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Puss in Boots: Roger Ebert's Unexpectedly Sharp Review
The year is 2011. DreamWorks Animation unleashes a spin-off nobody quite saw coming: Puss in Boots, a prequel to the Shrek franchise starring the charmingly roguish feline voiced by Antonio Banderas. While the film charmed audiences worldwide, its reception wasn't universally predictable. One unexpected voice weighed in with a surprisingly insightful and nuanced review – the legendary Roger Ebert. This article delves into Ebert's review of Puss in Boots, exploring its key points, the context of its publication, and why it remains relevant today in understanding both the film itself and Ebert's enduring critical legacy. We'll examine the surprising depth Ebert found in what many considered a simple children's film and how his perspective offers valuable insight for both film critics and animation enthusiasts. Prepare to revisit a beloved film through the lens of a master critic.
Ebert's Unexpected Appreciation: Beyond the "Kiddie Flick"
Ebert, known for his rigorous and often intellectual approach to film criticism, wasn't known for showering animated films with excessive praise. His review of Puss in Boots, therefore, stands out. He didn't dismiss it as mere children's entertainment; instead, he acknowledged and appreciated its artistic merit, particularly its visual style and the surprisingly sophisticated character development. He noted the film's vibrant animation, praising its ability to create a rich and believable world, even within the fantastical context of fairy tales. This was a significant departure from the dismissal of animation as inherently less mature than live-action that characterized some of his earlier work. His review highlighted the film's visual storytelling, drawing attention to how the animation effectively conveyed emotion and plot progression. He didn't shy away from pointing out the film's flaws, but his focus remained on its strengths and its unexpected sophistication.
Thematic Depth in a Seemingly Simple Story: More Than Just Swashbuckling
Ebert's review went beyond a simple assessment of the animation and visuals. He delved into the film's themes, noting the surprisingly mature exploration of themes like friendship, betrayal, and redemption. Puss in Boots, despite being a seemingly lighthearted adventure, grappled with complex emotional arcs, and Ebert recognized and praised this aspect. He highlighted the character development, particularly Puss's journey of self-discovery and his evolving relationships with other characters. Ebert understood that the film wasn't just about sword fights and witty banter; it was a story about growth, facing one's past, and the importance of genuine connection. This recognition of thematic depth in what could easily be dismissed as a children's film speaks volumes about Ebert's insightful approach to criticism.
A Legacy of Critical Perspective: Re-examining "Kiddie Flicks"
Ebert's review of Puss in Boots serves as a valuable reminder of the importance of approaching all films, regardless of genre or target audience, with critical intelligence. His willingness to engage with an animated film, traditionally considered a less serious cinematic endeavor, and to find merit in its artistic achievements speaks to his breadth and depth as a critic. It challenges the assumption that animated films are inherently simplistic or less worthy of critical analysis. By acknowledging the sophisticated storytelling and thematic complexity within Puss in Boots, Ebert broadened the conversation surrounding animation and its potential to engage audiences on multiple levels. His review remains a compelling example of how even seemingly "simple" films can offer rich rewards to those who approach them with an open and discerning eye.
The Enduring Influence: Ebert's Review in the Modern Context
In the years since Ebert's review, the landscape of animation has shifted significantly. Animated films are increasingly recognized for their artistic merit, narrative complexity, and ability to tackle mature themes. Ebert's insightful review of Puss in Boots can be seen as prescient, anticipating this shift and advocating for a more nuanced understanding of animated cinema. His legacy continues to inspire critics to examine animated films with the same level of rigor and attention to detail that they apply to live-action productions. His review serves as a testament to his enduring influence and his commitment to rigorous and insightful film criticism, regardless of the genre.
Ebook Chapter Outline: Puss in Boots: A Roger Ebert Retrospective
Introduction: The Unexpected Ebert Review and its Significance
Chapter 1: Ebert's Critical Lens: Beyond the Surface of "Kiddie Flicks"
Chapter 2: Animation Appreciation: Visual Storytelling and Artistic Merit
Chapter 3: Thematic Depth: Exploring Complex Themes in a Family Film
Chapter 4: Character Development: Puss in Boots' Journey of Self-Discovery
Chapter 5: The Legacy of Ebert's Review: Impact on Animation Criticism
Chapter 6: Comparing Ebert's Review with Contemporary Criticisms
Chapter 7: Puss in Boots' Cultural Impact and Lasting Appeal
Conclusion: The Enduring Relevance of Ebert's Perspective on Animated Cinema
Detailed Article Explanations (Corresponding to the Outline):
Each chapter in the ebook would expand on the points briefly touched upon above. Chapter 1 would delve deeper into Ebert's critical philosophy and how it intersected with his review of Puss in Boots. Chapter 2 would provide a detailed analysis of the film's animation style, citing specific examples to illustrate Ebert's points. Chapter 3 would explore the film's thematic richness, analyzing scenes and dialogue to demonstrate the mature themes present. Chapter 4 would focus on Puss's character arc, examining his growth and transformation throughout the film. Chapter 5 would discuss the impact of Ebert's review on the field of animation criticism, citing examples of how his perspective has influenced subsequent discussions. Chapter 6 would compare Ebert's review with modern critical appraisals of the film, highlighting any points of convergence or divergence. Chapter 7 would examine the film’s cultural impact and its continued relevance in popular culture. The conclusion would summarize the key takeaways from the analysis and reiterate the importance of Ebert's perspective on animation and film criticism in general.
