gotten A LOT of comments about this, but yes, puss did say "hasta la muerte" instead of quoting mort. I originally meant it as a bit of a joke, at least that part, but I totally see the cultural ignorance behind it. In a way, it's cool that so many people recognize this, and care so much about this culture. Anyway, won't happen again, my bad guys.
Death is not Mort the squirl! You got the two characters mix up. Puss said Hasta la Muerte which is not Spanish for Mort it's Spanish for till death after Death said we will meat again right puss said yes till Death not Mort!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i actually think the reason why death is a wolf is because wolves are known being endurance hunters -- they basically run their prey to exhaustion. i think that serves as a parallel to the concept of death -- no one can outrun death, because death never stops chasing.
Plus in just about every fairy tail, wolves are usually used as the symbol of death, since they were also fierce hunters of pre-civilization humans. And as people have pointed out, Cat vs Dog, but Dogs are seen as loyal and brave, much like Perrito. But Wolves are viscous and deadly, much like... well... Death.
Also, as a fun detail, when he "rage quits" and says stuff in spanish He says "Why the hell did i play with my food" implying he also terrorized puss to put him in his place with fear and when he sees he isnt afraid of him anymore he doesnt see the arogant little legend who thinks hes immortal Edit:1 bruh i forgot i commented this .... Lol
He wanted to kill the legend that laughed at (his) death’s face without valuing his lifes (in the Spanish version the dialogue makes it seem implied that by Puss not valuing his life “the universe” wouldn’t mind death killing him earlier) but now Puss isn’t just not afraid but he values his last life so death isn’t let to kill him now
I like to think that death, who has existed for as long as life itself, usually does his job by the book. However, he’s ageless and, apparently, bored. So he bends the rules every now and again. Like with Puss, he had clearly been planning this for a long time, probably since Puss’s first ever reckless death. He doesn’t torment the innocent, but only people he views as careless, as seen by him backing down when Puss changes for the better. He’s still a villain in that sense, but he’s basically a bored all powerful entity who tortures people for fun, but only if they “deserve” it.
@@zynet_eseled Yeah, it's nuanced. He's not mortal, but he's still got human characteristics of his own. He wanted to torment and kill Puss out of pettiness, even when it went against his own rules. That's legitimate motivation that goes beyond his role. It's personal, and selfish.
I like this take on Death as a character. Another take of Death I like is in Book Thief where Death is the narrator (my lecturer introduced it in class lol). Imagine in the future some teachers/lecturers also talk about PiB2's take on Death.
When Puss proves he has changed during the climax, Death angrily complaints "why the the hell did I play with my food?!" in Spanish before putting his sickles away. So yeah, I don't think Death planned for Puss to have a change of heart either
@@greycegordon1597 Yeah but the comment is just saying Death was truly trying to instill fear and then kill Puss, the change of heart was a "whoops, that was a mistake"
Also the "You're ruining this for me!" after he has a change of heart. He *wanted* to kill Puss due to his continued existence effectively being an insult to him.
@@Eloux i know, i just want to make things more clear because i saw a lot of " kids " going around saying " this character can beat Death, that character can beat Death " and it super bothering me haha
Death didn't want to 'literally' kill him. He was just a message and a reminder and played with Puss until he realised to not take life for granted and fight. Which is why he said "pick it up" to his weapon because he wants Puss to fight for his life. He easily had the chance to kill Puss in so many scenes.
WHAT I’VE BEEN SAYING! Death gave him numerous chances to fight for his life when he has the power to take it in a SNAP if he wanted to, but death obviously likes having fun with his victims so he decided to have an actual fight as if its some sort of entertainment for him. He was quite literally trying to teach Puss to stop being ignorant about him dying for good one day bc Puss thought he was ‘too great to die’ as he’s, quite literally, ‘an arrogant little legend’.
No, he really wanted to kill in the final scene, when he was screaming in Spanish was something like: Why I was playing with my food? So he just regret because playing with Puss because puss change in the final.
No, he confirmed that he really DID want to kill him. He just took so long because he was "playing with his food." I.e. He wanted to instill terror in Puss first, _then_ kill him.
There's a litany of reasons: -parallels the big bad wolf, and wolves are often the scariest thing in any fairytale -wolves are endurance hunters who wear down their prey over the course of a long chase, so it naturally justifies Death taking his time with chasing down Puss -wolves have keen senses of smell, Death loves the smell of fear -a lot of cultures already see wolves as portents of death -makes for a good subtle visual gag with the line "I'm not a cat person" which itself is a good transition into explaining the nine lives thing Overall it just makes sense. Depicting characters as animals is a writing technique that goes back to the dawn of human civilization, this depiction of Death is just particularly well-executed and striking.
I don't see how anyone could overlook the strong parallel of Anubis here. Even Death's weapon of choice is similar to the crook that Anubis, the Egyptian jackal-god of the underworld, wields.
My reasons: 1. The big bad wolf is an iconic fairytale villain 2. Wolves are hunting animals making the fact that he lets Puss go on multiple occasions a fun 'hunt' for him. 3. Wolves have a keen sense of sight, smell and hearing which would make it easier for him to track Puss and be there at every death and smell his fear 4. Him being a canine could be linked to hell hounds, a mythological creatute that essentially drags people to hell and their death and that's why he's in charge of death.
Being scared of death would make sense for people in those ages to be scared of wolves specifically and have them as the main villains for almost every single fairytale.
@@realdragonIt's death not an actual wolf he wanted to have fun because being the embodiment of death means being in charge of it which when he was in the screen, he wasn't in charge and its boring so, he went after puss and didn't kill him immediately because it was having fun.
fun fact: death's weapons, Shotels, are used to knock warriors off of mounts, usually horses. this means that death is literally and metaphorically there to knock puss off of his high horse
But Death isn't using shotels? He's carrying a pair of sickles, as in the farming tool used for reaping grain...as in "Grim Reaper," reaping the souls of the dead. Smaller than the scythe that the Reaper is traditionally depicted with, but still used for similar purpose, and much better for animating a high-speed combat style with.
Definetly using sickles and not shotels. Shotels usually have a sickle-shape but the pointed tip of the blade is perpendicular to the handle and longer, allowing for the wielder to stab someone around a shield which is what the shotel was designed to do.
Aesthetically, because the Big Bad Wolf imagery, figure generally seen as the most dreaded and foreboding fairy tale monster. In-universe, he’s diametrically opposed to cats for getting multiple chances when most only get one.
See, this is why I figured he was a wolf. He just took the form of something that Puss understood as deadly in his world. If this was set in some other kind of world, another form would have been taken
Well said. In addition to the Big Bad Wolf imagery. Agreed. He also kinda gives Anubis vibes. Not to mention wolves are often culturally know for their ravenous pursuit of pray. So culturally the wolf is a perfect choice.
Great perspective that the Wolf is the sum of everything evil in fairy tales, didn't think of that. And then again you have the wolf from Shrek in that same world.
@@thedukeofchutney468 you made me remember something. while we have anubis who is the god of the dead, there's a god in egypt mythology who is something "similar" to a grim reaper. wepwavet is anubis's brother, he has similar features like anubis, with the head of a jackal. but while anubis is a black jackal, wepwavet is a gray jackal, similar to the wolf in puss in boots. he's even seen more as a wolf than a jackal in the egypt mythology. wepwavet is interpreted to be a kind of scout, a god who opens the way. in the beginning, he was associated with war, being a god who cleared paths for the army to proceed, and later he ended up being associated with death too, as a god who lead the dead to and through duat, the realm of the dead.
I love the fact that Death kept wanting Puss to fight for his life during their first battle, him kicking his sword back to Puss felt like Death wanted Puss to fight, not cheat or run, for his life (which is what he kept doing throughout the whole movie until the final act), and that is such a really neat thought of mine.
The writers said that they depicted death as a wolf because they drew inspiration from the Brothers Grimm for the movie and the Brother Grimm often depicted wolves as "the personification of fear".
For me, it’s the phrase “lone wolf” that was divided into 2 main points. Firstly, Puss used to say he walks alone. Secondly, whether we like it or not, even with all the people we love and everything we’d ever wish for, we eventually perish alone. I think Death’s saying that as much as you wanna convince yourself (in Puss’s case, nine lives), you’ll never be able to escape the inevitable.
Death comes quickly for those who fear it. Puss, realizing he was now one cataclysm (pun) away from true death now subconsciously feared something he previosly did not. This inadvertently called "Death" to hunt him and gave "Death" the knowledge of how to keep Puss in a state of absolute terror. The way "Death" comes for us all is unique and Puss's fear is what gave "Death" its physical manifestation of a wolf. This is the short version of why I personally believe "Death" in this movie is an antagonist/obstacle but not a villain.
The Wolf is in fact teaching Puss a lesson. But he's having fun terrorizing him. It's not that his ultimate goal is to push him into character development, but rather that he wants respect. After all, puss can't run away from him. If he wanted, he could've easily killed him in the bar scene and be done with it. But he's toying around with him and showing up only whenever puss puts himself in danger. To remind him he should fear and respect Death.
It's one way to interpret it, if you don't believe what he said to Puss in the Cave of Lost Souls. I personally kinda do believe it, since him getting angry in the end when it was clear Puss changed and now appreciates the life he has, kinda proves to me that he wanted to drag Puss down to the void BAD (also, people translated what he said in Spanish to "why do I have to play with my food?" so forgive me for doubting his intentions were pure, and he just wanted to give Puss a lessen), but also had to obey some sort of code, moral or otherwise and while I understand why he would be pissed off, I still don't know how to feel about Death being a cheater (because him wanting to take Puss's 9th life before his time very much is) either way, he is an INCREDIBLE villain, who not only istles fear in Puss but also in us, and while maybe not exactly intended by Death it still pushed Puss to become a true hero and start to value people in his life.
Death is kind of just like ozen from made in abyss because both could've easily killed the main character if they wanted to but the didnt and acted like they like when ppl are afraid of them its not like death is now puss's friend or anything he will definitely just kill Puss when the time has come (or that one person saying "I've heard he have 10 lives" in the first movie becomes a real thing and there's just a pretend death)
That's exactly my interpretation of it. Death only ever shows up when Puss is confronted with his fragile mortality, and it sends him into panic attacks. Even in the bar, Puss is contemplating his last life as Death shows up. I don't think Death ever was going to kill Puss, but wanted to scare him constantly. He had ample opportunities to do the deed, and just gave up at the end when Puss "ruined it for him." Becoming a better person isn't a good enough reason that Death's fun hunt would have been ruined. It was ruined because the game of torment was over. There's no fun stalking someone that isn't afraid of you.
It’s fun for the wolf to hunt. I think He did not kill right away just because he was having fun (and doesn’t want to get dirty by poop). He doesn’t care, my friend…
I think an important scene to consider is also the cave one when one of puss's lives tells death that "hes cheating" and death replies with "shh don't tell". To me that tells that death has found Puss's existance so insulting that he personally wanted to put him in his place, of course there would have been more satisfaction for him to kill him while he was still afraid and prideful but when he changed he had to respect that and backed off. Death can also be seen as someone who will judge everyone at the end which is probably the "stare off" between puss and death happened at the end to signify that death is judging him again and has deemed him worthy of keeping his life.
