'Puss in Boots' may be a slight story, but one can see why it is popular and why it and its titular character are adapted and parodied a lot, animated, live action and even in ballet with Tchaikovsky's 'Sleeping Beauty'. It is memorable for having one of the most interesting and difficult to forget (in a good way) titular characters there is, with his wit and his way of tricking, and also the climax between Puss in Boots and the ogre.
While liking enough, but not loving, the first part of 'Grimm Masterpiece Theater's' (or 'Grimm's Fairy Tales Classics' to some) adaptation of 'Puss in Boots', to me the second part, in one of the show's stories to have more than one part to it, is quite a bit better. It is better paced, more eventful, the supporting characters are a touch more interesting though still not really standing out and it contains the highlight scene of the adaptation, that being the battle of wits climax between Puss and the sorceror. There is enough to recommend, although it is still not "great" (more pretty good), when it comes to few animated versions of 'Puss in Boots' it is a contender for the best.
The music is still a problem, something was a constant problem throughout 'Gtimm Masterpiece Theater' and never really addressed. Don't have a problem with the theme songs, they are charming, it's the incidental music that fares less well. It never really fits with the action, is too samey and also very 80s.
Still not completely crazy about the voice acting, though it is a marginal improvement over the voice acting in the first half. The narration is thoughtful and avoids the over-explanatory trap, Puss is voiced with a lot of enthusiastic energy and the sorceror is voiced with plenty of menace. The rest however like the music do not fit the characters, either too hammy without any need to or too dull which hurts the characters' personalities. The sloppy synchronisation does not help in the slightest either, and only Puss and the sorceror stand out properly of the characters.
On the other side of the argument, much of the animation, though with the occasional lack of finesse in the character designs, was quite nice in its own simple but oddly charming way. It's atmospheric, mostly smooth and expressive and a nice job is done with the attention to detail in the backgrounds. The theme songs are pleasant and accompanied by well designed intros/outros.
Regarding the writing, it is surprisingly mature here, so it is successful in having something for older audiences, but it is easy enough to understand for youngsters without dumbing things down too much. Will say though that it could have slowed down more, some of it was in my mind too rapid. The story is charming and entertaining, with a livelier pace and it is also more faithful. The clear highlight of both parts of 'Puss in Boots' is the climax, which has battle of wits dialogue but on a visual and character level it is quite scary at the same time even to a young adult, the sorceror is a genuinely menacing character and it is very effective. Puss also quite rightly is the best character in the episode, loved his witty dialogue and how he goes about his trickery and he has all the best lines and the character voiced with the most energy.
In conclusion, pretty gold second half to an overall decent enough adaptation of 'Puss in Boots'. 7/10
While liking enough, but not loving, the first part of 'Grimm Masterpiece Theater's' (or 'Grimm's Fairy Tales Classics' to some) adaptation of 'Puss in Boots', to me the second part, in one of the show's stories to have more than one part to it, is quite a bit better. It is better paced, more eventful, the supporting characters are a touch more interesting though still not really standing out and it contains the highlight scene of the adaptation, that being the battle of wits climax between Puss and the sorceror. There is enough to recommend, although it is still not "great" (more pretty good), when it comes to few animated versions of 'Puss in Boots' it is a contender for the best.
The music is still a problem, something was a constant problem throughout 'Gtimm Masterpiece Theater' and never really addressed. Don't have a problem with the theme songs, they are charming, it's the incidental music that fares less well. It never really fits with the action, is too samey and also very 80s.
Still not completely crazy about the voice acting, though it is a marginal improvement over the voice acting in the first half. The narration is thoughtful and avoids the over-explanatory trap, Puss is voiced with a lot of enthusiastic energy and the sorceror is voiced with plenty of menace. The rest however like the music do not fit the characters, either too hammy without any need to or too dull which hurts the characters' personalities. The sloppy synchronisation does not help in the slightest either, and only Puss and the sorceror stand out properly of the characters.
On the other side of the argument, much of the animation, though with the occasional lack of finesse in the character designs, was quite nice in its own simple but oddly charming way. It's atmospheric, mostly smooth and expressive and a nice job is done with the attention to detail in the backgrounds. The theme songs are pleasant and accompanied by well designed intros/outros.
Regarding the writing, it is surprisingly mature here, so it is successful in having something for older audiences, but it is easy enough to understand for youngsters without dumbing things down too much. Will say though that it could have slowed down more, some of it was in my mind too rapid. The story is charming and entertaining, with a livelier pace and it is also more faithful. The clear highlight of both parts of 'Puss in Boots' is the climax, which has battle of wits dialogue but on a visual and character level it is quite scary at the same time even to a young adult, the sorceror is a genuinely menacing character and it is very effective. Puss also quite rightly is the best character in the episode, loved his witty dialogue and how he goes about his trickery and he has all the best lines and the character voiced with the most energy.
In conclusion, pretty gold second half to an overall decent enough adaptation of 'Puss in Boots'. 7/10