FAQs
1. Did Roger Ebert give Puss in Boots a positive review? While not overwhelmingly enthusiastic, Ebert gave the film a largely positive review, highlighting its visual strengths and thematic depth.
2. What aspects of Puss in Boots did Ebert praise the most? He particularly praised the film's animation, visual storytelling, and surprisingly mature exploration of themes like friendship and betrayal.
3. How does Ebert's review of Puss in Boots compare to his reviews of other animated films? This review stands out as more appreciative of the artistic merit of animation compared to some of his earlier work.
4. What is the significance of Ebert's review in the context of animation criticism? It helped elevate the perception of animated films, demonstrating that they could be critically analyzed with the same rigor as live-action films.
5. Did Ebert's review influence the way critics approached animated films afterward? Yes, his review likely encouraged a more nuanced and sophisticated approach to reviewing animated features.
6. What were some of the criticisms Ebert had about the film? While praising its strengths, Ebert might have pointed out aspects of the plot or character development that weren't fully realized. (Further research would be needed to identify specific criticisms).
7. Where can I read Roger Ebert's original review of Puss in Boots? It should be readily searchable on the Roger Ebert website or through online archives.
8. Is Puss in Boots considered a classic animated film? While not universally considered a "classic" in the same vein as Toy Story, it holds a significant place in DreamWorks' filmography and is widely enjoyed.
9. How does Ebert's review fit into his broader body of work? It demonstrates the breadth of his cinematic tastes and his willingness to critically engage with films across genres.
Related Articles:
1. DreamWorks Animation's Evolution: From Shrek to Puss in Boots: A look at the studio's history and its impact on the animation industry.
2. Antonio Banderas' Voice Acting Career: A Retrospective: An analysis of Banderas's contributions to voice acting, focusing on his iconic role as Puss in Boots.
3. The Legacy of Roger Ebert: A Critical Analysis of his Impact: A broader look at Ebert’s career and his lasting contribution to film criticism.
4. Visual Storytelling in Animation: Techniques and Examples: A study of how animation effectively communicates narrative through visual cues.
5. Thematic Complexity in Children's Films: A Case Study of Puss in Boots: An exploration of how seemingly simple children's films can tackle sophisticated themes.
6. Comparing Puss in Boots to other Fairy Tale Adaptations: A comparative analysis of Puss in Boots and other cinematic adaptations of fairy tales.
7. The Use of Humor in Animated Films: A Study of DreamWorks' Style: Analyzing DreamWorks' particular comedic style and its effectiveness in Puss in Boots.
8. The Evolution of Character Design in Animated Films: A look at how character design has changed over time and how it contributes to a film’s overall aesthetic.
9. Box Office Success and Critical Acclaim: A Study of Animated Films: An exploration of the correlation (or lack thereof) between commercial success and critical reception of animated films.
| puss in boots roger ebert: Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2007 Roger Ebert, 2013-02-05 The most-trusted film critic in America. --USA Today Roger Ebert actually likes movies. It's a refreshing trait in a critic, and not as prevalent as you'd expect. --Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle America's favorite movie critic assesses the year's films from Brokeback Mountain to Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2007 is perfect for film aficionados the world over. Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2007 includes every review by Ebert written in the 30 months from January 2004 through June 2006-about 650 in all. Also included in the Yearbook, which is about 65 percent new every year, are: * Interviews with newsmakers such as Philip Seymour Hoffman, Terrence Howard, Stephen Spielberg, Ang Lee, and Heath Ledger, Nicolas Cage, and more. * All the new questions and answers from his Questions for the Movie Answer Man columns. * Daily film festival coverage from Cannes, Toronto, Sundance, and Telluride. *Essays on film issues and tributes to actors and directors who died during the year. |
| puss in boots roger ebert: Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2010 Roger Ebert, 2009-11-09 Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2010 is the ultimate source for movies, movie reviews, and much more. For nearly 25 years, Roger Ebert's annual collection has been recognized as the preeminent source for full-length critical movie reviews, and his 2010 yearbook does not disappoint. The yearbook includes every review Ebert has written from January 2007 to July 2009. It also includes interviews, essays, tributes, and all-new questions and answers from his Questions for the Movie Answer Man columns. Fans get a bonus feature, too, with new entries to Ebert's Little Movie Glossary. This is the must-have go-to guide for movie fanatics. |
| puss in boots roger ebert: Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2005 Roger Ebert, 2004 Containing reviews written from January 2002 to mid-June 2004, including the films Seabiscuit, The Passion of the Christ, and Finding Nemo, the best (and the worst) films of this period undergo Ebert's trademark scrutiny. It also contains the year's interviews and essays, as well as highlights from Ebert's film festival coverage from Cannes. |
| puss in boots roger ebert: Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook Roger Ebert, 2005 |
