In America, when you ask about the fairy tale "Puss In Boots," the first thing kids might think of is Antonio Banderas as the fearless feline in the Shrek franchise. But the character has been famous for much longer in Japan, thanks to a children's film by Toei Animation in 1969. Toei is still a juggernaut in anime today, thanks to producing hundreds of shows shows, including the popular "One Piece," "Dragon Ball Z," "Digimon" and "Sailor Moon" series. And their company logo today uses the face of Puss 'N Boots, a.k.a. "Pero." The cat is to Toei what Mickey Mouse is to Disney, and Totoro is to Studio Ghibli. With such a legacy, "The Wonderful World of Puss 'N Boots" (the first of three films to feature the character) felt like necessary viewing. Thankfully, Discotek gives us a recent Bluray release of the movie (although I have no idea how well it sells for them; they list Hayao Miyazaki as a key animator in big font on the box to help sell it). To be clear, this is a far cry from the lavish productions of American animation, and does not compare at all to a Disney movie from the 1960's, or the more ambitious anime that would arise decades later. "Puss N' Boots" looks much more like those cheaper television productions that were famously outsourced to animators in East-Asia to cut costs. More specifically, it looks like the 2D animation from some of Rankin-Bass' productions, the company famous for its Christmas movies and stop-motion animation (sure enough, some of their 2D-animation was outsourced to Toei). There is a light nostalgic charm to this limited animation, and I'm trying to balance myself a little to remember the era it came from, rather than compare it to the output we have in the 2020's. Even so, I'd be lying to say you should watch this for the animation alone, even if the animators have some fun with the action and chase sequences. But as far as the story goes, it's a fun and breezy children's tale that appears to follow the original fairy tale well enough. Pero is a dashing cat banished by the cat kingdom for sparing the life of helpless mice, and is on the run throughout the land from a trio of cat knights tasked to bring him to jail. Early on, he meets the kind young man Pierre, while his older brothers scam him out of his share of their father's inheritance. Both allies by circumstance, Pero proposes that Pierre should marry the (human) King's daughter, who is to be wed to "the richest and bravest in the land." Pierre is neither of these things, but with Pero's famous wit, he orchestrates a plan to carry out this happy ending. The one thing in the way might be Lord Lucifer, a proud but evil magician and warlock who wants to marry the Princess himself. The story isn't dark (aside from a brief early scene of the Cat-King's guards being told they'll be hanged if they don't catch Pero), and there are a few musical numbers, making this a great movie for young children. Even the villain Lucifer is a bit of a bashful pushover rather than being a force of evil. The movie is at its most fun during either the chase scenes, or when Pero confidently carries out his plans. The chases through the forests and castles are good examples of old-fashioned slapstick, and you can imagine the fun the animators had in producing those scenes. And the plans Pero carries out are clever, thanks in part to his wit and prose, being a very smart cat. He's a charming hero, and it's clear why he'd be used as a company mascot today. The handsome human leads (Pierre and the Princess) are both a little dull however, both in design and character.
There isn't much more to say about "The Wonderful World of Puss N' Boots." I watched the old English dub, and it adds to the "nostalgic" feel of the movie (and I rather like the personality they gave Pero), but of course it's not a great dub and purists will be happier with the Japanese voices. The movie is fun and simple, and overall, OK. The one thing I'll say is that there aren't many examples of anime I'd show a 5-year-old... "Puss 'N Boots" is the safest and quickest recommendation I'd make to that audience.