Global InformationPuss in Boots information
| "Puss in Boots" | |
|---|---|
 Illustration 1843, from édition L. Curmer | |
| Country | Italy (1550–1553)France (1697) |
| Language | Italian (originally) |
| Genre(s) | Literary fairy tale |
| Publication | |
| Publication type | Fairy tale collection |
"Puss in Boots" (German: Der gestiefelte Kater; French: Le Maître chat ou le Chat botté; Italian: Il gatto con gli stivali; Dutch: De Gelaarsde Kat) is a European fairy tale about an anthropomorphic cat who uses trickery and deceit to gain power, wealth, and the hand in marriage of a princess for his penniless and low-born master.
The oldest written telling version Costantino Fortunato (Italian for "Lucky Costantino") by Italian author Giovanni Francesco Straparola, included in The Facetious Nights of Straparola (c. 1550–1553), in which the cat is a fairy in disguise who helps his owner, a poor boy named Costantino, to gain his princess by duping a king, a lord and many commoners.[1][2] There is a version written by Girolamo Morlini, from whom Straparola used various tales in The Facetious Nights;[3] another version was published in 1634 by Giambattista Basile with the title Cagliuso. The most popular version of the tale was written in French at the close of the seventeenth century by Charles Perrault (1628–1703), a retired civil servant and member of the Académie française.[4]
Puss in Boots appears in DreamWorks' Shrek franchise, appearing in all three sequels to the original film, as well as two spin-off films, Puss in Boots (2011) and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022), where he is voiced by Antonio Banderas. The character is signified in the logo of Japanese anime studio Toei Animation, and is also a popular pantomime in the UK.
- ^ W. G. Waters, The Mysterious Giovan Francesco Straparola, in Jack Zipes, a c. di, The Great Fairy Tale Tradition: From Straparola and Basile to the Brothers Grimm, p 877, ISBN 0-393-97636-X
- ^ Cristina Bacchilega; Danielle Marie Roemer (2001). Angela Carter and the Fairy Tale. Wayne State University Press. p. 24.
- ^ Opie & Opie 1974, p. 21.
- ^ Brown 2007, p. 351