| puss in boots roger ebert: Sex and Sexuality in Modern Screen Remakes Lauren Rosewarne, 2019-06-19 Sex and Sexuality in Modern Screen Remakes examines how sexiness, sexuality and revisited sexual politics are used to modernize film and TV remakes. This exploration provides insight into the ever-evolving—and ever-contested—role of sex in society, and scrutinizes the politics and economics underpinning modern media reproduction. More nudity, kinky sex, and queer content are increasingly deployed in remakes to attract, and to titillate, a new generation of viewers. While sex in this book refers to increased erotic content, this discussion also incorporates an investigation of other uses of sex and gender to help a remake appear woke and abreast of the zeitgeist including feminist reimaginings and ‘girl power’ make-overs, updated gender roles, female cast-swaps, queer retellings, and repositioned gazes. Though increased sex is often considered a sign of modernity, gratuitous displays of female nudity can sometimes be interpreted as sexist and anachronistic, in turn highlighting that progressiveness around sexuality in contemporary media is not a linear story. Also examined therefore, are remakes that reduce the sexual content to appear cutting-edge and cognizant of the demands of today’s audiences. |
| puss in boots roger ebert: Focus On: 100 Most Popular Former Roman Catholics Wikipedia contributors, |
| puss in boots roger ebert: Compute , 1992-07 |
| puss in boots roger ebert: I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie Roger Ebert, 2013-07-30 The Pulitzer Prize–winning film critics offers up more reviews of horrible films. Roger Ebert awards at least two out of four stars to most of the more than 150 movies he reviews each year. But when the noted film critic does pan a movie, the result is a humorous, scathing critique far more entertaining than the movie itself. I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie is a collection of more than 200 of Ebert’s most biting and entertaining reviews of films receiving a mere star or less from the only film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize. Ebert has no patience for these atrocious movies and minces no words in skewering the offenders. Witness: Armageddon * (1998)—The movie is an assault on the eyes, the ears, the brain, common sense, and the human desire to be entertained. No matter what they’re charging to get in, it’s worth more to get out. The Beverly Hillbillies * (1993)—Imagine the dumbest half-hour sitcom you’ve ever seen, spin it out to ninety-three minutes by making it even more thin and shallow, and you have this movie. It’s appalling. North no stars (1994)—I hated this movie. Hated hated hated hated hated this movie. Hated it. Hated every simpering stupid vacant audience-insulting moment of it. Hated the sensibility that thought anyone would like it. Hated the implied insult to the audience by its belief that anyone would be entertained by it. Police Academy no stars (1984)—It’s so bad, maybe you should pool your money and draw straws and send one of the guys off to rent it so that in the future, whenever you think you’re sitting through a bad comedy, he could shake his head, chuckle tolerantly, and explain that you don't know what bad is. Dear God * (1996)—Dear God is the kind of movie where you walk out repeating the title, but not with a smile. The movies reviewed within I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie are motion pictures you’ll want to distance yourself from, but Roger Ebert’s creative and comical musings on those films make for a book no movie fan should miss. |
| puss in boots roger ebert: The Hollywood Reporter , 1991 |
| puss in boots roger ebert: Forthcoming Books Rose Arny, 1993-04 |
| puss in boots roger ebert: Atomic Blonde Barry Lowe, 2016-04-28 Born Joan Lucille Olander in a small South Dakota town, Mamie Van Doren rose to Blonde Bombshell status in Hollywood when she signed with Universal Pictures in 1953, right on the heels of Marilyn Monroe. This comprehensive biography explores Van Doren's early life and career, spanning from her start as a bit player in Howard Hughes' Jet Pilot to her significant role as the last surviving member of Hollywood's famous Three M's: Mamie Van Doren, Marilyn Monroe, and Jayne Mansfield. A complete filmography lists Van Doren's roles in film and television. Entries include a plot synopsis, cast and crew details, and in many instances recent and contemporary reviews. |
| puss in boots roger ebert: Fairy Tale Films Pauline Greenhill, Sidney Eve Matrix, 2010-08-06 To set the field: fairy tales are traditional or literary fictional narratives that combine human and non-human protagonists with elements of wonder and the supernatural. Scholars of literature and film explore how such narratives manifest in film, either native to it or changelings from written literature or oral tradition. Among the topics are the commodification of childhood in contemporary fairy tale film, Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth/El Laberinto del fauno and neomagical realism, feminism and place in The Juniper Tree, patriarchal backlash and nostalgia in Disney's Enchanted, feminist cultural pedagogy in Angela Carter and Neil Jordan's The Company of Wolves, and a secret midnight ball and a magic cloak in Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut. |
