‘Puss in Boots: The last wish’ is another dreamworks success

by Erin Zhu Contributing Writer

Succeeding the original “Puss in Boots” (2011), “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” (2022) presents our charming protagonist as his usual hedonistic and proud self. Unfortunately, after a joust that goes awry, Puss (Antonio Banderas) discovers that he is on the last of his nine lives. But of course, our fearless hero laughs in the face of death and dismisses the prescription of retirement. However, after a chilling encounter with a hooded, red-eyed wolf (Wagner Moura), Puss flees.

Out of shame and fear, Puss buries his uniform and takes up shelter at Mama Luna’s home for strays, and it is here that Puss meets an unlikely friend: the small, chihuahua-like dog, Perrito (Harvey Guillén). Clumsy and optimistic, Perrito is in many ways an antithesis to Puss. Despite serving as a comedic character for many portions of the movie, his innocence and clarity become his greatest sources of wisdom.

Other well-known characters are also presented: Puss’s former flame, Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek Pinault); Goldilocks (Florence Pugh) and the three bears (Olivia Colman, Samson

Kayo and Ray Winstone), now a working crime family; and the baby-faced and bloodthirsty Jack Horner (John Mulaney), a collector of coveted fairy tail memorabilia. Their paths intertwine as they race to find the Wishing Star, a mythical object that can grant its owner any wish they desire, and in this mythical race, every character wants first place.

“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” is visually delightful, and alongside animated works like “Arcane: League of Legends” (2021–) and “Spider-Man: Into the SpiderVerse” (2018), it reflects the growing artistic inclinations of the animation studios. While previous DreamWorks projects have focused on drawing their lines infinitely closer to hyper realism, “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” pulls away and embraces the more freeform washes of paint reminiscent of digital illustration. Perhaps this has partially to do with the success of Japanese animation techniques in media, and such inspiration is seen most clearly in the actionpacked segments of “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.”

There is a moment toward the beginning of the film, when Puss first encounters red-eyed Death, that overshadows the remainder of the film in its technical excellence: after a theatrical duel with the wolf, Puss is nicked in the forehead. He notices the blood that has dampened his paw and the music in the theater lowers into an eerie whistling. We see, through his eyes, the milestones and memories of his life flash across the screen in gold, and the sudden fear of death, not just Puss’s but also our own, holds the audience in awe.

This moment feels like the peak, and no other moment in the story captures the audiences’ attention at a level remotely as high. After the introduction of the Wishing Star map, the agenda of this movie becomes quite clear, and the trajectory of the plot follows in accordance to easily formed predictions. The audience is carried through the rest of the movie through bits of comedy and occasional epiphanies, but these following scenes largely remain outshined, even the final battle scene. Regardless, the confidence and ambition of “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” shines through. It is a movie that ponders the absurdity of fear and love in a way that is invigorating, and it confronts the existence of that fatal and final destination with a tact and a sense of humor that keeps it light on its feet.

by Cindy Zhang Science Editor

For the first time ever, a vaccine has been approved for insects.

Early this January, the U.S. Department of Agriculture offered conditional approval of a unique vaccine. The vaccine, developed by Dalan Animal Health in Atlanta, Georgia, is specifically designed for honeybees and will target American foulbrood bacteria.

Bees pollinate one-third of the crops in the United States, but their numbers have long been dwindling. American foulbrood bacteria is one of many culprits, as it can spread easily from colony to colony. Without the vac- cine, beekeepers have had to burn all of the hives and equipment that have come into contact with the bacteria in an effort to prevent its spread. The disease, combined with climate change and pesticides, has contributed largely to the decimation of bee populations around the world. Researchers are hopeful that the vaccine can help eliminate at least one of the many natural enemies of the bee population.

Because bees do not have antibodies, scientists believed that bees could not develop immunity. However, a 2015 study revealed that if exposed to a specific protein, bees could transmit an immune response to their descendents. Therefore, in bee colonies, immunity can be spread through the whole hive through just one queen bee.

No shots will be injected into the small insects, however. The honeybee vaccine will be delivered in the form of food: Dead bacterium larvae of the species that causes American foulbrood will be fed to the queen bee through royal jelly, a sugar-based food typically provided to queen bees. The vaccine will then travel to the queen’s ovaries after being digested, causing all of the larvae to hold immunity.

While society is familiar with vaccine protocols for domesticated pets and livestock, this vaccine is unprecedented as it is the first of its kind for nontraditional livestock.

As the vaccine continues to roll out to beekeepers around the United States, it will be exciting to see the increasing immunity of a vital species.

THEME -

Missed Connections

You: a pair of AirPods left in the Somerville Theatre after a 7:30PM showing of M3GAN Me: want to listen to the new boygenius in Tisch but can’t find my lost headphones

Dear fellow Tufts community members, First of all, thank you for taking a minute to pick up this copy of The Tufts Daily (or for reading it online, if that’s more your style). We are excited to be back!

This semester, like last semester, we will be publishing new content every weekday and printing once a week, on Thursdays. These print editions will comprise both brand new content as well as a handful of our favorite pieces from throughout the previous week.

Our special editions this semester will coincide with several high-profile campus events, including Commencement, Jumbo Month, the 43rd anniversary of the Daily’s first publication and — of course — April Fools’ Day. You can pick these, or any of our weekly print editions, up