The animated movie realm has really been lacking lately. Although I can’t discredit recent hits like “Turning Red” or, my personal favorite, “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” it’s simply not the same as it used to be. An enjoyable animated movie used to be released every few weeks, but those numbers seem to be quite sparse these days. The release of “Puss In Boots: The Last Wish,” though, has renewed my hope for the revival of amazing animated movies in the upcoming years.

Puss is surrounded by death, as he’s a “fearless hero” with nine lives. Over time, he fails to notice that he’s blown through eight of them already, and Death himself (represented by Wolf) confronts him with the fear of losing his last life. Puss embarks on a mission to find the “Last Wishing Star” and restore his lives. On this journey, he teams up with an adorable dog, Perrito and his ex-fiancé, Kitty, to fight against Goldilocks’ family and the team of Jack Homer for the wish.

In hindsight, I really wish I would’ve watched it in theaters. The animation style was gorgeous. It has the same charm as the “Spider-Verse;” the action scenes have a 2-D feel while also being colorful and eye-catching. I’ve always enjoyed the quirkiness of the Shrek universe, taking classic fairytales and their morals and morphing them into something more comedic and modern. Late last year, Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio” brought forth a dark but meaningful message about the fleetingness of life and not taking it for granted. “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” had a very similar message, but with a lighter plot and more comedy, and I really enjoyed this balance.

This movie was one-hundred minutes of pure entertainment and creativity that’s hard to come by in the present. Its uniqueness has earned it an Oscar nomination for ‘Best Animated Feature Film’ as well. Packed to the brim with lovable and amazingly-designed characters, I was entranced the entire time and would definitely watch it again.