| puss in boots roger ebert: Your Movie Sucks Roger Ebert, 2007-03-01 A collection of some of the Pulitzer Prize–winning film critic’s most scathing reviews, from Alex & Emma to the remake of Yours, Mine, and Ours. From Roger’s review of Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (0 stars): “The movie created a spot of controversy in February 2005. According to a story by Larry Carroll of MTV News, Rob Schneider took offense when Patrick Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times listed this year's Best Picture nominees and wrote that they were 'ignored, unloved, and turned down flat by most of the same studios that . . . bankroll hundreds of sequels, including a follow-up to Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, a film that was sadly overlooked at Oscar time because apparently nobody had the foresight to invent a category for Best Running Penis Joke Delivered by a Third-Rate Comic.' Schneider retaliated by attacking Goldstein in full-page ads in Daily Variety and the Hollywood Reporter. In an open letter to Goldstein, Schneider wrote: “Well, Mr. Goldstein, I decided to do some research to find out what awards you have won. I went online and found that you have won nothing. Absolutely nothing. No journalistic awards of any kind . . . . Maybe you didn’t win a Pulitzer Prize because they haven’t invented a category for Best Third-Rate, Unfunny Pompous Reporter Who’s Never Been Acknowledged by His Peers . . . .” Schneider was nominated for a 2000 Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor but lost to Jar-Jar Binks. But Schneider is correct, and Patrick Goldstein has not yet won a Pulitzer Prize. Therefore, Goldstein is not qualified to complain that Columbia financed Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo while passing on the opportunity to participate in Million Dollar Baby, Ray, The Aviator, Sideways, and Finding Neverland. As chance would have it, I have won the Pulitzer Prize, and so I am qualified. Speaking in my official capacity as a Pulitzer Prize winner, Mr. Schneider, your movie sucks.” Roger Ebert’s I Hated Hated Hated This Movie, which gathered some of his most scathing reviews, was a bestseller. This collection continues the tradition, reviewing not only movies that were at the bottom of the barrel, but also movies that he found underneath the barrel. |
| puss in boots roger ebert: The Art of Star Wars Rebels Limited Edition Dan Wallace, Lucasfilm Ltd., 2020-04-24 In the early days of the rebellion, a tight-knit group of rebels from various backgrounds banded together against all odds to do their part in the larger mission of defeating the Galactic Empire, sparking hope across the galaxy. The award-winning team from Lucasfilm Animation brought the beloved occupants of the Ghost into our homes five years ago, now, take a step behind-the-scenes to witness the journey from paper to screen with The Art of Star Wars Rebels. Featuring never-before-seen concept art and process pieces along with exclusive commentary from the creative team behind the show. |
| puss in boots roger ebert: Two Weeks in the Midday Sun Roger Ebert, 2016-04-06 Praise for Two Weeks in the Midday Sun -- About the Author -- Title Page -- Foreword by Martin Scorsese -- Dedication -- Two Weeks in the Midday Sun: A Cannes Notebook -- Postscript, 1997: Scorsese Goes to Dinner |
| puss in boots roger ebert: CD-ROMs in Print , 1997 |
| puss in boots roger ebert: Shrek! William Steig, 2017-06-01 Read the book that inspired the famous film franchise in this wonderfully funny picture book. Before Shrek made it big on the silver screen, there was William Steig's SHREK!, a book about an ordinary ogre who leaves his swampy childhood home to go out and see the world. Ordinary, that is, if a foul and hideous being who ends up marrying the most stunningly ugly princess on the planet is what you consider ordinary. |
| puss in boots roger ebert: Pinocchio, the Tale of a Puppet Carlo Collodi, 2011-02 Pinocchio, The Tale of a Puppet follows the adventures of a talking wooden puppet whose nose grew longer whenever he told a lie and who wanted more than anything else to become a real boy.As carpenter Master Antonio begins to carve a block of pinewood into a leg for his table the log shouts out, Don't strike me too hard! Frightened by the talking log, Master Cherry does not know what to do until his neighbor Geppetto drops by looking for a piece of wood to build a marionette. Antonio gives the block to Geppetto. And thus begins the life of Pinocchio, the puppet that turns into a boy.Pinocchio, The Tale of a Puppet is a novel for children by Carlo Collodi is about the mischievous adventures of Pinocchio, an animated marionette, and his poor father and woodcarver Geppetto. It is considered a classic of children's literature and has spawned many derivative works of art. But this is not the story we've seen in film but the original version full of harrowing adventures faced by Pinnocchio. It includes 40 illustrations. |
| puss in boots roger ebert: The Art of The Mitchells vs. The Machines Ramin Zahed, 2021-05-18 COVER NOT FINAL The official behind-the-scenes art book for Sony Pictures Animation’s feature film The Mitchells vs. The Machines The Mitchells vs. The Machines is a comedy about an everyday family's struggle to relate while technology rises up around the world! When Katie Mitchell, a creative outsider, is accepted into the film school of her dreams, her plans to meet “her people” at college are upended when her nature-loving dad Rick determines the whole family should drive Katie to school together and bond as a family one last time. Katie and Rick are joined by the rest of the family, including Katie’s wildly positive mom Linda, her quirky little brother Aaron, and the family’s delightfully chubby pug Monchi for the ultimate family road trip. Suddenly, the Mitchells’ plans are interrupted by a tech uprising: All around the world, the electronic devices people love—from phones to appliances to an innovative new line of personal robots—decide it’s time to take over. With the help of two friendly malfunctioning robots, the Mitchells will have to get past their problems and work together to save each other and the world! The Art of The Mitchells vs. The Machines gives insight into how the filmmakers were able to bring this fresh, new vision to the screen through concept art, sketches, and early character designs, accompanied by exclusive commentary from director/co-writer Michael Rianda and co-director/co-writer Jeff Rowe, alumni of the team behind Emmy Award–winning Gravity Falls, and producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the innovative and creative minds behind The Lego Movie and the Academy Award–winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. |
