The Last Wish’s Wolf Is an Awesome Villain

The Big Picture

• DreamWorks Animation has created some memorable villains over the years, but The Big Bad Wolf in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is one of the best animated antagonists of all time.
• Wagner Moura’s voice acting as The Wolf is impeccable, injecting the character with menacing charisma and unnerving sarcasm.
• The Wolf’s true identity as Death adds a brilliant and terrifying twist to the film, culminating in a climactic duel between Puss and the Grim Reaper himself.

DreamWorks Animation has delivered no shortage of fantastic villains over its decades-long career, particularly from the Shrek franchise with Lord Farquard (John Lithgow), the Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders), and Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn). There are of course examples from their other films as well, like the complex Ramesses (Ralph Fiennes) from The Prince of Egypt and the deranged Lord Shen from Kung Fu Panda 2. The acclaimed studio’s hit Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is already worthy of being called a modern animated masterpiece for its gorgeous art style, hysterical sense of humor, and surprisingly mature themes on mortality, but the foes that Puss (Antonio Banderas) and his friends face push the sequel into a whole other tier altogether. The variety of the antagonistic forces is also a big plus, with the sympathetic Goldilocks (Florence Pugh) and her crime family of the Three Bears, the power-mad and irredeemable Big Jack Horner (John Mulaney), and one final main villain who completely steals the show.

Enter “The Big Bad Wolf,” played to absolute perfection by Narcos star Wagner Moura. A cruel canine “bounty hunter” who stalks Puss in Boots for the entire film, his character is everything you could possibly want from a movie villain. Not only is he the subject of some great creative choices in terms of his voice, design, and dialogue, but The Wolf is able to evoke a sensation that not many children’s movies can — legitimate fear and intimidation. All of these factors culminate in a third-act twist that reveals The Wolf’s true intentions, which is nothing short of brilliant and enhances the film’s excellent story even further. The end result is not just the best villain to ever appear in a Dreamworks film, it’s one of the best animated antagonists of all time.

The Wolf’s Introduction in ‘The Last Wish’ Is as Memorable as It Is Terrifying

Puss first meets The Wolf after being told by the town veterinarian that he is down to his ninth life, meaning if he dies again, there’s no coming back. Puss isn’t bothered by this though, as he goes down to his favorite bar to relax and drink some milk to avoid his problems. That attempt to deflect the serious news is suddenly interrupted by a sinister, melodic whistle. The source of that whistle is coming from a mysterious hooded figure, who appears seemingly out of nowhere and sits right next to Puss. The menacing figure claims to be a fan, but when he asks Puss to sign a wanted poster specifically where it says “DEAD,” it’s clear that he’s got something else in mind.

Believing this is just another bounty hunter trying to collect a reward on him, Puss triumphantly draws his sword, only to have it immediately swatted away by The Wolf. The two have a duel, but it’s one that Puss is losing the entire time, with The Wolf somehow calculating and predicting every single move he makes. The fight concludes when The Wolf scratches Puss’s forehead, and a stream of blood (yes, blood, in a PG animated film) drips down his face. As this painful realization that his demise will be permanent dawns on him, The Wolf picks up the scent of the blood and gets eerily excited to dispatch the cat, dragging his twin sickles across the floor as sparks fly in a shot that looks straight out of a horror film. The horrific beast orders Puss to pick up his sword so he can finish the job, but our hero flees out of fear instead. The Wolf could easily chase him down right then and there, but if he’s waited this long to take down the legendary Puss in Boots, he can wait a little longer.

Just like that, one of the best movie villains in years has been introduced in spectacular fashion.

Wagner Moura’s Voice Acting as The Wolf Is Immaculate

We’ll get back to how The Wolf factors into the plot of The Last Wish in a second, but we would be remiss not to talk about Wagner Moura’s incredible performance. Giving a homicidal wolf the voice of Pablo Escobar is scary enough, but Moura injects so much personality into what easily could have been a standard goon. Every line of dialogue that escapes his fanged jaw is adorned with menacing charisma and unnerving sarcasm, giving off the keen sense that whatever his goal is, he’s thoroughly enjoying it. Moura’s performance, like several of his other co-stars, also maintains the actor’s Hispanic heritage, with some of his most memorable lines being spoken in Spanish.

On paper, the design of The Wolf sounds almost generic. A pitch black hood, piercing red eyes, fancy curved blades … none of these are exactly new ideas for how to design a villain. Yet, and maybe this is just because of the stellar animation and lighting, but the design choices used here all just work in tandem to create a memorable appearance. Those crimson eyes work particularly well, looking straight into the soul of the audience and properly contrasting with The Wolf’s white fur and black cloak. The character’s outfit and blades also make even more sense when The Wolf finally reveals who he really is.

