Why is Death in the Form of a Wolf? // PUSS IN BOOTS THEORY
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- Опубліковано 24 січ 2023
- Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Crafted the Scariest Animated Villain of All Time, Death. But why was Death in the Form of a Wolf? This Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Theory Reveals Why he was a Wolf in this movie.
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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
@@thethankfulmilo1963 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
I’m not planning to watch the video, so I don’t know what he said, but it should be pretty obvious that death is Anubis from Egyptian mythology, who is indeed a wolf like creature.
@@Xusko extremely obvious, especially for those who dont care about egyptian culture
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
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
@@ZynetESLD 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
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.
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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?
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…
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
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.
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
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.
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
"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.
*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.
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
To answer the main question of the video's title: Death is Anubis, straight up.
If not then he's heavily based on him or the Greek depiction. Anubis is the jackal headed god of the dead. Jackals are also considered African wolves. There was a scene where Death put coins in his eyes and pointed to Puss as a reference to placing coins on the eyes of the dead to give them something to pay the ferryman to help them to cross the river Styx. Sometimes Anubis is depicted with scythes or a staff whereas Death has both in the form of combining dual scythes into a staff weapon.
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.
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
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 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 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
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
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.
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!!🎉
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.
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
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.
4:59 Hey it's withered bonnie!
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.
Everyone gangsta till u pause the video and the whistle continues
Oof
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.
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.
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
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'.
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 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 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
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.
I love how you put it that way. He's sorta a villain and a simple antagonist doing his job as Death. Very good reasons too. I actually liked how they made Death decide to kill Puss while he still had one life left. They gave some feeling to a force of nature that naturally, isn't meant to have emotions. He wanted to kill Puss because he felt personally disrespected that Puss laughed at him most of his life and never took him seriously. Come his final life, Death has had it, he's done being disrespected and wanted to make puss feel the true meaning of what he has laughed at all his life before he killed him. For that, I feel like they did an excellent job! They gave Death some life in the movie. Not to mention it was probably for the fun of it too, Death collects the dying. I bet he really enjoyed some action with Puss before his adventure came to a close.
More importantly, I never thought of why Death was a wolf in this movie. I always figured it was because it was a DreamWorks movie, so I accepted that they'd add the big bad wolf as Death. His 10 minutes of screen time far exceeded my expectations! But now I have to rewatch it again just for that reason. I love it even more now that Death isn't an actual wolf, but that he shape-shifts into whatever his victim's worst fear is. And that, wolves being natural born predators is the best thing about him. He is literally there to hunt Puss down and kill him. I didn't think this movie could get any better until I watched your video. Thank you so much!
This is a great idea to explain the story of death! It awnsers all of my questions about puss in boots the last wish!Nice work!
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.
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 hope that here comes the era of dreamworks… where true storytelling becomes the norm… what a movie
Has it occurred to you that it's most likely a hint to Anubis, god of the death? Do you notice death wields two curved blades, resembling of the khopesh, a weapon employed in Egypt? Finally, Anubis is seen as a dog, but alternatively it could be an African Wolf.
And regarding the “death is a villain” part, remember that “villain” and “antagonist” are different things (you briefly mention that in your video anyway).
Finally, the “mort” part at 3:25 in your video, cat just says “yes, until it’s time to die” in Spanish. If you like “mort” that’s okay but the cat isn’t calling death “mort”. He’s replying to death’s previous statement/idea of “we’ll meet again”. Note that cat’s reply in Spanish is also a play of words, which might mean that cat will be facing death everyday until he dies (should he keep living as an adventurer), just as married couples are bonded together “until death does them apart”.
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.
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 comment from the user you mentioned was incredible and the theory you've made in this video was exceptional man.
Haven't watched the movie, but seen Wolf or Death a lotta times to know his character and I still shiver cause how amazing his design and character is.
I will watch the movie soon just gotta find the right time
Dreamworks overdid it in this movie with the villain Death and I can't wait for my real experience with this with no commentary or skips, full raw movie man
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.
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.
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.
inserting some maturity on this movie is such a great move. well played dreamworks, you nailed it again
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!
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!
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
I am so glad there will be even more of these movies as they said for more adventures as the animations was so good and puss in boots the last wish needs to win the oscar the amount of details and adding so many easter eggs is honestly insane hinting out bwfore the actual reveal.
The Stayin' Alive outro is fire fr.
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.
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
4:04 is when he gets to the point
2:23 This is pretty similar to the stories I’ve been told of Joseung Saja’s (basically Korean grim reapers).
They carry a book instead of a scythe, and that book contains your name, birthday, cause of death in the future, address, etc. They’ll call your name three times to alert you before safely escorting your soul.
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 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.
I loved Death in every aspect possible. He is an amazing character, with striking looks and features. It's cool that he takes the form of a wolf in this film, but it also saddens me that wolves are still portrayed as animals we should fear. Wolves don't attack people because they want to. It's only because they are provoked.
Have you thought about the jackal Anubis? His silhouette is haunting. And the sickles are the signature of the black ninja Noob Saibot from Mortal Kombat, a resurrected dead man.
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
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.
I think his menacing nature was just an act to test Puss, so Puss values his life.
Yeah and Puss in boots the last wishes depiction of death is a wolf not a skeleton.
HAHAHA i bursted out laughing so hard when you said "death is literally MORT", never seen any of your other videos before
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.
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?
death is unstoppable he walked through the wishing stars wall
"Why is Death in the Form of a Wolf?" - Because it's the hottest form the studio could think of
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
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.
Interesting theory!although I'm surprised you didn't incorporate that fact that also the wolf part could of also been a twist on the "fairytale" part of thr plot the big bad wolf ?
that whistle always sends a chill down my spine
This guy heard muerte and immediately went off 💀its a Spanish word my guy
You beat me to this comment
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.
the way he just says death like "DITH"
3:45. I was gonna say. "wait, isn't that the theory of The Theorizer"... I love this lol
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 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.
7:30
we didn't know the true intentions of death
in the end he said that he no longer see that cat that consider itself immortal, he still can kill him at any time but maybe he wanted to make him value his last shot as he didn't like the way he used the other lives
take a look at us for example, most of us value our lives and want to make it as desirable as possible but puss in boots literally lives in danger and might die again at any moment he literally didn't know that he was down to his last life by himself
great vid!