At any point, Death could have killed Puss, but he gives him a fair fight. When he's disarmed, Death acknowledges that Puss actually values his life enough to fight for it, and gives him back the opportunity of a natural death.
3:28 puss doesn't call death anything, he just says "hasta la muerte", which is a play on words based from "hasta la vista" which means see you again or until we meet again, but he says it like see you in death, or until i die, meaning that the next time they'll meet again is when he dies
What I like is when I looked it up(he has different meaning and like what yours says.), it says to "the bitter end". Which would be a much more fitting and sweeter thing to say to death.
I was literally thinking "Didn't he say muerte & not mort or whatever?" The only reason I understood that is because I know the saying, but that's the only bit of spanish I know. lol
@@Kenjjoo Yep. Muerte is Spanish for death. Derived from Mortis or Mortem in Latin. Not Mort. And "hasta la muerte" means "until death" or more accurately "until the bitter end" as a previous commenter pointed out
You were not listening to the Spanish close enough friend. It's Muerte (death). And I distinctly recall puss referring to him as lobo (wolf). He says "Hasta la muerte" which, as far as I found, translates into "Till death". Which is an appropriate statement for puss to say in that scene because it is the situational equivalent of "till next time", but he won't see lobo again until he actually dies.
I noticed that The Wolf's Latin accent seems to get softer, sometimes to the point of dropping entirely, when he gets excited. That might imply that Death learned Spanish and put on an accent just for this occasion.
A cool detail is that Death only seems to show up whenever Puss is about to regain his arrogance. When he was about to gloat on the cart, when he was willing to race to save the dog to prove he's faster, in the caves when his past selves were hyping him up, and finally at the end when he was about to make the wish to get all of his nine lives back. It's only when Death see's that Puss is no longer afraid to lose his last life that he decides to let him go. He was angry because he wasn't expecting him to change and value that he only has one life to live. So as a reward he allowed him to live the last of it to his fullest and meet him again at the end of the road.
I figured it was more of his contemplating mortality. Death shows up in the bar when Puss is talking to himself about retirement, due to the fact that it's not safe for him to adventure anymore. The cart scene also involved a lot of danger as a stray missile could strike him as it did the map, and then the other scene where he's in the fray with Jack's minions exploding into confetti is when he gets is first real panic attack. Lastly, the Cave of Souls scene is constantly reminding him of what is behind him, and how little he has left ahead of him. He was even trying to get away from his past lives talking to him but then Death showed up and started smashing the figures.
I agree with you. This connects with Puss' previous deaths as they were risky deaths caused by his arrogance. The 8th caused by the bell falling on him after demostrating his cool moves and being praised by the audience after defeating the giant. As well as his other deaths, like for example one of his death was by falling on top of a tower while being drunk and being cocky that he will land on his feet.
What I like is that its a classical fairytale trope too. Death is there to teach Puss a lesson, which is to value his own life. Oinly when the lesson is learned does death leave him be.
I don't think it was about him saving the dog is what draw out death. It was when he dropped the map and was thinking of grabbing it back is when Death appeared. If Death didn't show up, then Puss would have died to Jack Horner as it was more natural that Kitty and Puss would try and save the dog, no matter who did first.
*One thing about Death you missed;* He has Raven on his face. Most people know the symbolism of that, and I'm surprised no one who talks about Death brings up this design choice. Also, I think Death was teaching Puss a lesson; to treasure his life. At the end of the fight, Death said he came for an "arrogant, little legend who thought he was immortal." But he no longer sees him. And he told Puss to live his life. Death was a teacher.
@@greyngreyer5 Those that play with their food still eat it, so yeah. Also, at the end of the movie, Death said "you ruined this for me." Meaning any enjoyment he had was gone. Making it far more likely for your interpretation of his character to just kill him.
personally I always saw it as a tribute to the oldest myth known to man, the Ice Age Hellhound. Death and dogs go as far back as anyone can remember, to Cerberus in ancient Greece, to Anubis in ancient Egypt, the Grim for the Celts, Xólotl in Mesoamerica, and hundreds of other stories where hounds are associated with death. so I just thought that him as a wolf was a sort of tribute to that story. Additional info, Perito doesn't come to Puss until after he buries himself, adding to the idea that death can greet you as a friend, or hound you as an adversary.
Anubis ( 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱 inpu ) is a Jackal ( an animal very similar to a Normal Dog ) But, 𓄋𓈐𓏏𓏥 wpwAwt (wepwAwet) is a Wolf. The Ancient Egyptian God of Funerary Rites, War, Royalty Association ; his name means: The Opener of ways, Because he helps the deceased through the dangerous paths in the underworld and clear the way to the final Judgment of the Dead.
Chihuahuas were also believed to guide Aztec nobles through the afterlife, as well - hence a foreshadowing that Puss would turn out to be noble enough to complete his quest, as otherwise there wouldn't be a Chihuahua to guide him. In effect Perrito's his alebrije, in a sense.
I always thought it was obvious, the wolf wasnt death’s main form, just the one he chose to scare puss the most. Also death only appeared in the wishing star to EVERYONE because it was a super magical and weird environment
i always thought the reason he only appeared to others on the wishing star was out of necessity beforehand puss was still vulnerable, a good distance away from the wishing star, but death couldn't fully appear to him since he was 'breaking the rules', as shown in the cave scene - he should only appear to people who have died naturally, he shouldn't actually kill him hunting down puss was out of annoyance from being cheated however now that puss was close to the one thing that could cheat death again, he saw it fit to appear and fight him publicly, as risking being seen breaking the rules was now a lower priority than letting puss get to the one thing that could cheat him again
I'm pretty sure Death was also inspired by the creature called the Whistler, which seems to have its origins in Venezuela and Colombia. I heard about it some years ago in a video. If you hear this creature whistle closeby, it's actually far away, and if you hear it far away, it's close to you and, if I remember correctly, it will then kill you. I like it that Death, despite being a wolf, doesn't howl but whistles to tell Puss that he's near.
I personally think that Death actually has different things depending on who he is going for, like he might look different for everyone else and even different weapons.
I think that the reason Death is personified as a wolf is character design relating to Anubis in Egyptian Mythology. He guides souls to the afterlife and his weapon looks slightly like when death combined his wicked in the final fight. Speaking of sickles, they are a harvesting tool and was a common weapon in Egypt
Cats fear dogs, and the wolf is a really big and scary dog, so a big bad red eyed wolf would be perfect for Puss to feel fear, which is the main motive of Death
He is a "villain" in the fact that he says he was so disgusted by Puss in Boots' arrogance that he did not want to wait for Puss to actually die for the last time, meaning he was willing to step outside of the "rules" to kill Puss. Also, I think the Mort thing is a little farfetched, because Hasta la Muerte, that means "Until Death" meaning he knows one day Death will come for him again. Good description of the wolf theme though.
Here's a GIANT coincidence. I doubt the creators had this in mind BUT in Tupi-Guarani mythology, the native peoples of Brazil, Paraguay, and other South American countries there is a figure called Luison. He is described as being a wolf-man or werewolf and is at times considered the God of Death. This and the fact that they casted Wagner Moura a Brazilian actor to play Wolf/Death is either a beautiful coincidence or an awesome creative choice from the filmmakers.
The way I interpreted Death when I saw the movie is that he's simply a badass adaptation of the Big Bad Wolf. After all, the story of the Three Little Pigs is, ultimately, a story about being prepared for the inevitable. You could think of Puss's eight previous lives as being like the two pigs who underestimated the strength of the wolf; Puss's respect for his mortality was like straw and sticks, and those previous lives were easily lost. But by the end of the movie, his respect for his life and for others becomes like bricks, with his will standing firm no matter how much the wolf blows.
A theory of mine that I over analyzed was that he's probably based on the big bad wolf but as death right? I'm a fan of mythology and some details on death are pretty crazy the bands on his arm and the weapons he uses share resemblance with anubis! The Egyptians God of death!!! :)
@@pubertdefrog Yes, but I don't know if the wolf from the Three Little Pigs story and the story of Little Red Riding Hood are the same wolf. 🤔 Maybe they were both called "the Big Bad Wolf" (I don't remember; it's been so long since I've heard either story lol), but I think the two can coexist.
Death as a wolf has a long tradition in ancient mythology. Wepwawet, the wolf headed Egyptian war god was also the original opener of doors to the Duat, the Egyptian afterlife. He was seen as brother to Anubis, the more famous jackal god who guided the dead to their eternal rest. I like to think that Death in this movie pays some sort of homage to this little known but important Egyptian deity (especially as the Egyptians revered cats too and I feel would have gone crazy about Puss if he had existed in the time of the pharaohs)
Finally someone said about that, haha. I thought about Egyptian myfology as soon as I've seen this wolf. His sickles also looks kinda like ancient egyptian sword - khopesh
𓄋𓈐𓏏𓏥 wpwAwt (wepwAwet). The Ancient Egyptian God of Funerary Rites, War, Royalty Association ; his name means: The Opener of ways, Because he helps the deceased through the dangerous paths in the underworld and clear the way to the final Judgment of the Dead.
Fun fact: there is a superstition that wolf in Spain or Mexico is considered a bad sign, and Puss is a spanish. So maybe that's why Death is portrayed as a wolf. But I do hope we get the explanation from creators themselves. But you must admit it's bizarre how 'Big Bad Wolf' character shows up everywhere. Even if it's defeated of killed, they always appear in another fairytale. But that's a different topic here right now.
I think Deaths scene with the crystals of Puss’ past lives was his Judgement Call, saying how hes angry at how reckless and frivolous he treated all 8 and now hes on his final life. One of the three stages of Death they depicted in the movie. Note: when someone dies, theres a deity that weighs your soul and calculates your past life and actions. -The Judgement Call. Then they prepare you for the ascension to your final resting place. -The Embalming Lastly the Afterlife of whether you go to heaven, hell or purgatory
certain mythologies also describe Death as 'a wolf with fur as pale as bone, eyes as red as hellfire, and wearing a raven's black cloak' so it might also be referencing that.
You haven’t watch any scary horror movies before? Yes the whistle was scary but it’s scarier then any horror movie you seen? Makes me believe you haven’t seen much horror movies
@@Xorts_1 i've watched plenty excuse you. Jumpscares, annabelle, any nun scenes e.g. the painting scene, insidious, the ring and haunting in connecticut none of it made me feel eerie than that whistle did.
I think what scared me more was puss heart was palpitating fast when he was running. It felt so real that it felt that the viewer who’s watching him was getting scared as well, the whistling was just unsettling.
@@HazWolverine sir/mam with all due respect, half the films you have listed above are horrendously bad. The nun or Annabelle are plain jumpscare fests that don't instill a longing sense of fear like the wolf's whistle
"2022 wasn't the greatest year in animation for me" Bih, Turning Red and The Bad Guys released to mass critical and commercial avail from fans and critics alike. I remember everyone saying how good the animation was and how well-written the characters were in both movies. It's only after The Last Wish came out that everyone been retroactively hating on what were excellent movies.