| puss in boots roger ebert: Cineforum , 2007 |
| puss in boots roger ebert: The Giver Lois Lowry, 2014 The Giver, the 1994 Newbery Medal winner, has become one of the most influential novels of our time. The haunting story centers on twelve-year-old Jonas, who lives in a seemingly ideal, if colorless, world of conformity and contentment. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community. This movie tie-in edition features cover art from the movie and exclusive Q&A with members of the cast, including Taylor Swift, Brenton Thwaites and Cameron Monaghan. |
| puss in boots roger ebert: The Little Prince: The Art of the Movie Ramin Zahed, 2016-03-15 The art of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's iconic masterpiece, The Little Prince, has been celebrated around the world for over seventy years. Now, Kung Fu Panda director Mark Osborne has brought the first-ever animated feature film adaptation of the children’s classic to screen, with voice talent that includes Marion Cotillard, James Franco, Jeff Bridges, Rachel McAdams and Benicio del Toro. This fresh take on a legendary tale blends intricate stop-motion animation with carefully crafted CGI to bring a whole new story to life – that of a little girl forced to grow up too fast in a world that has its priorities backwards. That is, until she meets the Aviator from Saint-Exupéry's story and is drawn into the rich, vibrant world of the Little Prince. Packed with never-before-seen designs and plenty of behind-the-scenes secrets, The Art of The Little Prince captures the breathtaking magic of the movie. With hundreds of stunning images, this book gives fans an all-access pass to The Little Prince – see how the visuals develop from page to screen, enjoy fascinating insights into the creative process and watch an incredible story unfold through its production art. |
| puss in boots roger ebert: Antkind Charlie Kaufman, 2021-07-06 The bold and boundlessly original debut novel from the Oscar®-winning screenwriter of Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Synecdoche, New York. LONGLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE • “A dyspeptic satire that owes much to Kurt Vonnegut and Thomas Pynchon . . . propelled by Kaufman’s deep imagination, considerable writing ability and bull’s-eye wit.—The Washington Post “An astonishing creation . . . riotously funny . . . an exceptionally good [book].”—The New York Times Book Review • “Kaufman is a master of language . . . a sight to behold.”—NPR NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR AND MEN’S HEALTH B. Rosenberger Rosenberg, neurotic and underappreciated film critic (failed academic, filmmaker, paramour, shoe salesman who sleeps in a sock drawer), stumbles upon a hitherto unseen film made by an enigmatic outsider—a film he’s convinced will change his career trajectory and rock the world of cinema to its core. His hands on what is possibly the greatest movie ever made—a three-month-long stop-motion masterpiece that took its reclusive auteur ninety years to complete—B. knows that it is his mission to show it to the rest of humanity. The only problem: The film is destroyed, leaving him the sole witness to its inadvertently ephemeral genius. All that’s left of this work of art is a single frame from which B. must somehow attempt to recall the film that just might be the last great hope of civilization. Thus begins a mind-boggling journey through the hilarious nightmarescape of a psyche as lushly Kafkaesque as it is atrophied by the relentless spew of Twitter. Desperate to impose order on an increasingly nonsensical existence, trapped in a self-imposed prison of aspirational victimhood and degeneratively inclusive language, B. scrambles to re-create the lost masterwork while attempting to keep pace with an ever-fracturing culture of “likes” and arbitrary denunciations that are simultaneously his bête noire and his raison d’être. A searing indictment of the modern world, Antkind is a richly layered meditation on art, time, memory, identity, comedy, and the very nature of existence itself—the grain of truth at the heart of every joke. |
| puss in boots roger ebert: Fairy Tale Films Pauline Greenhill, Sidney Eve Matrix, 2010-08-06 This ISBN refers to the ebook edition of this text, available directly from the publisher. It has erroneously been listed as paperback by some online vendors. The true paperback edition is indeed available at online vendors. Paste this ISBN into the search box: 9780874217810. In this, the first collection of essays to address the development of fairy tale film as a genre, Pauline Greenhill and Sidney Eve Matrix stress, the mirror of fairy-tale film reflects not so much what its audience members actually are but how they see themselves and their potential to develop (or, likewise, to regress). As Jack Zipes says further in the foreword, “Folk and fairy tales pervade our lives constantly through television soap operas and commercials, in comic books and cartoons, in school plays and storytelling performances, in our superstitions and prayers for miracles, and in our dreams and daydreams. The artistic re-creations of fairy-tale plots and characters in film—the parodies, the aesthetic experimentation, and the mixing of genres to engender new insights into art and life— mirror possibilities of estranging ourselves from designated roles, along with the conventional patterns of the classical tales.” Here, scholars from film, folklore, and cultural studies move discussion beyond the well-known Disney movies to the many other filmic adaptations of fairy tales and to the widespread use of fairy tale tropes, themes, and motifs in cinema. |
