‘Shrek 2’: Antonio Banderas’ Zorro Saved Puss in Boots From Looking ‘Mean’ and ‘Heavy’
Antonio Banderas brought a lot more than a voice to Shrek 2‘s Puss in Boots. As a result of his casting in the animated sequel, the production team took another look at their own character design. Production designer Guillaume Aretos once opened up about how the Shrek 2 introduction of Puss in Boots would be very different without Banderas’ Zorro.
‘Shrek 2’ introduces Puss in Boots
Shrek 2 follows the title character (voiced by Mike Myers) and his new wife, Fiona (voiced by Cameron Diaz). They recently returned from their honeymoon and are ecstatic to show various home videos to all of their friends. Fiona’s parents invite them to the kingdom called Far Far Away so that Shrek can meet the family. However, they don’t know about their daughter’s curse and that she married an ogre.
Shrek finally meets Fiona’s parents and they are surprised, to say the least. As a result of a nasty argument between Fiona and her parents, Shrek fears that he may lose his new wife. Fiona’s father guides Shrek right into the hands of the expert assassin called Puss in Boots (voiced by Banderas). However, he ultimately joins forces with Shrek.
Antonio Banderas’ ‘Zorro’ changed how ‘Shrek 2’ approached Puss in Boots
John Hopkins’ Shrek: From the Swamp to the Screen explores the astonishing production journey of making the Shrek universe happen. He talked with multiple folks behind-the-scenes, creating a full picture of the productions. The world almost had a very different incarnation of Puss in Boots, but Banderas’ involvement changed everything.
“We were heading toward a more ‘heavy cat,'” Production designer Aretos said. “A big strong cat, a bit badly behaved, weak and at the same time arrogant.”
French illustrator Gustave Doré’s 19th-century iteration of the character served as an early inspiration. This version showed a cat with a belt covered in dead mice hanging by their tails and a necklace with beaks and feathers. Aretos said, “He was a very mean-looking cat, as soon as he jumped into his boots.”
Aretos thought this visual approach, “was interesting, but as we evolve the character there is new information always coming in. And with any creative process there is a self-definition of the creation happening in front of your eyes that you don’t really control.”
He continued that Banderas signing onto the project changed everything. “That led us into a somewhat different direction,” Aretos said. “The cat became a little bit skinnier, a little bit nicer because Antonio Banderas is a very charming guy.”
Hopkins’ book explained that Banderas’ performance as Zorro played into the Puss in Boots that exists today.
“We studied the way he looks at the camera, the way he plays with the camera, cocking an eye to the audience, the shadow under the brim of his hat, that type of thing,” Aretos said. “The charming Zorro. We tried to put that into the cat.”
The future of ‘Shrek’
Shrek is one of the world’s most popular animated feature film franchises. It continues to see regular play on streaming services, such as Netflix, and on television channels. The animated movie series has staying power that goes beyond the films themselves. As a result, the iconic characters have fan bases that embrace them. Banderas’ Puss in Boots saw an immense amount of this success.
Shrek 2 saw the first introduction of Puss in Boots, but it certainly isn’t the last that audiences see of him. He returned for Shrek the Third, Shrek Forever After, among other iterations. Shrek 5 still isn’t entirely out of the running, which could mean a bright future for the franchise.