Death as a Wolf is a composite of multiple characters. The main inspiration for Death is the fairy tale "Godfather Death" which the association with candle being snuffed out is a possibly a reference to. As for why Death is a wolf, multiple cultures have an association with death and wolves. During Ragnarok, the wolf Fenrir would devour Odin, according to the Pawnee Native American tribe the wolf was the first creature to experience death among others. While not a wolf i'm also pretty certain the Death is supposed to the jackal headed god of death Anubis.
In most versions of Red Riding Hood a Wolf kills her grandmother, In the most classic the Wolf is also killed in the end. For the Three Little Piggies they are eaten by a Wolf. And of course, though probably less so, a Wolf killed the sheep because a boy cried it one too many times
@@brostrod Scratch that I found an potentially even better reason why death is a wolf. Puss in Boots likely was at least in part inspired by the Irish and Scottish mythological Fairy/witch Cait Sith. Cait sith itself is a potenial origin of cats having nine lives. The same mythology also has the Fairy dog, Cu Sith, who is a messenger of death appearing only to take souls to the afterlife.
The very fact we are all here talking about our own outlook on death, the wolf, the choice in it being a wolf…it’s amazing. It’s making people question death, question the film itself, the choices, the words, the actions. This one is far from a kids animation and I loved it. It’s all about YOUR own outlook and the film can be interpreted in so many ways. Literally all adults can relate. Me, I believe Puss and his lives is just age with us. We don’t have 9 lives, but we have age, and the older we get and the more adventures we go on…the time is still ticking away closer to death. It’s always coming for us. I believe the wolf just wanted to teach puss a lesson in ‘remembering that you will die’ and in turn technically gave him his life back. Remember puss ‘retired’ and gave up that life because he was scared to face the inevitable, but in a round about way, death gave Puss a reason to live and be Puss in Boots again. As soon as Puss was aware of his mortality and the possibility of death he was scared stiff, but then he ACCEPTED it and found himself again. Nothing changes remember, he didn’t make a wish in the end, he didn’t have all lives back again to go act carelessly, after it all, all that changed was his outlook on life and how he lived it.
I totally agree with everything you've stated and I think it's super cool that you agree and acknowledge with the reasoning that Death is not a villain persé, just an obstacle Puss has to fight his way around (sorta speak, obviously). And truth be told, I always thought The Grim Lobo was a wolf of all things because we both can agree that the Grim Reaper ironically took the form of his target's darkest fears, but I think there's so much more to it than that. For one thing, I always thought that there was a humorous edge to it as the archetypal "big bad wolf". However, a more important angle to theorize would be a super "grim" representation of Puss himself, kinda like how Kitty Softpaws is Puss's female counterpart, but in this case, a relationship that can be better compared to Batman and The Joker. His personality even mimicks Puss's in the sense of Puss liking to strike fear into his opponents while Death basically feeds off of fear. That stated, in a rather large nutshell, the Reaper is literally everything an arrogant thrill-seeking legend who just happens to be a cat would be afraid of: The one warrior Puss can totally match wits with while at the same time having no chance in actually vanquishing like he did with a mountain collosus (seeing as how Puss instantly assumed he was just another bounty hunter during that chilling first encounter). This was an awesome movie and The Grim Lobo was it's black cherry on top.
I actually had something very simular to this theory after seeing the movie myself, with Death always shifting himself in different physical forms to scare his victims. So I'm very glad there's someone who thought the same! In my eyes he's a natural effect, like mother nature. However with this unlimited immortality of cosmic beings he sometimes takes on a physical shape to let that infinite loneliness and immortal being be more bearable. He played with his food, he hunted for that intoxicating fear that makes his void a bit more fun. But of course with Puss having accepted his life and death Death felt dishonest about killing him and just simply left, but not without simply asking him to "live his life well". I like that.
One thing I thought about with Death being personified as a wolf as I was walking out of the theater was that I figured it was because in a lot of fairy tales, which often center around teaching children what not to do, a wolf is often used as the villain there. The boy who cried wolf? Don't tell lies, or *a wolf will eat you*. Little red riding hood? Be careful of strangers, especially a wolf that threatens to eat you. I didn't put a ton of thought into that beyond that, but the main takeaway I had was that I felt that because of how terrifying a wolf is portrayed in fairy tales in a universe that centers around fairy tales, it makes sense that death would be personified as a wolf.
The director: let's have death be a wolf in this. Audience: he is terrifying and scary. The producers and casting director: let's get Wagner Mourna, the guy who played one of the most notorious criminals of all time, voice him. Audience: I just shat and pissed myself at the same time.
I'm sure someone has said this already, but Puss doesn't say "Mort". He says "La Muerte" which means "Death" in Spanish. Though, interestingly "La Mort" is also Death, but in French.
Lobo is a wolf of honor he could have taken the easy way out and let Puss die like always but he wanted to give him a chance. Besides I really think Lobo is Puss biggest fan.
@@soltansorena9226 wolf got mad because puss wasted 8 lives and decided to just take him early (he says at the beginning he loves the smell of fear). At the end of the climax fight tho, he realizes puss has actually changed and values his life, so he lets him live. He says in Spanish something like “you’ve ruined this for me now”
I personally had some associations with egyptian mythology, where cats and jackals where both featured in the pantheon. The jackal-headed Anubis beeing, quite fittingly, the god of death-rites, while Bastet, the goddess of love, music, singing and festivities is shown wearing a cat's head. Anubis also was responsible for testing the souls of the deceased, deciding whether they were worth of and afterlife or Not. Also, Deaths Sickles are kinda reminding me of a khopesh, an ancient egyptian weapon.
Death is vaguely reminiscent of a type of Werewolf in Irish Mythology, called Faoladh, who were guardians of children, injured people and lost souls. In some cases, they were the ones that one would meet upon their death or see before their death, so that was of interest to me.
I think it’s a combination of deities from different mythologies. There’s references to Kharon, when he puts the coins on his eyes. Anubis, his weapons and poses And finally, Fenrisulfr from Norse Mythology. A wolf destined to kill Odin and is represented by chaos.
I have heard legends about the Cadejo in Spanish folklore… And (though it depends on whether it’s white or black), the Cadejo can be seen as a symbol of bad luck, or DEATH (or as a symbol of good luck, and life, again depending on the color… See Hector and Valentino as an example)
Interesting you say Cadejo because I’m from El Salvador and we have the legend of El Cadejo. Not a lot of People know about it. And yup, it can be a huge black dog or a white dog that can follow you around. The black dog can attack you but the white one will protect you.
i also thought death was a wolf because he would be what puss in boots, a much smaller house cat, would naturally fear, and it made me wonder if death looks different to the other characters, since no one other than puss acknowledges that death is a wolf throughout the movie. or maybe dreamworks just knows how much people like their wolf characters lol regarding whether death is a villain or just an antagonist; instead of waiting for puss to die on his own, which would make me believe he wasn't a villain, death actively hunted puss down to kill him even though it wasn't his time to die yet while trying to frighten him as much as possible. in the cave of lost souls, one of puss' past lives even acknowledges that death's pursuit of puss is "cheating", and death says "shhh... don't tell", so even he knows that what he's doing is wrong. i've seen a lot of people saying that death isn't a villain because he made puss appreciate his life, but i believe death wasn't doing it intentionally. he certainly didn't sound happy about puss' character development. he even makes a comment at the end when he says (in spanish) "why the hell did i play with my food", meaning he would've preferred having killed puss earlier over letting him live with a newfound appreciation for life. and though death gained respect for puss at the end and spared him the fact that puss grew as a character probably made killing puss not worth it/not fun anymore for him. ("you're ruining this for me!") he's definitely a villain, at least just for the story until the end, then i would say he's neutral
@@Hollowmello1285 that's not actually true wolves have been the Pickin and mythology and urban legend 4 years. Wolves back in the day with symbols of death or evil they say here a wolf howling at the moon it means your time is up what coming to an end fascination with wolves have been around way before the fandom you have hellhounds werewolves and everything else
I think the wolf is just an embodiment of his fear of death. When you overthink things too much, they come to fruition. As a result, he lived cautiously, but the feeling of fear overshadowed everything else and became his main driving force to take action. In addition, his first encounter with the wolf occurs when he is alone and in a depressive state.
The fact that Death in Puss In Boots acts like a predator and enjoys tormenting Puss shows he's not just the force of nature. He's definitely an antagonist with Villain tendencies.
What's scary is that Death itself is everywhere; it exists side by side with Life. We give Death a face, to make it less scary because like what's mentioned in the video, we can't SEE Death, nor can we STOP it. It's a force that takes anyone and everyone; Rich, Poor, Ill, or Healthy. Newly born, or suffering from old age. It comes for everyone.
As for death being a villain, I can definitely see his surface level motivations as villainous, but it could have been his intention all along to force Pus to grow by confronting him directly. Villain? Perhaps not. Antagonist? Maybe. Anti-Hero? Definitely a possible third hat to throw in the ring.
Death shape shifts into whatever strikes fear into you. Sense Puss is a cat he is seen as a wolf, and i feel like if a real human being saw him he would be a literal Grim Reaper demon, and i still wonder if a person with no fear of dying can still see him, like what would he shape shift into. I think maybe a ghost, but i dunno.
Besides Death being awesome as all hell and loving his whistle. I adore that they made Puss' hat have a long tail, it looks so much better than every previous iteration
I don't think he's a villain, but he certainly wanted to appear villainous, to strike that fear in Puss. Despite what he claimed, I don't think he ever wanted to kill Puss in Boots before his time. The evidence is that he kept letting Puss run away, even encouraging him to run. He was using fear of death to get Puss to appreciate and not squander his life. And in some ways it depends on ones perception of death as well. You perceive death to just do his job impartially. But who is to say that death doesn't enjoy or hate his job sometimes?
I can't help but laugh everytime he's like "Why the hell did I play with my food?!" in Spanish. My guy regretted his decision of letting Puss in a cat-and-mouse game and unintentionally giving him a chance of changing himself instead of killing him when he had the chance. Dude was so pissed XD 🤣 Even Death, for being the movie's scariest antagonist, had a bit of comedy lol
One point to make regarding this part 9:00 about the grim reaper. In the mythology of the reaper, he carries an hourglass on his belt as a symbol of time slipping away. Sometimes he will appear to a person and tap the hourglass with his bony finger. This is meant to inform the person that their time is slipping away and that they still have a chance to change their ways for the better before their time ends. This version of the reaper sees that Puss arrogantly does not value life and has decided that there is no way he will ever change his ways and it’s time for him to pass on. But it’s only after he does see that Puss has changed for the better and learned to value the time he has left that he finally backs off the chase and let’s him live the rest of his life. So letting Puss live after seeing that he has truly changed his ways is not out of character for the Reaper. Sure he might have been frustrated after seeing the change in his heart but that’s probably because he was so sure at first that Puss would never change and now he realizes he was wrong, explaining his frustration with the situation.
2:24 I think death DOES know when puss is about to DIE. cus right before puss gets crushed by the bell CAN hear the WHISTLE (only if you have like max volume headphones) and if you don’t hear it try watching the extended trailer. Any I thought that was cool 😎
The movie where his heart was beating so hard… I connected with that on such a deep level. Ever since a car accident I was afraid of encountering the same thing again. Fortunately, I think I have gotten over the fear. Also, can we appreciate how this 3-D animation has become art?