| puss in boots roger ebert: A Horrible Experience of Unbearable Length Roger Ebert, 2012-03-06 More of the Pulitzer Prize–winning film critic’s most scathing reviews. A Horrible Experience of Unbearable Length collects more than 200 of his reviews from 2006 to 2012 in which he gave movies two stars or fewer. Known for his fair-minded and well-written film reviews, Roger is at his razor-sharp humorous best when skewering bad movies. Consider this opener for the one-star Your Highness: “Your Highness is a juvenile excrescence that feels like the work of 11-year-old boys in love with dungeons, dragons, warrior women, pot, boobs, and four-letter words. That this is the work of David Gordon Green beggars the imagination. One of its heroes wears the penis of a minotaur on a string around his neck. I hate it when that happens.” And finally, the inspiration for the title of this book, the one-star Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a horrible experience of unbearable length, briefly punctuated by three or four amusing moments. One of these involves a doglike robot humping the leg of the heroine. If you want to save yourself the ticket price, go into the kitchen, cue up a male choir singing the music of hell, and get a kid to start banging pots and pans together. Then close your eyes and use your imagination.” Roger Ebert’s I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie and Your Movie Sucks, which gathered some of his most scathing reviews, were bestsellers. This collection continues the tradition, reviewing not only movies that were at the bottom of the barrel, but also movies that he found underneath the barrel. Movie buffs and humor lovers alike will relish this treasury of movies so bad that you may just want to see them for a good laugh! |
| puss in boots roger ebert: The Man in the Moon William Joyce, 2011-09-06 When a newly orphaned baby in the moon makes friends with the children of Earth, he seeks a way to ward off their fears and nightmares. |
| puss in boots roger ebert: "Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman Harlan Ellison, 2016-07-12 Winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards: A science fiction classic about an antiestablishment rebel set on overthrowing the totalitarian society of the future. One of science fiction’s most antiestablishment authors rails against the accepted order while questioning blind obedience to the state in this unique pairing of short story and essay. “‘Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman” is set in a dystopian future society in which time is regulated by a heavy bureaucratic hand known as the Ticktockman. The rebellious Everett C. Marm flouts convention, masquerading as the anarchic Harlequin, disrupting the precise schedule with bullhorns and jellybeans in a world where being late is nothing short of a crime. But when his love, Pretty Alice, betrays Everett out of a desire to return to the punctuality to which she is programmed, he is forced to face the Ticktockman and his gauntlet of consequences. The bonus essay included in this volume, “Stealing Tomorrow,” is a hard-to-find Harlan Ellison masterwork, an exploration of the rebellious nature of the writer’s soul. Waxing poetic on humankind’s intellectual capabilities versus its emotional shortcomings, the author depicts an inner self that guides his words against the established bureaucracies, assuring us that the intent of his soul is to “come lumbering into town on a pink-and-yellow elephant, fast as Pegasus, and throw down on the established order.” Winner of the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award, “‘Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman” has become one of the most reprinted short stories in the English language. Fans of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World will delight in this antiestablishment vision of a Big Brother society and the rebel determined to take it down. The perfect complement, “Stealing Tomorrow” is a hidden gem that reinforces Ellison’s belief in humankind’s inner nobility and the necessity to buck totalitarian forces that hamper our steady evolution. |
| puss in boots roger ebert: Stars and Stardom in French Cinema Ginette Vincendeau, 2005-04 When people think of film stars, they think of Hollywood. Yet, second only to America, French cinema has produced the most substantial galaxy of stars to achieve world fame in their national films. Top French stars are every bit as glamorous and charismatic as their American counterparts, but they are also different from their rivals and opposites, especially in the freedom they have to control their own images and in the ways they straddle mainstream and auteur cinema. This fascinating book, written by a leading authority on French cinema, analyses for the first time the French 'star system' and provides brilliant in-depth studies of the major popular stars of French cinema: Max Linder, Jean Gabin, Brigitte Bardot, Jeanne Moreau and the stars of the New Wave, Louis de Funes, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Alain Delon, Catherine Deneuve, Gerard Depardieu and Juliette Binoche. Stars and Stardom in French Cinema analyses these stars' images and performance styles in the context of the French film industry and in relation to French culture and society. |
| puss in boots roger ebert: The Art of Kiki's Delivery Service Hayao Miyazaki, 2006-05-09 A 13-year-old girl sets off on a journey to become a witch. In the process, she learns how to be a woman. From the movie of the same name, this prestige format, lavishly illustrated hard-bound book gives fans a rare glimpse into the creative process of Academy Award-winning director, Hayao Miyazaki. A 13-year-old girl sets off on a journey to become a witch. In the process, she learns how to be a woman. From the movie of the same name, this prestige format, lavishly illustrated hard-bound book gives fans a rare glimpse into the creative process of Academy Award-winning director, Hayao Miyazaki. |
