Rating: 3/5

ONE of the best things to come out of the Shrek movies was Puss In Boots, a character fully deserving of his own movie.

As with so many films these days, this is a prequel – the story of how the feline fighter came to acquire his enviable reputation as “fighter, lover and outlaw”. Excellently voiced by Antonio Banderas, this Puss is a top cat.

When not paws-ing – sorry pausing – to consider his past, Puss teams up with tough Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek is the voice) and that good egg Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis) to save the town from something nasty.

That means facing up to Jack and Jill, who are no pail-carrying, hill-climbing pussycats but notorious outlaws (voiced by Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris).

Puss In Boots is good family fun that provides a neat mix of laughs and adventure – who wouldn’t cheer a sword-fighting moggy? – without ever scaling the heights of greatness.