You know, more I watch the last whistle scene, the one where the wolf is leaving, after he recognises that Puss had changed and Puss says "hasta la muerte" [To death], essentially: See you when the time comes/Farewell, the more I feel like Death is satisfied/proud of Puss as he showed respect not only to life, but to death as well. Eyes, head going from low to high, unlike from high to low like in most of previous scenes in which he was hunting and very minor smile. The whistle was reply to Hasta la muerte imo, it was Farewell.
That was a great video. Also I never saw death in the crowd before. And I do think he is both a villain and a antagonists. Good job hope you hit 10k!!🎉
Puss wasn't calling Death "Mort", he told him "Hasta la muerte", which is Spanish for "To death" to "To the bitter end". It could also translate much like "Hasta la vista", Which means "See you later". This means Puss was most likely telling Death that he'll see him when it's his time to die.
I also find it interesting that many fear wolves despite the fact that wolves are more scared of humans, and Puss had to essentially learn that himself. Death isn't something to be feared, but it is something that should warrant carefulness and enjoyment of life while it lasts, but you shouldn't FEAR death. Yes, it's inevitable, but it happens to everyone and no mortal can live forever.
@@blu3d3vil97 Like I said. Villain in name only. What he does any villain can do for similar reasons, but he can be one in the eyes of anyone that never wants to die or fears death. Kind of like anyone can be a hero in name only where they have motive and do whatever is needed to save face to keep that image.
Death really reminded me of all the fairytales and stories that included a wolf as an antagonist. A creature that represents fear and brings death everywhere it goes. Real eye-opener for in all honesty.
I think a variety interview with the director says it's because Wolves are a *personification of fear* in Grimms tales. So it's more fitting to use a wolf for this movie too. Very befitting theory
A good little head canon I have is that death was pretty far from puss in every other time he died, each time he died he’d get closer and closer, now at his last life he is now right next to puss, making himself known to him because he is now at his last chance.
I agree with why you said Death chose the form of a wolf. Also in some mythos wolves are also symbols of Death AND Life, making it more fitting as Death approaches Puss in Life, and they also represent good and evil as well, allowing him to float around in the grey area.
Life is a game and Death plays for keeps. Puss' arrogance made him a little impatient, thus his pursuit of Puss throughout this adventure. He had a lesson to teach but did so indirectly, but I don't think of Death as a villain because it's simply his nature to end life. He just shouldn't force it when that life is still bright and fighting back :3
I think the reason Death is a wolf is because wolves are dogs, and dogs are the natural enemies of cats. If something can make Puss feel truly and very afraid for his life, it would be a dog. I'm all for it. Also, I like how Death has a Brazilian nationality, in contrast to Puss's Spanish nationality. I just thought that was really cool.
Wolves aren't dogs my guy. Dogs are man made to better get with humans. But many wolves even kill dogs. They even have different mannerisms and ways of thinking.
I think in the Cave, one of Puss' reflections tells Death something along the lines of "That's cheating!" in response to Death deciding to end Puss' life early. This kind of stuck out to me since I think it relates to what you said about how Death IS a Villain since he's acting out of spite instead of just being a force of nature.
My theory about the opening: After Death watched Puss' blatant disregard of life by eating poison, along with all the other wacky ideas, he took it personally. A perfectly fine oven doesn't launch out flames when you open it, must be intervention. A bell doesn't magically rotate 100 degrees in a direction it wasn't going, must be intervention. Death is fed up with Puss, and so he's going after him. But he knows he'll be confident with all those lives, he wants to break Puss down. So he removes those extra lives, without showing himself.
I think death is coming for him in his last life not because of spite but because he knows puss will die at any moment if he doesnt change, while he is mainly focusing on him out of spite in each scenario where he appears he can die without death neccesarilly attacking him, thats why he appears.
I am pretty sure that Puss does not refer to Death as Mort. What I think he says at that moment is "Sí. Hasta la muerte" which translates to "yes, until death" which makes sense in the context of the film, and in fact way more sense than Puss referring to Death to a name that was never used anywhere else in the film that he wouldn't even know Death had. Besides, it seems to me that Madagascar is not part of the Shrek Universe anyway. But other than that, you made some very interesting points and I enjoyed it very much, thank you.
I just thought the premise of death being a wolf is the Occams razer of “well it’s simple, you can never escape death, and wolves are legendary hunters”
I would also like to add that Death's sickles are a reference to the sickle that Cronus used to castrate Uranus. Later on, Cronus became Father Time and the Grim Reaper, the one who waits for when your time is up.
Interesting video. I would like to add something if I may. It was pointed out by another reviewer that Death was introduced as being a "shady" character earlier than the crowd scene. When the wanted poster for Puss is shown it has 8 scratch marks on it alluding to Death's presence before appearing with the crowd. So while the crowd was technically the first appearance, it was already alluded to. It's really good writing and the whole movie is layered very well. As for Death being a villain and/or villain, I feel you were correct in encouraging viewers to see it both ways. Again, with the layering. Cheers from Canada!
Fun thing about the "wolves are hunters" Yes but they hunt in packs. So you could say the fact that Death choosing a wolf form and is always solitary, implying he needs no help, makes him even more intimidating
One other little note. In the first scene when the Wolf asks for an autograph, you can see he has four fingers on his hands rather than the five on all other characters. The number 4 has a lot of death connections is many Eastern cultures.
Fun fact the Wolf/Death and Eris the Goddess of Discord from Sinbad are technically siblings, and their mother is Nyx the primordial Goddess of the Night.
I understand why the "Death was just doing his job" take is so popular, but I never really agreed with it, though I couldn't put into words why. You articulated it quite nicely. Thank you!
Probably because Death decided to kill Puss early. The green life even says “that’s cheating!” In the scene where all the lives are together, before Death breaks the crystal and says “shh, don’t tell.” He’s ripping Puss’s life away early because he felt insulted
The Mort thing is a reach. What Puss says after death leaves him literally translates to "Until Death" as Puss acknowledged that he could not run from death forever.
Using the mort theory you could also say that death is somewhat knowledgeable about his existence within a movie and only shows up to watch and wait for the characters to die while they're in dangerous situations.
4:30 "A large amount of us" implies that somebody out there actually does know what happens to us after we die and is hoarding the secrets to themselves, and we must track this person down before they themself leave this world!
I think death can take any figure it desires, chooses hot to appear as a wolf to Puss since dogs are the natural enemy to cats, in order to make Puss FEAR him since the smell is "intoxicating"
gotten A LOT of comments about this, but yes, puss did say "hasta la muerte" instead of quoting mort. I originally meant it as a bit of a joke, at least that part, but I totally see the cultural ignorance behind it. In a way, it's cool that so many people recognize this, and care so much about this culture. Anyway, won't happen again, my bad guys.
You kept on saying deth instead of death
@@canadianteenager87 dith
are you sure he says "hasta la morte"?
because the sentence is given in spanish and, if that's the case, it should be "hasta la muerte"
Death is not Mort the squirl! You got the two characters mix up. Puss said Hasta la Muerte which is not Spanish for Mort it's Spanish for till death after Death said we will meat again right puss said yes till Death not Mort!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah he knows that
It was a joke he made
i actually think the reason why death is a wolf is because wolves are known being endurance hunters -- they basically run their prey to exhaustion. i think that serves as a parallel to the concept of death -- no one can outrun death, because death never stops chasing.
this actually fits really well. it also makes sense that death kept letting puss get away, because he wants the fear to build up
Plus in just about every fairy tail, wolves are usually used as the symbol of death, since they were also fierce hunters of pre-civilization humans. And as people have pointed out, Cat vs Dog, but Dogs are seen as loyal and brave, much like Perrito. But Wolves are viscous and deadly, much like... well... Death.
I honestly just thought that it's because he looked like Anubis when he crossed his sickles like this 5:01 or this 7:59
@@Xusko extremely obvious, especially for those who dont care about egyptian culture
Unless you’re immortal
Also, as a fun detail, when he "rage quits" and says stuff in spanish He says "Why the hell did i play with my food" implying he also terrorized puss to put him in his place with fear and when he sees he isnt afraid of him anymore he doesnt see the arogant little legend who thinks hes immortal
Edit:1 bruh i forgot i commented this .... Lol
@777 that's why he put it in quotation marks
He didn’t say food
He wanted to kill the legend that laughed at (his) death’s face without valuing his lifes (in the Spanish version the dialogue makes it seem implied that by Puss not valuing his life “the universe” wouldn’t mind death killing him earlier) but now Puss isn’t just not afraid but he values his last life so death isn’t let to kill him now
@@Natedinoman9369 yes he did. Comida means food.
@@michaelc.r.6416 your right that’s how you spell it
I like to think that death, who has existed for as long as life itself, usually does his job by the book. However, he’s ageless and, apparently, bored. So he bends the rules every now and again.
Like with Puss, he had clearly been planning this for a long time, probably since Puss’s first ever reckless death. He doesn’t torment the innocent, but only people he views as careless, as seen by him backing down when Puss changes for the better.
He’s still a villain in that sense, but he’s basically a bored all powerful entity who tortures people for fun, but only if they “deserve” it.
In a sense hes a force as opposed to malevolent. Yet, also something that has a desire to punish those who dont value life. It's honestly fitting
@@zynet_eseled Yeah, it's nuanced. He's not mortal, but he's still got human characteristics of his own. He wanted to torment and kill Puss out of pettiness, even when it went against his own rules. That's legitimate motivation that goes beyond his role. It's personal, and selfish.
I like this take on Death as a character. Another take of Death I like is in Book Thief where Death is the narrator (my lecturer introduced it in class lol). Imagine in the future some teachers/lecturers also talk about PiB2's take on Death.
@@DLxxxbut he fixed puss so its a W
So.. an anti-villain.
When Puss proves he has changed during the climax, Death angrily complaints "why the the hell did I play with my food?!" in Spanish before putting his sickles away. So yeah, I don't think Death planned for Puss to have a change of heart either
Puss won against Death is because he had a change of heart, and he had earned more time to live
@@greycegordon1597 Yeah but the comment is just saying Death was truly trying to instill fear and then kill Puss, the change of heart was a "whoops, that was a mistake"
Death definitely regretted not killing puss immediately and instead making him scared
Also the "You're ruining this for me!" after he has a change of heart. He *wanted* to kill Puss due to his continued existence effectively being an insult to him.
@@Eloux i know, i just want to make things more clear because i saw a lot of " kids " going around saying " this character can beat Death, that character can beat Death " and it super bothering me haha
He didn't call Death "Mort". It's spanish: Puss said "Hasta la muerte" (untill death), a play on "hasta la vista" (untill I see (you)).
He was obviously joking
@@MoeSzyslak20 As was I. As a joke I was giving a serious and detailed analysis of the phrase, pretending I took the joke seriously.
@@Alejandroigarabide well done 👏
@@Alejandroigarabide I respect that, I admire that, to be sincere.
@@Alejandroigarabide no u were not bruh stop lying
Death didn't want to 'literally' kill him. He was just a message and a reminder and played with Puss until he realised to not take life for granted and fight. Which is why he said "pick it up" to his weapon because he wants Puss to fight for his life. He easily had the chance to kill Puss in so many scenes.
