Spanish actor Antonio Banderas is delighted to be up for an Oscar but isn’t taking it too seriously and ellaborates how his decision to give the character a deeper voice elevated the film’s comedy value during an interview with sky news.
It’s almost two decades since cinema audiences were introduced to Antonio Banderas as Puss In Boots.
The deadly yet adorable animated cat first appeared in Shrek 2 in 2004 and went on to star in his own spin-off film in 2011.
The story explores mortality, death and why we should appreciate what we have as the character learns he has just one of his nine lives left.
Banderas told Sky News that when he first became aware of the film’s themes they seemed particularly timely.
“I was surprised because in a very strange way I found that the movie had to do with me more than I thought.
“The fact that I had a heart attack in 2017 and that made me kind of appreciate life in a different way,” he explained.
“I read the script and I said ‘Oh my god, I totally understand what my little cat is talking about and what the story is all about’.
“And then I also thought that it was done very elegantly, very carefully, because we know that our audiences are kids all around the world.
“But it’s true that during the COVID time kids all around the world also [had] a lot of questions because of the confinement and the lack of friends and the lack of schools, and everybody’s at home and what is happening out there.
“So it’s interesting, the movies that are aimed at kids are kind of reflecting about the beauty of life and how much we should praise that – and so I thought it was beautiful and very intelligently done.”
The Spanish actor, whose own daughter is an adult now, says he believes children are far more intuitive and resilient than they are often given credit for.
“We shouldn’t underestimate kids because they are very smart and they receive way more than we think they receive,” Banderas said.
“And they can’t structure that if we don’t help them… and [it] can have an effect later on in their lives.
“As a father I know that very early in their lives they see everything… So I think we freely can talk about these issues with them, knowing that if we do it carefully it can produce an effect on them that is positive.”