The Wolf Is the Embodiment of Death (Literally)

Puss had the boots scared off of him during his first encounter with The Wolf, and while our hero does get back on the saddle again (minus his signature sword that he lost in the bar duel), it’s clear that the cloaked predator hasn’t given the chase up yet. Everywhere Puss’s journey takes him, The Wolf is somehow able to follow him every step of the way. It seems like he could engage pretty easily, but instead, he just watched from the shadows with an unblinking stare and continuing to whistle that sinister tune. The canine pursuer is clearly amused by Puss’s vain quest to wish for more lives.

Eventually, the so-called bounty hunter catches up to Puss for another dialogue exchange, where he drops a bombshell reveal. This Wolf is no ordinary mercenary, but is actually Death incarnate, and he doesn’t mean that metaphorically. He is literally the spirit of Death himself, and he’s spent years watching Puss make a mockery of him. As Puss continually “laughs in the face of death,” he treats his last eight lives as if they were completely disposable, not treating them with nearly enough seriousness or urgency. Death reveals that this is a personal grudge with Puss, showing that his hatred of the titular protagonist goes far beyond a superstitious rivalry between dogs and cats. From Death’s perspective, Puss has repeatedly cheated the primordial deity, watching every single time he has died in a moronic way and then come back. Now, Puss’s time has officially run out, and Death is coming for him.

In a movie all about coping with an inevitable death, Death being a literal character in the film is nothing short of brilliant. This whole film Puss has been running away from the concept of Death, only to discover that the enemy he’s been getting stalked by is the literal embodiment of that horrifying concept.

Puss and Death’s Final Duel Ends in a Draw, Not a Victory

With Puss’s friends and enemies watching from the various points of the fabled Wishing Star, they witness a final showdown between our favorite fearless hero and the actual Grim Reaper, where the harbinger of Death gives Puss his sword back for a proper climactic battle. Death has enjoyed the chase thus far, but has grown tired of the cheap novelty and is ready to make that final notch on his sickle and move on to the next arrogant feline. This time, however, Puss is ready to face the powerful enemy, now having true friends to protect and a last life he wishes to cherish. The final duel, like the rest of the movie, is riveting from start to finish — a fantastic finale where Puss is finally able to keep a cool head and Death even channels his inner Darth Maul and combines his scythes to form a cool as hell staff.

Puss rises to the occasion and disarms his foe, mirroring the scene where they first met where Death taunted Puss to pick up his weapon. Now Puss is the one taunting Death, not out of arrogance, but out of mutual respect, as Puss makes clear that he’ll never truly be able to defeat The Wolf. He only wishes to keep him at bay so he can cherish this one life before it later reaches its end. For the first time, that cool-headed demeanor of Death is gone, with him cursing in Spanish out of rage and frustration. He stares into Puss’s soul telling the cat that he came here to claim the life of a cat who didn’t appreciate his prior ones, but he doesn’t see that now. Death tells Puss that they will meet again one day, and this time, Puss will accept what fate has planned for them. Just like that, Death finally departs, once again whistling that familiar tune as he walks off with a newfound respect for the one they call Puss in Boots.

Death May Be Big and Bad, but He’s Not Evil

In Puss and Boots: The Last Wish, Death brings with him all the hallmarks of a great villain. He’s got a memorable design, a chilling voice, and fits like a perfectly shaped puzzle piece in an already nuanced and intricate plot. There is, however, one major outlier in Death’s character. See, despite having personal biases and maybe enjoying his job a little too much, I don’t believe Death is actually “evil.” That’s because, to Death, his pursuit of those who throw their lives away is just that — a job. From his perspective, Puss has cheated him, escaping him at least eight times instead of just having the one chance fair and square. This is true for all cats, of course, but with Puss so nonchalantly acting as if these lives don’t matter, it makes Puss seem like a villain in the face of death.

Death also clearly has some semblance of a code of honor. His order to Puss to pick up his weapon is more than a taunt, as he would rather defeat an enemy fair and square than cut down an unarmed foe. It’s hard to speak to every one of Death’s charges since we only see how he deals with a single person, but it’s safe to say that he only personally goes after those who have lived a dishonorable life and deserve an honorable demise.

There is so much to glean and study about the character of Death and the rest of the film. A complex, menacing, and entertaining villain like this is one overlooked detail that can elevate a great film into a masterful one. Not to mention, a compelling antagonist is something that current animation studios and entertainment filmmakers in general should keep in mind for future projects (*cough* Disney *cough*). Suffice to say, the character of Death is one that I can’t wait to revisit on my inevitable repeat viewings of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, or perhaps even see again in a future film like a Puss in Boots sequel or the now basically confirmed Shrek 5.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.

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