WHAT I’VE BEEN SAYING! Death gave him numerous chances to fight for his life when he has the power to take it in a SNAP if he wanted to, but death obviously likes having fun with his victims so he decided to have an actual fight as if its some sort of entertainment for him. He was quite literally trying to teach Puss to stop being ignorant about him dying for good one day bc Puss thought he was ‘too great to die’ as he’s, quite literally, ‘an arrogant little legend’.
@@sumixsu exactly, well said!
No, he really wanted to kill in the final scene, when he was screaming in Spanish was something like: Why I was playing with my food? So he just regret because playing with Puss because puss change in the final.
And also is very interesting because normally is a cat thing playing with food, the cat that hunts rats.
No, he confirmed that he really DID want to kill him. He just took so long because he was "playing with his food." I.e. He wanted to instill terror in Puss first, _then_ kill him.
I think Death specifically took Puss's thing of "laughing at the face of death" personally.
Yes. That was mentioned clearly multiple times
you are very right
Honestly I think death is probably just puss manifestation of puss s fear
@@hate2191 nah i didnt hear him say anything about the phrase "laughing at the face of death"
@@tyty3150 he said multiple times, specifically referring to this statement
There's a litany of reasons:
-parallels the big bad wolf, and wolves are often the scariest thing in any fairytale
-wolves are endurance hunters who wear down their prey over the course of a long chase, so it naturally justifies Death taking his time with chasing down Puss
-wolves have keen senses of smell, Death loves the smell of fear
-a lot of cultures already see wolves as portents of death
-makes for a good subtle visual gag with the line "I'm not a cat person" which itself is a good transition into explaining the nine lives thing
Overall it just makes sense. Depicting characters as animals is a writing technique that goes back to the dawn of human civilization, this depiction of Death is just particularly well-executed and striking.
Canines in general are also seen a guides to the afterlife. Anubis, Cerberus, El Cadejo ect.
mean the big bad wolf in fairytales is a symbol of consuming death, so it tracks.
I don't see how anyone could overlook the strong parallel of Anubis here. Even Death's weapon of choice is similar to the crook that Anubis, the Egyptian jackal-god of the underworld, wields.
@@apollobro91 same, he even looks a bit like a jackal.
@@willowarkan2263 The brother of Anubis has a pale coloration, so there's another connection too
My reasons:
1. The big bad wolf is an iconic fairytale villain
2. Wolves are hunting animals making the fact that he lets Puss go on multiple occasions a fun 'hunt' for him.
3. Wolves have a keen sense of sight, smell and hearing which would make it easier for him to track Puss and be there at every death and smell his fear
4. Him being a canine could be linked to hell hounds, a mythological creatute that essentially drags people to hell and their death and that's why he's in charge of death.
Wolves are hunting animals but they do not let go of prey
Being scared of death would make sense for people in those ages to be scared of wolves specifically and have them as the main villains for almost every single fairytale.
@@realdragonIt's death not an actual wolf he wanted to have fun because being the embodiment of death means being in charge of it which when he was in the screen, he wasn't in charge and its boring so, he went after puss and didn't kill him immediately because it was having fun.
To be fair, there's literally an actual Big Bad Wolf in the universe.
Wolves are pack hunters, so you'd think there'd be more than one wolf acting as death. XD
fun fact: death's weapons, Shotels, are used to knock warriors off of mounts, usually horses. this means that death is literally and metaphorically there to knock puss off of his high horse
But Death isn't using shotels? He's carrying a pair of sickles, as in the farming tool used for reaping grain...as in "Grim Reaper," reaping the souls of the dead. Smaller than the scythe that the Reaper is traditionally depicted with, but still used for similar purpose, and much better for animating a high-speed combat style with.
yeah shotels kinda are straight sickles on the other hand are more curved he probably uses sickles because they are like scythes
Definetly using sickles and not shotels. Shotels usually have a sickle-shape but the pointed tip of the blade is perpendicular to the handle and longer, allowing for the wielder to stab someone around a shield which is what the shotel was designed to do.
Damn, Bravo vince
@@GrapplerMaster listen man i was talking out of the ass of someone who was talking out of their ass when they told me this
Aesthetically, because the Big Bad Wolf imagery, figure generally seen as the most dreaded and foreboding fairy tale monster. In-universe, he’s diametrically opposed to cats for getting multiple chances when most only get one.
See, this is why I figured he was a wolf. He just took the form of something that Puss understood as deadly in his world. If this was set in some other kind of world, another form would have been taken
Well said. In addition to the Big Bad Wolf imagery. Agreed. He also kinda gives Anubis vibes. Not to mention wolves are often culturally know for their ravenous pursuit of pray. So culturally the wolf is a perfect choice.
Great perspective that the Wolf is the sum of everything evil in fairy tales, didn't think of that. And then again you have the wolf from Shrek in that same world.
@@thedukeofchutney468 you made me remember something. while we have anubis who is the god of the dead, there's a god in egypt mythology who is something "similar" to a grim reaper. wepwavet is anubis's brother, he has similar features like anubis, with the head of a jackal. but while anubis is a black jackal, wepwavet is a gray jackal, similar to the wolf in puss in boots. he's even seen more as a wolf than a jackal in the egypt mythology. wepwavet is interpreted to be a kind of scout, a god who opens the way. in the beginning, he was associated with war, being a god who cleared paths for the army to proceed, and later he ended up being associated with death too, as a god who lead the dead to and through duat, the realm of the dead.
For everyone big bad wolves are the most scary thing
For Furries wolves are the perfect husbando lmao
I love the fact that Death kept wanting Puss to fight for his life during their first battle, him kicking his sword back to Puss felt like Death wanted Puss to fight, not cheat or run, for his life (which is what he kept doing throughout the whole movie until the final act), and that is such a really neat thought of mine.
The writers said that they depicted death as a wolf because they drew inspiration from the Brothers Grimm for the movie and the Brother Grimm often depicted wolves as "the personification of fear".
thank you for shortening an unbearable 10 minutes. thank you so much. (genuine)
That’s literally it. These are fairytales and it amazing people don’t think about that.
Yeah, 3 little pigs, red riding hood what else?
And the agents of satan
I think that Death is a wolf for the fact that the opposite of a cat is a dog and what's scarier then a dog? A wolf.
Obviously.
@@0deadx21why angry?
And lets not forget the most basic point of character design... it just looks cool af
Theres also the fact that wolves are persistence hunters, you can run as long as you want, wolf is always following. Sound familiar?
For me, it’s the phrase “lone wolf” that was divided into 2 main points. Firstly, Puss used to say he walks alone. Secondly, whether we like it or not, even with all the people we love and everything we’d ever wish for, we eventually perish alone.
I think Death’s saying that as much as you wanna convince yourself (in Puss’s case, nine lives), you’ll never be able to escape the inevitable.
Death comes quickly for those who fear it. Puss, realizing he was now one cataclysm (pun) away from true death now subconsciously feared something he previosly did not. This inadvertently called "Death" to hunt him and gave "Death" the knowledge of how to keep Puss in a state of absolute terror. The way "Death" comes for us all is unique and Puss's fear is what gave "Death" its physical manifestation of a wolf. This is the short version of why I personally believe "Death" in this movie is an antagonist/obstacle but not a villain.
The Wolf is in fact teaching Puss a lesson. But he's having fun terrorizing him. It's not that his ultimate goal is to push him into character development, but rather that he wants respect. After all, puss can't run away from him. If he wanted, he could've easily killed him in the bar scene and be done with it. But he's toying around with him and showing up only whenever puss puts himself in danger. To remind him he should fear and respect Death.
To remind puss that death is always watching
U risk it, u better be ready for the "biscuit"
It's one way to interpret it, if you don't believe what he said to Puss in the Cave of Lost Souls. I personally kinda do believe it, since him getting angry in the end when it was clear Puss changed and now appreciates the life he has, kinda proves to me that he wanted to drag Puss down to the void BAD (also, people translated what he said in Spanish to "why do I have to play with my food?" so forgive me for doubting his intentions were pure, and he just wanted to give Puss a lessen), but also had to obey some sort of code, moral or otherwise and while I understand why he would be pissed off, I still don't know how to feel about Death being a cheater (because him wanting to take Puss's 9th life before his time very much is) either way, he is an INCREDIBLE villain, who not only istles fear in Puss but also in us, and while maybe not exactly intended by Death it still pushed Puss to become a true hero and start to value people in his life.
Death is kind of just like ozen from made in abyss because both could've easily killed the main character if they wanted to but the didnt and acted like they like when ppl are afraid of them its not like death is now puss's friend or anything he will definitely just kill Puss when the time has come
(or that one person saying "I've heard he have 10 lives" in the first movie becomes a real thing and there's just a pretend death)
That's exactly my interpretation of it. Death only ever shows up when Puss is confronted with his fragile mortality, and it sends him into panic attacks. Even in the bar, Puss is contemplating his last life as Death shows up. I don't think Death ever was going to kill Puss, but wanted to scare him constantly. He had ample opportunities to do the deed, and just gave up at the end when Puss "ruined it for him." Becoming a better person isn't a good enough reason that Death's fun hunt would have been ruined. It was ruined because the game of torment was over. There's no fun stalking someone that isn't afraid of you.
It’s fun for the wolf to hunt. I think He did not kill right away just because he was having fun (and doesn’t want to get dirty by poop).
He doesn’t care, my friend…
I think an important scene to consider is also the cave one when one of puss's lives tells death that "hes cheating" and death replies with "shh don't tell". To me that tells that death has found Puss's existance so insulting that he personally wanted to put him in his place, of course there would have been more satisfaction for him to kill him while he was still afraid and prideful but when he changed he had to respect that and backed off. Death can also be seen as someone who will judge everyone at the end which is probably the "stare off" between puss and death happened at the end to signify that death is judging him again and has deemed him worthy of keeping his life.
At any point, Death could have killed Puss, but he gives him a fair fight. When he's disarmed, Death acknowledges that Puss actually values his life enough to fight for it, and gives him back the opportunity of a natural death.
3:28 puss doesn't call death anything, he just says "hasta la muerte", which is a play on words based from "hasta la vista" which means see you again or until we meet again, but he says it like see you in death, or until i die, meaning that the next time they'll meet again is when he dies
It’s “ until death”
@@Gooey-gnam0 same thing, just adding meaning to it bcs considering his name is literally death it wouldn’t make any sense
What I like is when I looked it up(he has different meaning and like what yours says.), it says to "the bitter end". Which would be a much more fitting and sweeter thing to say to death.
I was literally thinking "Didn't he say muerte & not mort or whatever?"
The only reason I understood that is because I know the saying, but that's the only bit of spanish I know. lol
@@Kenjjoo Yep. Muerte is Spanish for death. Derived from Mortis or Mortem in Latin. Not Mort.
And "hasta la muerte" means "until death" or more accurately "until the bitter end" as a previous commenter pointed out
You were not listening to the Spanish close enough friend. It's Muerte (death). And I distinctly recall puss referring to him as lobo (wolf). He says "Hasta la muerte" which, as far as I found, translates into "Till death". Which is an appropriate statement for puss to say in that scene because it is the situational equivalent of "till next time", but he won't see lobo again until he actually dies.
