Top 2022 Movies at the Worldwide Box Office". The Numbers. Archived from the original on March 19, 2023 . Retrieved March 22, 2023. Rubin, Rebecca; Lang, Brent (March 8, 2023). "How TikTok and Cat Lovers Helped Propel Puss in Boots: The Last Wish to Box Office Glory". Variety . Retrieved August 10, 2023. Anderson, Erik (January 5, 2023). "2022 Alliance of Women Film Journalists (AWFJ) awards: Banshees of Inisherin, Everything Everywhere, Women Talking and The Woman King top winners". AwardsWatch. Archived from the original on January 5, 2023 . Retrieved January 7, 2023.

While wanting the film to retain the adult humor from previous entries, Crawford also wanted the film to have a darker tone, with Puss' mortality and fear of death being the film's main focus, [20] wanting to use the concept of Puss being in his last life to tell a story about how to enjoy life. [21] [22] Swift felt the Shrek franchise being over 20 years old by the time the project entered production allowed the film to explore darker themes than its predecessors. [20] He drew inspiration from fairytales by the Brothers Grimm and how they were "cautionary tales that took you somewhere dark to make you appreciate the light". [23] This also influenced the decision to depict Death as a wolf, as wolves in Brothers Grimm's stories were depicted as "the personification of fear". [23] Other influences for the film include Spaghetti Westerns films, due to how those films managed to balance between different tones. [23] The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly was cited as a particular influence on the film's plot. [20] Giardina, Carolyn (June 14, 2022). "Annecy: DreamWorks Animation Debuts First Half Hour of Puss in Boots 2". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022 . Retrieved June 15, 2022. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish' to Feature Original Songs by Karol G, Daniel Oviedo, Heitor Pereira & Others". Archived from the original on November 1, 2022 . Retrieved November 1, 2022. Coates, Tyler (February 23, 2023). "Dorian Awards: Everything Everywhere All at Once Sweeps LGBTQ Critics' Prizes". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 24, 2023 . Retrieved February 24, 2023.Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) - Domestic Release". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved August 9, 2023. White, Abbey (November 25, 2022). "DreamWorks Animation Unveils New Curtain Raiser, Introduces Reimagined "Moon Child" (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 25, 2022 . Retrieved November 25, 2022. The Big Bad Wolf: Death. And I don't mean it metaphorically or rhetorically or poetically or theoretically or any other fancy way. I'M DEATH. STRAIGHT UP! And I've come for you, Puss in Boots. Bibbiani, William (November 26, 2022). " 'Puss in Boots: The Last Wish' Review: Mortality Casts a Shadow on Otherwise Amusing Animated Sequel". TheWrap. Archived from the original on November 27, 2022 . Retrieved November 27, 2022.

Anderson, Erik (January 14, 2023). "2022 Georgia Film Critics Association (GFCA) winners". AwardsWatch. Archived from the original on January 14, 2023 . Retrieved January 14, 2023.Darling, Cary (January 10, 2023). " Banshees, Everything top list of Houston critics' nominations". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on January 12, 2023 . Retrieved January 11, 2023.

Milligan, Mercedes (February 15, 2023). " 'Puss in Boots: The Last Wish' Finds Next Life on Disc & Digital". Animation Magazine. Archived from the original on February 16, 2023 . Retrieved February 16, 2023. Domestic 2023 Weekend 1". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on January 12, 2023 . Retrieved January 13, 2023.

A 4-minute CGI animated short film, Puss in Boots: The Trident, was released as part of the digital release of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Collector's Edition on February 21, 2023, and later released on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on February 28. [47] [48] [49] The short sees Eric Bauza reprising his role as Puss from The Adventures of Puss in Boots. In promotional material, the character was referred to as "[the] Big Bad Wolf", though he is not credited as such in the film, and is separate from the character of the same name from the previous films in the main Shrek franchise.

The first thirty minutes of the film were shown at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 14, 2022. Critics noted the darker tone of the movie when compared to its predecessor and director Joel Crawford agreed with them, mentioning that Puss' "fear of death is the engine that drives the movie". [43] [20] Salma Hayek Pinault as Kitty Softpaws, a street-savvy Tuxedo cat who is Puss' ex-fiancée, and seeks the Wishing Star to find somebody she can trust. [7] [8]a b c "INTERVIEW: Director Joel Crawford discusses "Puss In Boots: The Last Wish" – Animation Scoop". www.animationscoop.com. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023 . Retrieved January 23, 2023. Shrek, Puss in Boots Getting Rebooted (Exclusive)". Variety. November 6, 2018. Archived from the original on November 6, 2018 . Retrieved January 24, 2021.