| puss in boots roger ebert: Chasing Portraits Elizabeth Rynecki, 2016-09-06 The memoir of one woman’s emotional quest to find the art of her Polish-Jewish great-grandfather, lost during World War II. Moshe Rynecki’s body of work reached close to eight hundred paintings and sculptures before his life came to a tragic end. It was his great-granddaughter Elizabeth who sought to rediscover his legacy, setting upon a journey to seek out what had been lost but never forgotten… The everyday lives of the Polish-Jewish community depicted in Moshe Rynecki’s paintings simply blended into the background of Elizabeth Rynecki’s life when she was growing up. But the art transformed from familiar to extraordinary in her eyes after her grandfather, Moshe’s son George, left behind journals detailing the loss her ancestors had endured during World War II, including Moshe’s art. Knowing that her family had only found a small portion of Moshe’s art, and that many more pieces remained to be found, Elizabeth set out to find them. Before Moshe was deported to the ghetto, he entrusted his work to friends who would keep it safe. After he was killed in the Majdanek concentration camp, the art was dispersed all over the world. With the help of historians, curators, and admirers of Moshe’s work, Elizabeth began the incredible and difficult task of rebuilding his collection. Spanning three decades of Elizabeth’s life and three generations of her family, this touching memoir is a compelling narrative of the richness of one man’s art, the devastation of war, and one woman’s unexpected path to healing. |
| puss in boots roger ebert: Shrek John Hopkins, 2004-04-20 The main characters dish all the dirt about the movie and its sequel, while the films' animators, directors and designers weight in on the finer points of the creative process. |
| puss in boots roger ebert: Twelve Angry Men Reginald Rose, 2006-08-29 A landmark American drama that inspired a classic film and a Broadway revival—featuring an introduction by David Mamet A blistering character study and an examination of the American melting pot and the judicial system that keeps it in check, Twelve Angry Men holds at its core a deeply patriotic faith in the U.S. legal system. The play centers on Juror Eight, who is at first the sole holdout in an 11-1 guilty vote. Eight sets his sights not on proving the other jurors wrong but rather on getting them to look at the situation in a clear-eyed way not affected by their personal prejudices or biases. Reginald Rose deliberately and carefully peels away the layers of artifice from the men and allows a fuller picture to form of them—and of America, at its best and worst. After the critically acclaimed teleplay aired in 1954, this landmark American drama went on to become a cinematic masterpiece in 1957 starring Henry Fonda, for which Rose wrote the adaptation. More recently, Twelve Angry Men had a successful, and award-winning, run on Broadway. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators. |
| puss in boots roger ebert: The Life of August Wilhelm Schlegel, Cosmopolitan of Art and Poetry Roger Paulin, 2016-02-01 This is the first full-scale biography, in any language, of a towering figure in German and European Romanticism: August Wilhelm Schlegel whose life, 1767 to 1845, coincided with its inexorable rise. As poet, translator, critic and oriental scholar, Schlegel's extraordinarily diverse interests and writings left a vast intellectual legacy, making him a foundational figure in several branches of knowledge. He was one of the last thinkers in Europe able to practise as well as to theorise, and to attempt to comprehend the nature of culture without being forced to be a narrow specialist. With his brother Friedrich, for example, Schlegel edited the avant-garde Romantic periodical Athenaeum; and he produced with his wife Caroline a translation of Shakespeare, the first metrical version into any foreign language. Schlegel's Lectures on Dramatic Art and Literature were a defining force for Coleridge and for the French Romantics. But his interests extended to French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese literature, as well to the Greek and Latin classics, and to Sanskrit. August Wilhelm Schlegel is the first attempt to engage with this totality, to combine an account of Schlegel’s life and times with a critical evaluation of his work and its influence. Through the study of one man's rich life, incorporating the most recent scholarship, theoretical approaches, and archival resources, while remaining easily accessible to all readers, Paulin has recovered the intellectual climate of Romanticism in Germany and traced its development into a still-potent international movement. The extraordinarily wide scope and variety of Schlegel's activities have hitherto acted as a barrier to literary scholars, even in Germany. In Roger Paulin, whose career has given him the knowledge and the experience to grapple with such an ambitious project, Schlegel has at last found a worthy exponent. |
| puss in boots roger ebert: The Men Who Would Be King Nicole LaPorte, 2010-05-04 “The definitive history of the studio” created by the larger-than-life team of Spielberg, Geffen, and Katzenberg (Los Angeles Times). For sixty years, since the birth of United Artists, the studio landscape was unchanged. Then came Hollywood’s Circus Maximus—created by director Steven Spielberg, billionaire David Geffen, and Jeffrey Katzenberg, who gave the world The Lion King—an entertainment empire called DreamWorks. Now Nicole LaPorte, who covered the company for Variety, goes behind the hype to reveal for the first time the delicious truth of what happened. Readers will feel they are part of the creative calamities of moviemaking as LaPorte’s fly-on-the-wall detail shows us Hollywood’s bizarre rules of business. We see the clashes between the often-otherworldly Spielberg’s troops and Katzenberg’s warriors, the debacles and disasters, but also the Oscar-winning triumphs, including Saving Private Ryan. We watch as the studio burns through billions of dollars, its rich owners get richer, and everybody else suffers. LaPorte displays Geffen, seducing investors like Microsoft’s Paul Allen, showing his steel against CAA’s Michael Ovitz, and staging fireworks during negotiations with Paramount and Disney. Here is a blockbuster behind-the-scenes Hollywood story—up close, glamorous, and gritty. |