I WAS JUST ABOUT TO SAY THAT!
As a spanish person i can confirm this is exactly what he says in that scene
/r/woosh
He's joking
He was clearly joking my g
I noticed that The Wolf's Latin accent seems to get softer, sometimes to the point of dropping entirely, when he gets excited. That might imply that Death learned Spanish and put on an accent just for this occasion.
death has no nationality...in any way,the voice actor is brazilian not spanish like cat´s voice actor,i guess the accents are diferent
A cool detail is that Death only seems to show up whenever Puss is about to regain his arrogance. When he was about to gloat on the cart, when he was willing to race to save the dog to prove he's faster, in the caves when his past selves were hyping him up, and finally at the end when he was about to make the wish to get all of his nine lives back. It's only when Death see's that Puss is no longer afraid to lose his last life that he decides to let him go. He was angry because he wasn't expecting him to change and value that he only has one life to live. So as a reward he allowed him to live the last of it to his fullest and meet him again at the end of the road.
I figured it was more of his contemplating mortality. Death shows up in the bar when Puss is talking to himself about retirement, due to the fact that it's not safe for him to adventure anymore. The cart scene also involved a lot of danger as a stray missile could strike him as it did the map, and then the other scene where he's in the fray with Jack's minions exploding into confetti is when he gets is first real panic attack. Lastly, the Cave of Souls scene is constantly reminding him of what is behind him, and how little he has left ahead of him. He was even trying to get away from his past lives talking to him but then Death showed up and started smashing the figures.
I agree with you. This connects with Puss' previous deaths as they were risky deaths caused by his arrogance. The 8th caused by the bell falling on him after demostrating his cool moves and being praised by the audience after defeating the giant. As well as his other deaths, like for example one of his death was by falling on top of a tower while being drunk and being cocky that he will land on his feet.
What I like is that its a classical fairytale trope too. Death is there to teach Puss a lesson, which is to value his own life. Oinly when the lesson is learned does death leave him be.
I don't think it was about him saving the dog is what draw out death. It was when he dropped the map and was thinking of grabbing it back is when Death appeared. If Death didn't show up, then Puss would have died to Jack Horner as it was more natural that Kitty and Puss would try and save the dog, no matter who did first.
*One thing about Death you missed;*
He has Raven on his face. Most people know the symbolism of that, and I'm surprised no one who talks about Death brings up this design choice.
Also, I think Death was teaching Puss a lesson; to treasure his life. At the end of the fight, Death said he came for an "arrogant, little legend who thought he was immortal." But he no longer sees him. And he told Puss to live his life. Death was a teacher.
A person can learn without a teacher. Wolf had no intention of teaching anything, he did so inadvertently.
@@greyngreyer5 If that's the case, he wouldn't have cared that Puss changed. He would have just killed him in their first meeting.
@@DigitalWraith He plays with his food, so no.
@@greyngreyer5 Those that play with their food still eat it, so yeah.
Also, at the end of the movie, Death said "you ruined this for me." Meaning any enjoyment he had was gone. Making it far more likely for your interpretation of his character to just kill him.
I think as well his pattern is called a mask so it’s technically a death mask.
personally I always saw it as a tribute to the oldest myth known to man, the Ice Age Hellhound. Death and dogs go as far back as anyone can remember, to Cerberus in ancient Greece, to Anubis in ancient Egypt, the Grim for the Celts, Xólotl in Mesoamerica, and hundreds of other stories where hounds are associated with death. so I just thought that him as a wolf was a sort of tribute to that story.
Additional info, Perito doesn't come to Puss until after he buries himself, adding to the idea that death can greet you as a friend, or hound you as an adversary.
I actually thought of Anubis. These stories are so fascinating, and the wolf character was a great tribute to these lores.
don't forget the Black Dog... usually truckers see it.
Anubis ( 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱 inpu ) is a Jackal ( an animal very similar to a Normal Dog )
But, 𓄋𓈐𓏏𓏥 wpwAwt (wepwAwet) is a Wolf. The Ancient Egyptian God of Funerary Rites, War, Royalty Association ; his name means: The Opener of ways, Because he helps the deceased through the dangerous paths in the underworld and clear the way to the final Judgment of the Dead.
Chihuahuas were also believed to guide Aztec nobles through the afterlife, as well - hence a foreshadowing that Puss would turn out to be noble enough to complete his quest, as otherwise there wouldn't be a Chihuahua to guide him. In effect Perrito's his alebrije, in a sense.
I always thought it was obvious, the wolf wasnt death’s main form, just the one he chose to scare puss the most. Also death only appeared in the wishing star to EVERYONE because it was a super magical and weird environment
And he wanted to cut down the legend, but to do so he needs witnesses, to watch the legend die.
or they just thought him being a wolf would be badass
i always thought the reason he only appeared to others on the wishing star was out of necessity
beforehand puss was still vulnerable, a good distance away from the wishing star, but death couldn't fully appear to him since he was 'breaking the rules', as shown in the cave scene - he should only appear to people who have died naturally, he shouldn't actually kill
him hunting down puss was out of annoyance from being cheated
however now that puss was close to the one thing that could cheat death again, he saw it fit to appear and fight him publicly, as risking being seen breaking the rules was now a lower priority than letting puss get to the one thing that could cheat him again
I'm pretty sure Death was also inspired by the creature called the Whistler, which seems to have its origins in Venezuela and Colombia. I heard about it some years ago in a video. If you hear this creature whistle closeby, it's actually far away, and if you hear it far away, it's close to you and, if I remember correctly, it will then kill you. I like it that Death, despite being a wolf, doesn't howl but whistles to tell Puss that he's near.
Death actually is call the whistler in Spain as he was always in Europe and plus he was real to
@@ahtee5106 thats a belief
Makes sense how Death's whistle also sounds distant when he is shown to be near Puss
I personally think that Death actually has different things depending on who he is going for, like he might look different for everyone else and even different weapons.
I think that the reason Death is personified as a wolf is character design relating to Anubis in Egyptian Mythology. He guides souls to the afterlife and his weapon looks slightly like when death combined his wicked in the final fight. Speaking of sickles, they are a harvesting tool and was a common weapon in Egypt
I feel compelled to mention that Anubis was a jackal. Just putting it out there
@@chrishaven1489 Wolves and jackals are both canines.
@@princesstt9778 So are labradors and coyotes. Your point?
Also, sickles are a grim reaper reference
or..he’s just the big bad wolf..just throwing that out there..
Cats fear dogs, and the wolf is a really big and scary dog, so a big bad red eyed wolf would be perfect for Puss to feel fear, which is the main motive of Death
He is a "villain" in the fact that he says he was so disgusted by Puss in Boots' arrogance that he did not want to wait for Puss to actually die for the last time, meaning he was willing to step outside of the "rules" to kill Puss. Also, I think the Mort thing is a little farfetched, because Hasta la Muerte, that means "Until Death" meaning he knows one day Death will come for him again. Good description of the wolf theme though.
yeah, Mort means Death in Latin and French!
He is doing his job so the answer is death is not a mortal being
I *_think_* the Mort thing was a joke???? But honestly, who knows. ^^;
he is a villain and I’m sick of people pretending he’s not
He went out of his way so I would consider him a villain in that moment
Here's a GIANT coincidence. I doubt the creators had this in mind BUT in Tupi-Guarani mythology, the native peoples of Brazil, Paraguay, and other South American countries there is a figure called Luison. He is described as being a wolf-man or werewolf and is at times considered the God of Death. This and the fact that they casted Wagner Moura a Brazilian actor to play Wolf/Death is either a beautiful coincidence or an awesome creative choice from the filmmakers.
I just searched it up and that image is insanely crazy
Death is also extremely suited for a wolf. Through the movie, he chases Puss in a very slow paced way, which is how wolves hunt their prey
Also clever since cats fear canines the most
The way I interpreted Death when I saw the movie is that he's simply a badass adaptation of the Big Bad Wolf.
After all, the story of the Three Little Pigs is, ultimately, a story about being prepared for the inevitable.
You could think of Puss's eight previous lives as being like the two pigs who underestimated the strength of the wolf; Puss's respect for his mortality was like straw and sticks, and those previous lives were easily lost.
But by the end of the movie, his respect for his life and for others becomes like bricks, with his will standing firm no matter how much the wolf blows.
A theory of mine that I over analyzed was that he's probably based on the big bad wolf but as death right? I'm a fan of mythology and some details on death are pretty crazy the bands on his arm and the weapons he uses share resemblance with anubis! The Egyptians God of death!!! :)
oops, i should've read your comment before making mine. I agree
@@tobysparrow4171 anubis is a jackal but the arm bands do make me think your theory is really cool as well though
Didn’t the big bad wolf appear in Shrek as the wolf with a shower cap?
@@pubertdefrog Yes, but I don't know if the wolf from the Three Little Pigs story and the story of Little Red Riding Hood are the same wolf. 🤔
Maybe they were both called "the Big Bad Wolf" (I don't remember; it's been so long since I've heard either story lol), but I think the two can coexist.
Death as a wolf has a long tradition in ancient mythology. Wepwawet, the wolf headed Egyptian war god was also the original opener of doors to the Duat, the Egyptian afterlife. He was seen as brother to Anubis, the more famous jackal god who guided the dead to their eternal rest. I like to think that Death in this movie pays some sort of homage to this little known but important Egyptian deity (especially as the Egyptians revered cats too and I feel would have gone crazy about Puss if he had existed in the time of the pharaohs)
Finally someone said about that, haha. I thought about Egyptian myfology as soon as I've seen this wolf. His sickles also looks kinda like ancient egyptian sword - khopesh
Death is actually based off German mythology death in the movie
@@hroma3671 There's a lot of cultures that has wolf as a death reaper. Dude did not do much research before doing this video...
𓄋𓈐𓏏𓏥 wpwAwt (wepwAwet). The Ancient Egyptian God of Funerary Rites, War, Royalty Association ; his name means: The Opener of ways, Because he helps the deceased through the dangerous paths in the underworld and clear the way to the final Judgment of the Dead.
Fun fact: there is a superstition that wolf in Spain or Mexico is considered a bad sign, and Puss is a spanish. So maybe that's why Death is portrayed as a wolf. But I do hope we get the explanation from creators themselves.
But you must admit it's bizarre how 'Big Bad Wolf' character shows up everywhere. Even if it's defeated of killed, they always appear in another fairytale. But that's a different topic here right now.
This is probably the reason right here.
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Being a Mexican myself, as a kid I kept hearing stories or adults say that wolves are a bad.
I think Deaths scene with the crystals of Puss’ past lives was his Judgement Call, saying how hes angry at how reckless and frivolous he treated all 8 and now hes on his final life. One of the three stages of Death they depicted in the movie.
Note: when someone dies, theres a deity that weighs your soul and calculates your past life and actions. -The Judgement Call.
Then they prepare you for the ascension to your final resting place.
