would be able to get it".
*** Although it should still be noted that the Pocket Full Of Posies was still incredibly dangerous to anyone that wasn't willing or able to ignore the dangers of the giant flowers and appreciate them. Something Perrito has no problems with but treasure hunters after the wish would be very unlikely to do. Presumably the river of relaxation would have followed similar rules were Puss, Kitty and Perrito not already relaxing and having fun while on the boat.
*** There's more reasons to believe that all of Perrito's path is something of a CrapsaccharineWorld though. After all the Pocket Full Of Posies is a reference to a line from the nursery rhyme ''Ring Around the Rosie'... a rhyme which, despite it not being true, is famously attributed to the Black Death. The River Of Relaxation seems harmless... until you remember [[DrowningUnwantedPets what nearly happened to Perrito]]. The Field of Quick and Easy Solutions also seems pleasant... until you remember that people who die by suicide are often criticized for taking the "quick and easy solution" rather than living and facing their problems. Considering how Perrito never realized what exactly his family tried to do to him, these implications would go right over his head.

* When they enter the Dark Forest, They start with the colorful version of it before we see the other forms it can take when Puss and Kitty touch the map then it returns back to its initial form when Perrito touches it. Why is Perrito's version of the Dark Forest the first one we see? Because Perrito entered it first.

*** After being hounded by Baby on her true goals with the wish, Goldi she wants a proper, ''human'' family and has been likely planning this from the moment she came up with the plan to obtain the map. However, before the reveal, whenever some mention of the wish or the family was brought up, she looked bothered and conflicted, visibly showing her not fully thinking her hidden plan was a good idea and/or being guilt-ridden over deceiving her family. As for the trauma, it's more inferred than Puss' but as stated below in the Fridge Horror section, she very likely grew up in an abusive OrphanageOfFear, ran away from said orphanage, and the book where she doodled her "proper" family is also implied to have been a sort of emotional comfort to keep her going despite the hardships. The Bears are hurt by the revelation with Baby and Papa giving their own call out to Goldi's selfishness which she attempts to reason that she doesn't belong with them because she's not a bear. However, it is Mama's tearful promise to get her the wish to make her child happy that humbles Goldi. When given the chance between making her wish and saving Baby, Goldi chooses the latter, and she doesn't even bother with reciting the words, implying that was her realization that the Bears ''are'' her true family, something she states verbatim after the battle.
* Perrito and Jack are a notable {{Foil}} in the backstory department, and how those backstories did (or did ''not'') affect them. Perrito's past was [[DarkAndTroubledPast surprisingly dark]], as his owners tried to get rid of him in disproportionately mean-spirited ways, right down to ''trying to drown him''. ...and yet the experience neither robbed his optimism nor his good heart. By comparison, Jack tells the Ethical Bug he had a rather decent childhood with loving parents and a lucrative baking empire to provide for him, but he still turned out a rotten, sociopathic megalomaniac with no redeeming qualities.
** There's also the company they keep, said-company's philosophy, and how they misconstrue their character based on that philosophy. In Jack's corner (no pun intended), you have the Ethical Bug. The little guy is a firm believer that "there's good in everyone" and tries to find any redeeming qualities in Jack but is ultimately [[BrokenPedestal disappointed]] when he comes to the conclusion, he's "[[JerkWithAHeartOfJerk an irredeemable monster]]". And in Perrito's corner, you have Puss and Kitty. They're more accustomed to people being selfish or treacherous to them in one form or another and expect [[BitchInSheepsClothing more of the same]] from Perrito, only to learn he's really [[SheepInSheepsClothing a pure and trusting soul who wants for nothing]].

*** Continuing on from the above, Jack's henchmen are loyal, but they also are dumb {{Yes Man}}, doing all of his tasks without thinking for themselves. In contrast, while Goldi is the leader, the Bears (at different points) aren't afraid or unwilling to call her out when her behavior or selfishness gets bad.
** How they hold Perrito when both capture him at different points -- When Jack holds Perrito hostage, he holds him by the neck, which in RealLife is ''not'' how you should hold a dog. He also points a lethal arrow at Perrito and threatens to shoot him and given his hatred of {{Talking Animal}}s, he would've done it even if Puss and Kitty complied; when Goldi holds Perrito hostage, she holds him by the waist, which is a preferred to hold a dog and she (with the Bears) quickly build a makeshift bear trap for Puss and Kitty, and when it's used on themselves (thanks to Baby), it doesn't kill them, showing they only planned to trap the team. As such, Perrito helps take down Jack but bonds with Goldi (and the Bears).

** Death is often depicted as a skeleton - a reminder of what will become of everyone currently alive. But before ancient humans made a deep connection between human remains and their own inevitable fates, they would have associated death more with its causes - like, say, wild animals...

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHpVic9iVug This]] Website/YouTube comment:

* Appropriately, Death only approaches Puss when he's either in near-death situations, or when death is literally near him. Can be interpreted as Death stretching his mandate of being near the departed to haunt Puss personally.

* Appropriately, Death only approaches Puss when he's either in near-death situations, or when death is literally near him.