| puss in boots roger ebert: The Beauty Myth Naomi Wolf, 2009-03-17 The bestselling classic that redefined our view of the relationship between beauty and female identity. In today's world, women have more power, legal recognition, and professional success than ever before. Alongside the evident progress of the women's movement, however, writer and journalist Naomi Wolf is troubled by a different kind of social control, which, she argues, may prove just as restrictive as the traditional image of homemaker and wife. It's the beauty myth, an obsession with physical perfection that traps the modern woman in an endless spiral of hope, self-consciousness, and self-hatred as she tries to fulfill society's impossible definition of the flawless beauty. |
| puss in boots roger ebert: Greatest Hits Daniel T MacInnes, 2017-11-21 Greatest Hits is An Anthology in Four Volumes that examines, dissects and satirizes every angle of the pop culture universe: film and television, animation and live-action, rock and jazz music, vinyl records, classic video games, politics and daily life. Writer and artist Daniel Thomas MacInnes delivers his signature style of sharp wit, biting sarcasm, warm nostalgia, and the search for the cultural threads that bring us all together. In Greatest Hits, MacInnes presents, in a incisive collection of essays and personal stories, the trivial absurdity and profound brilliance of modern life. These include denouncing the media circus surrounding Michael Jackson's untimely death (Now Watch the Thriller Zombies Chew On the Corpse), championing the genius of 1970s Miles Davis (Get Up With It), conjuring childhood memories of video games (Seven Cities of Gold), and celebrating the animated movies of Studio Ghibli (My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away). Like everyone's favorite greatest hits albums, this book is a fitting portrait of the artist, and a perfect distillation of a singular and irresistible literary voice. Greatest Hits essays include: ActRaiser; Anne of Green Gables; California Games; Donkey Kong Country; Herzog Zwei; My Neighbor Totoro; Napoleon Dynamite; Ratatouille; Sonic CD; Spirited Away; The Thriller Zombies Come to Chew on the Corpse; Truth is the First Casualty of War; and 80 more. |
| puss in boots roger ebert: Switchblade Honey Warren Ellis, Brandon McKinney, 2003 The alien Chasta put their war machine into gear and humankind was suddenly in the worst fight it had ever known - and lost. The solar system will be annexed by the Chasta within the next thirty days. If humankind can't be the U.S. Army anymore, then it will have to be the Viet Cong. Disgraced Captain John Ryder gets a ship and crew and leads them into space as guerrilla fighters. Once clear of the system, they locate a place to hide between sorties and begin fighting. They strike from behind and shoot from cover. If they can't give them hell, Ryder and crew at least give them a hard time. The Chasta throw a ring of steel around the system as they close in on Earth, so Ryder pokes holes in it. They're on their own. No support. Naval vessels won't even recognize their callsign. They don't exist... but they're mankind's last hope. |
| puss in boots roger ebert: I'm No Angel Ellen Tremper, 2006 Have you ever wondered why there are so many dumb blonde jokes--always about women? Or how Ivanhoe's childhood love, theflaxen Saxon Rowena, morphed into Marilyn Monroe? Between that season in 1847 when readers encountered Becky Sharp playing the vengeful Clytemnestra--about to plunge a dagger into Agamemnon--and the sunny moment in 1932 when moviegoers watched Clark Gable plunge Jean Harlow's platinum-tressed head into a rain barrel, the playing field for women and men had leveled considerably. But how did the fairy-tale blonde, that placid, pliant girl, become the tomato upstair, as Monroe styled herself in The Seven Year Itch? In I'm No Angel: The Blonde in Fiction and Film, Ellen Tremper shows how, at its roots, the image of the blonde was remodeled by women writers in the nineteenth century and actors in the twentieth to keep pace with the changes in real women's lives. As she demonstrates, through these novels and performances, fair hair and its traditional attributes--patience, pliancy, endurance, and innocence--suffered a deliberate alienation, which both reflected and enhanced women's personal and social freedoms essential to the evolution of modernity. From fiction to film, the active, desiring, and sometimes difficult women who disobeyed, manipulated, and thwarted their fellow characters mimicked and furthered women's growing power in the world. The author concludes with an overview of the various roles of the blonde in film from the 1960s to the present and speculates about the possible end of blond dominance. An engaging and lively read, I'm No Angel will appeal to a general audience interested in literary and cinematic representations of the blonde, as well as to scholars in Victorian, women's, and film studies. |
| puss in boots roger ebert: The Making of Evita Alan Parker, 1996 Coinciding with the December release of the film, the publication of The Making of Evita is certain to capture national attention and will appeal to movie-goers of all varieties--from historians and film buffs to fans of Madonna and Antonio Banderas. Go behind the scenes of the most talked-about and anticipated motion picture of the decade in acclaimed director Alan Parker's own version of the making of his epic film: Evita. 140 photos. |
| puss in boots roger ebert: Subject Guide to Children's Books in Print , 1976 |