-The Embalming
Lastly the Afterlife of whether you go to heaven, hell or purgatory
certain mythologies also describe Death as 'a wolf with fur as pale as bone, eyes as red as hellfire, and wearing a raven's black cloak' so it might also be referencing that.
What?
You make that up or what
Damn that whistle alone made me feel fear more than any horror movie ever did. This movie was surprisingly perfect
You haven’t watch any scary horror movies before? Yes the whistle was scary but it’s scarier then any horror movie you seen? Makes me believe you haven’t seen much horror movies
@@Xorts_1 i've watched plenty excuse you. Jumpscares, annabelle, any nun scenes e.g. the painting scene, insidious, the ring and haunting in connecticut none of it made me feel eerie than that whistle did.
Had to piss me self twice during the movie
I think what scared me more was puss heart was palpitating fast when he was running. It felt so real that it felt that the viewer who’s watching him was getting scared as well, the whistling was just unsettling.
@@HazWolverine sir/mam with all due respect, half the films you have listed above are horrendously bad. The nun or Annabelle are plain jumpscare fests that don't instill a longing sense of fear like the wolf's whistle
"2022 wasn't the greatest year in animation for me"
Bih, Turning Red and The Bad Guys released to mass critical and commercial avail from fans and critics alike. I remember everyone saying how good the animation was and how well-written the characters were in both movies. It's only after The Last Wish came out that everyone been retroactively hating on what were excellent movies.
Death as a Wolf is a composite of multiple characters. The main inspiration for Death is the fairy tale "Godfather Death" which the association with candle being snuffed out is a possibly a reference to. As for why Death is a wolf, multiple cultures have an association with death and wolves. During Ragnarok, the wolf Fenrir would devour Odin, according to the Pawnee Native American tribe the wolf was the first creature to experience death among others. While not a wolf i'm also pretty certain the Death is supposed to the jackal headed god of death Anubis.
also a reference to the Big Bad Wolf probably (since y'know, fairy tales)
@@brostrod Hence composite character.
In most versions of Red Riding Hood a Wolf kills her grandmother, In the most classic the Wolf is also killed in the end.
For the Three Little Piggies they are eaten by a Wolf.
And of course, though probably less so, a Wolf killed the sheep because a boy cried it one too many times
@@brostrod Scratch that I found an potentially even better reason why death is a wolf. Puss in Boots likely was at least in part inspired by the Irish and Scottish mythological Fairy/witch Cait Sith. Cait sith itself is a potenial origin of cats having nine lives. The same mythology also has the Fairy dog, Cu Sith, who is a messenger of death appearing only to take souls to the afterlife.
The very fact we are all here talking about our own outlook on death, the wolf, the choice in it being a wolf…it’s amazing. It’s making people question death, question the film itself, the choices, the words, the actions. This one is far from a kids animation and I loved it. It’s all about YOUR own outlook and the film can be interpreted in so many ways. Literally all adults can relate. Me, I believe Puss and his lives is just age with us. We don’t have 9 lives, but we have age, and the older we get and the more adventures we go on…the time is still ticking away closer to death. It’s always coming for us. I believe the wolf just wanted to teach puss a lesson in ‘remembering that you will die’ and in turn technically gave him his life back. Remember puss ‘retired’ and gave up that life because he was scared to face the inevitable, but in a round about way, death gave Puss a reason to live and be Puss in Boots again. As soon as Puss was aware of his mortality and the possibility of death he was scared stiff, but then he ACCEPTED it and found himself again. Nothing changes remember, he didn’t make a wish in the end, he didn’t have all lives back again to go act carelessly, after it all, all that changed was his outlook on life and how he lived it.
I totally agree with everything you've stated and I think it's super cool that you agree and acknowledge with the reasoning that Death is not a villain persé, just an obstacle Puss has to fight his way around (sorta speak, obviously). And truth be told, I always thought The Grim Lobo was a wolf of all things because we both can agree that the Grim Reaper ironically took the form of his target's darkest fears, but I think there's so much more to it than that. For one thing, I always thought that there was a humorous edge to it as the archetypal "big bad wolf". However, a more important angle to theorize would be a super "grim" representation of Puss himself, kinda like how Kitty Softpaws is Puss's female counterpart, but in this case, a relationship that can be better compared to Batman and The Joker. His personality even mimicks Puss's in the sense of Puss liking to strike fear into his opponents while Death basically feeds off of fear. That stated, in a rather large nutshell, the Reaper is literally everything an arrogant thrill-seeking legend who just happens to be a cat would be afraid of: The one warrior Puss can totally match wits with while at the same time having no chance in actually vanquishing like he did with a mountain collosus (seeing as how Puss instantly assumed he was just another bounty hunter during that chilling first encounter).
This was an awesome movie and The Grim Lobo was it's black cherry on top.
I actually had something very simular to this theory after seeing the movie myself, with Death always shifting himself in different physical forms to scare his victims. So I'm very glad there's someone who thought the same! In my eyes he's a natural effect, like mother nature. However with this unlimited immortality of cosmic beings he sometimes takes on a physical shape to let that infinite loneliness and immortal being be more bearable. He played with his food, he hunted for that intoxicating fear that makes his void a bit more fun. But of course with Puss having accepted his life and death Death felt dishonest about killing him and just simply left, but not without simply asking him to "live his life well". I like that.
One thing I thought about with Death being personified as a wolf as I was walking out of the theater was that I figured it was because in a lot of fairy tales, which often center around teaching children what not to do, a wolf is often used as the villain there. The boy who cried wolf? Don't tell lies, or *a wolf will eat you*. Little red riding hood? Be careful of strangers, especially a wolf that threatens to eat you. I didn't put a ton of thought into that beyond that, but the main takeaway I had was that I felt that because of how terrifying a wolf is portrayed in fairy tales in a universe that centers around fairy tales, it makes sense that death would be personified as a wolf.
The director: let's have death be a wolf in this.
Audience: he is terrifying and scary.
The producers and casting director: let's get Wagner Mourna, the guy who played one of the most notorious criminals of all time, voice him.
Audience: I just shat and pissed myself at the same time.
I'm sure someone has said this already, but Puss doesn't say "Mort". He says "La Muerte" which means "Death" in Spanish. Though, interestingly "La Mort" is also Death, but in French.
Pretty sure he was joking
Doesn't matter. Mort is Death and DreamWorks confirmed it.
@@Imperials3nate hope you’re joking
French also happens to be one of the two official languages of Madagascar ;)
@@47fr121 He didnt correct it so the guy didnt know. Apanish peeps. Some people I know who speak spanish confirmed he said Muerte which is 'Death'.
Lobo is a wolf of honor he could have taken the easy way out and let Puss die like always but he wanted to give him a chance. Besides I really think Lobo is Puss biggest fan.
I think wolf was just messing with him tbh
@@It_Is_Oylenox but he let's him live at the end
@@soltansorena9226 wolf got mad because puss wasted 8 lives and decided to just take him early (he says at the beginning he loves the smell of fear). At the end of the climax fight tho, he realizes puss has actually changed and values his life, so he lets him live. He says in Spanish something like “you’ve ruined this for me now”
@@It_Is_Oylenox He said "Why the hell did I play with my food?" In Spanish.
@@maryzmijski6087 I think he says both
I personally had some associations with egyptian mythology, where cats and jackals where both featured in the pantheon.
The jackal-headed Anubis beeing, quite fittingly, the god of death-rites, while Bastet, the goddess of love, music, singing and festivities is shown wearing a cat's head.
Anubis also was responsible for testing the souls of the deceased, deciding whether they were worth of and afterlife or Not.
Also, Deaths Sickles are kinda reminding me of a khopesh, an ancient egyptian weapon.
Everyone gangsta till u pause the video and the whistle continues
Oof
Death is vaguely reminiscent of a type of Werewolf in Irish Mythology, called Faoladh, who were guardians of children, injured people and lost souls. In some cases, they were the ones that one would meet upon their death or see before their death, so that was of interest to me.
Yep, later interpreted as the black dog or grim that haunted wrongdoers to their demise. Well spotted!
I think it’s a combination of deities from different mythologies.
There’s references to Kharon, when he puts the coins on his eyes.
Anubis, his weapons and poses
And finally, Fenrisulfr from Norse Mythology. A wolf destined to kill Odin and is represented by chaos.
I have heard legends about the Cadejo in Spanish folklore… And (though it depends on whether it’s white or black), the Cadejo can be seen as a symbol of bad luck, or DEATH (or as a symbol of good luck, and life, again depending on the color… See Hector and Valentino as an example)
Interesting you say Cadejo because I’m from El Salvador and we have the legend of El Cadejo. Not a lot of People know about it. And yup, it can be a huge black dog or a white dog that can follow you around. The black dog can attack you but the white one will protect you.
i also thought death was a wolf because he would be what puss in boots, a much smaller house cat, would naturally fear, and it made me wonder if death looks different to the other characters, since no one other than puss acknowledges that death is a wolf throughout the movie. or maybe dreamworks just knows how much people like their wolf characters lol
regarding whether death is a villain or just an antagonist; instead of waiting for puss to die on his own, which would make me believe he wasn't a villain, death actively hunted puss down to kill him even though it wasn't his time to die yet while trying to frighten him as much as possible. in the cave of lost souls, one of puss' past lives even acknowledges that death's pursuit of puss is "cheating", and death says "shhh... don't tell", so even he knows that what he's doing is wrong. i've seen a lot of people saying that death isn't a villain because he made puss appreciate his life, but i believe death wasn't doing it intentionally. he certainly didn't sound happy about puss' character development. he even makes a comment at the end when he says (in spanish) "why the hell did i play with my food", meaning he would've preferred having killed puss earlier over letting him live with a newfound appreciation for life. and though death gained respect for puss at the end and spared him the fact that puss grew as a character probably made killing puss not worth it/not fun anymore for him. ("you're ruining this for me!") he's definitely a villain, at least just for the story until the end, then i would say he's neutral
Why do people like wolfs so much??
@@xthee_0nly_1x11 because furry
@@xthee_0nly_1x11 same reason people like dogs
@@timlwry exactly
@@Hollowmello1285 that's not actually true wolves have been the Pickin and mythology and urban legend 4 years. Wolves back in the day with symbols of death or evil they say here a wolf howling at the moon it means your time is up what coming to an end fascination with wolves have been around way before the fandom you have hellhounds werewolves and everything else
I think the wolf is just an embodiment of his fear of death. When you overthink things too much, they come to fruition. As a result, he lived cautiously, but the feeling of fear overshadowed everything else and became his main driving force to take action. In addition, his first encounter with the wolf occurs when he is alone and in a depressive state.
The fact that Death in Puss In Boots acts like a predator and enjoys tormenting Puss shows he's not just the force of nature. He's definitely an antagonist with Villain tendencies.
It would be even scarier if it’s revealed that Death has multiple forms, each tailoring to one’s fears.
What's scary is that Death itself is everywhere; it exists side by side with Life. We give Death a face, to make it less scary because like what's mentioned in the video, we can't SEE Death, nor can we STOP it. It's a force that takes anyone and everyone; Rich, Poor, Ill, or Healthy. Newly born, or suffering from old age. It comes for everyone.
As for death being a villain, I can definitely see his surface level motivations as villainous, but it could have been his intention all along to force Pus to grow by confronting him directly. Villain? Perhaps not. Antagonist? Maybe. Anti-Hero? Definitely a possible third hat to throw in the ring.
Death shape shifts into whatever strikes fear into you. Sense Puss is a cat he is seen as a wolf, and i feel like if a real human being saw him he would be a literal Grim Reaper demon, and i still wonder if a person with no fear of dying can still see him, like what would he shape shift into. I think maybe a ghost, but i dunno.
He’ll probably take the form of an angelic being to those that don’t fear death
Dont make sense
Cuz puss actually didn't fear nothing at start
He literally thought himself immortal
@@blu3d3vil97 Being down to one life will change that for someone who had 8 to spare.
Besides Death being awesome as all hell and loving his whistle. I adore that they made Puss' hat have a long tail, it looks so much better than every previous iteration
I don't think he's a villain, but he certainly wanted to appear villainous, to strike that fear in Puss. Despite what he claimed, I don't think he ever wanted to kill Puss in Boots before his time. The evidence is that he kept letting Puss run away, even encouraging him to run. He was using fear of death to get Puss to appreciate and not squander his life.
And in some ways it depends on ones perception of death as well. You perceive death to just do his job impartially. But who is to say that death doesn't enjoy or hate his job sometimes?
I can't help but laugh everytime he's like "Why the hell did I play with my food?!" in Spanish. My guy regretted his decision of letting Puss in a cat-and-mouse game and unintentionally giving him a chance of changing himself instead of killing him when he had the chance. Dude was so pissed XD 🤣 Even Death, for being the movie's scariest antagonist, had a bit of comedy lol
One point to make regarding this part 9:00 about the grim reaper.
In the mythology of the reaper, he carries an hourglass on his belt as a symbol of time slipping away. Sometimes he will appear to a person and tap the hourglass with his bony finger. This is meant to inform the person that their time is slipping away and that they still have a chance to change their ways for the better before their time ends.
This version of the reaper sees that Puss arrogantly does not value life and has decided that there is no way he will ever change his ways and it’s time for him to pass on. But it’s only after he does see that Puss has changed for the better and learned to value the time he has left that he finally backs off the chase and let’s him live the rest of his life.
So letting Puss live after seeing that he has truly changed his ways is not out of character for the Reaper. Sure he might have been frustrated after seeing the change in his heart but that’s probably because he was so sure at first that Puss would never change and now he realizes he was wrong, explaining his frustration with the situation.
About the hourglass the whistling is like his time is almost up or that it’s a warning that death is near
2:24 I think death DOES know when puss is about to DIE. cus right before puss gets crushed by the bell CAN hear the WHISTLE (only if you have like max volume headphones) and if you don’t hear it try watching the extended trailer. Any I thought that was cool 😎
The movie where his heart was beating so hard… I connected with that on such a deep level. Ever since a car accident I was afraid of encountering the same thing again. Fortunately, I think I have gotten over the fear.
Also, can we appreciate how this 3-D animation has become art?
Feelin' good?
You know, more I watch the last whistle scene, the one where the wolf is leaving, after he recognises that Puss had changed and Puss says "hasta la muerte" [To death], essentially: See you when the time comes/Farewell, the more I feel like Death is satisfied/proud of Puss as he showed respect not only to life, but to death as well. Eyes, head going from low to high, unlike from high to low like in most of previous scenes in which he was hunting and very minor smile. The whistle was reply to Hasta la muerte imo, it was Farewell.
That was a great video. Also I never saw death in the crowd before. And I do think he is both a villain and a antagonists. Good job hope you hit 10k!!🎉
Puss wasn't calling Death "Mort", he told him "Hasta la muerte", which is Spanish for "To death" to "To the bitter end". It could also translate much like "Hasta la vista", Which means "See you later". This means Puss was most likely telling Death that he'll see him when it's his time to die.
I think that the wolf is just a reference lol. He’s literally the big bad wolf
No The Big Bad Wolf is the cross dressing wolf from Shrek
Nope
@@IcyDiamond you misunderstand. Its a referencing to OUR worlds version of the three little pigs and the big bad wolf, not the in universe characters.
He’s literally not though
Lots of stories have the Big Bad Wolf as the villain, this could be another version of him from a different story.
A villain isn’t “the bad guy” or evil. A villain is simply the antagonist; someone who opposes the hero.
I also find it interesting that many fear wolves despite the fact that wolves are more scared of humans, and Puss had to essentially learn that himself. Death isn't something to be feared, but it is something that should warrant carefulness and enjoyment of life while it lasts, but you shouldn't FEAR death. Yes, it's inevitable, but it happens to everyone and no mortal can live forever.
Death is a villain, but more accurately a "Villain In Name Only" type one. At the end of the day, he's an immortal force of nature.
He is an antagonist
Because he is opposed to the hero/protagonist of this story
But he isnt evil or a villain
@@blu3d3vil97 Like I said. Villain in name only. What he does any villain can do for similar reasons, but he can be one in the eyes of anyone that never wants to die or fears death.
Kind of like anyone can be a hero in name only where they have motive and do whatever is needed to save face to keep that image.
Someone at the studio is a fan of Blizzard. Death is portrayed as a wolf(worgen) and Death using 2 sickles is Malthael from Diablo 3 .
Death really reminded me of all the fairytales and stories that included a wolf as an antagonist. A creature that represents fear and brings death everywhere it goes. Real eye-opener for in all honesty.
I think a variety interview with the director says it's because Wolves are a *personification of fear* in Grimms tales. So it's more fitting to use a wolf for this movie too. Very befitting theory
The Stayin' Alive outro is fire fr.
A good little head canon I have is that death was pretty far from puss in every other time he died, each time he died he’d get closer and closer, now at his last life he is now right next to puss, making himself known to him because he is now at his last chance.
I agree with why you said Death chose the form of a wolf. Also in some mythos wolves are also symbols of Death AND Life, making it more fitting as Death approaches Puss in Life, and they also represent good and evil as well, allowing him to float around in the grey area.
Life is a game and Death plays for keeps. Puss' arrogance made him a little impatient, thus his pursuit of Puss throughout this adventure. He had a lesson to teach but did so indirectly, but I don't think of Death as a villain because it's simply his nature to end life. He just shouldn't force it when that life is still bright and fighting back :3
I think the reason Death is a wolf is because wolves are dogs, and dogs are the natural enemies of cats. If something can make Puss feel truly and very afraid for his life, it would be a dog. I'm all for it. Also, I like how Death has a Brazilian nationality, in contrast to Puss's Spanish nationality. I just thought that was really cool.
Wolves aren't dogs my guy. Dogs are man made to better get with humans. But many wolves even kill dogs. They even have different mannerisms and ways of thinking.
I think in the Cave, one of Puss' reflections tells Death something along the lines of "That's cheating!" in response to Death deciding to end Puss' life early. This kind of stuck out to me since I think it relates to what you said about how Death IS a Villain since he's acting out of spite instead of just being a force of nature.
I have not changed my top 5 movies in years, then I saw this movie and it blew me out of the water. It is now up there!
My theory about the opening: After Death watched Puss' blatant disregard of life by eating poison, along with all the other wacky ideas, he took it personally. A perfectly fine oven doesn't launch out flames when you open it, must be intervention. A bell doesn't magically rotate 100 degrees in a direction it wasn't going, must be intervention. Death is fed up with Puss, and so he's going after him. But he knows he'll be confident with all those lives, he wants to break Puss down. So he removes those extra lives, without showing himself.
I think death is coming for him in his last life not because of spite but because he knows puss will die at any moment if he doesnt change, while he is mainly focusing on him out of spite in each scenario where he appears he can die without death neccesarilly attacking him, thats why he appears.
I am pretty sure that Puss does not refer to Death as Mort. What I think he says at that moment is "Sí. Hasta la muerte" which translates to "yes, until death" which makes sense in the context of the film, and in fact way more sense than Puss referring to Death to a name that was never used anywhere else in the film that he wouldn't even know Death had. Besides, it seems to me that Madagascar is not part of the Shrek Universe anyway. But other than that, you made some very interesting points and I enjoyed it very much, thank you.
I just thought the premise of death being a wolf is the Occams razer of “well it’s simple, you can never escape death, and wolves are legendary hunters”
I would also like to add that Death's sickles are a reference to the sickle that Cronus used to castrate Uranus. Later on, Cronus became Father Time and the Grim Reaper, the one who waits for when your time is up.
Interesting video. I would like to add something if I may. It was pointed out by another reviewer that Death was introduced as being a "shady" character earlier than the crowd scene. When the wanted poster for Puss is shown it has 8 scratch marks on it alluding to Death's presence before appearing with the crowd. So while the crowd was technically the first appearance, it was already alluded to. It's really good writing and the whole movie is layered very well. As for Death being a villain and/or villain, I feel you were correct in encouraging viewers to see it both ways. Again, with the layering. Cheers from Canada!
Fun thing about the "wolves are hunters"
Yes but they hunt in packs.
So you could say the fact that Death choosing a wolf form and is always solitary, implying he needs no help, makes him even more intimidating
This guy heard muerte and immediately went off 💀its a Spanish word my guy
You beat me to this comment
One other little note. In the first scene when the Wolf asks for an autograph, you can see he has four fingers on his hands rather than the five on all other characters. The number 4 has a lot of death connections is many Eastern cultures.
I always thought it was because of the saying “beware the big bad wolf” and that being beware of death in this case
My boy the Theorizer's must've had a panic attack while watching this movie.
"Why is Death in the Form of a Wolf?" - Because it's the hottest form the studio could think of
Fun fact the Wolf/Death and Eris the Goddess of Discord from Sinbad are technically siblings, and their mother is Nyx the primordial Goddess of the Night.
They are, because Thanatos god of death is Nyx son
I understand why the "Death was just doing his job" take is so popular, but I never really agreed with it, though I couldn't put into words why. You articulated it quite nicely. Thank you!
Probably because Death decided to kill Puss early. The green life even says “that’s cheating!” In the scene where all the lives are together, before Death breaks the crystal and says “shh, don’t tell.”
He’s ripping Puss’s life away early because he felt insulted
@Amithist I love the fact that Mr. Five Aces had the AUDACITY to tell Death off for cheating. Bruh do you not remember how you died
@@inmyheadathousandworlds right? That was just funny
@@inmyheadathousandworlds yup
Thief screams theft XD
The Mort thing is a reach. What Puss says after death leaves him literally translates to "Until Death" as Puss acknowledged that he could not run from death forever.
Using the mort theory you could also say that death is somewhat knowledgeable about his existence within a movie and only shows up to watch and wait for the characters to die while they're in dangerous situations.
4:30 "A large amount of us" implies that somebody out there actually does know what happens to us after we die and is hoarding the secrets to themselves, and we must track this person down before they themself leave this world!
1 guy died in real life for 20 sec and his life flashed before his eyes literally this is not cap there’s a video about it somewhere…
He came back 20 sec later
I think death can take any figure it desires, chooses hot to appear as a wolf to Puss since dogs are the natural enemy to cats, in order to make Puss FEAR him since the smell is "intoxicating"
You know a villain is serious business when they send compliments to the target’s cobbler.