Banderas-n-boots ... again

Unless you have been living on Mars for the past six months, and if so, I would like to hear that story, you already know that your favorite green ogre will be returning to the big screen this summer in "Shrek the Third."

Joining him are sidekicks Donkey and the daring Puss-n-Boots. Lad and I had a chance to talk with the actor that voices Puss, Antonio Banderas, about the third installment of the blockbuster franchise.

Q: I wanted to know what your daughter thinks of her dad as Puss-n-Boots in the Shrek movies.

A: She loves it, actually. I took her to see the movie the other day. It wasn't the movie totally finished, because we have some parts of the movie with the earliest stages of the animation already done but not totally completed, but she had a great time.

Actually I was looking at her more than myself and the reactions because she's more free actually to judge. I've been involved in the whole entire project and she's a very good reference. And if everybody reacts like my daughter, we have a success.

Q: I've noticed lately you've kind of made a shift to family-oriented movies. Why was that move made -- personal satisfaction, just that you have family now?

A: It was a coincidence and the fact -- because one of those family movies that you are referring to probably are all the Spy Kid series and there was Robert Rodriguez, and with Robert Rodriguez I've done six movies. If he asked me to go to hell with him I will because he's my friend, and it was a very pleasant thing to do.

And then the Puss-n-Boots came along and that was the second approach for kids' movies. Through Shrek you get a very wide range of possibilities.

You know, the movie just appealed to kids but appeals also to the parents and to all people and regardless, it's just the range possibility of that movie is very smartly put together.

But no, that doesn't mean that I'm just going in that path for the rest of my life. I have a couple of movies to open this year that go in a totally different direction, and the movie that I have right now on the table, just to peek at possibilities to do in the next year, they are not going in that direction either.

On top of that I am going to Broadway next year playing Don Giovanni, which is obviously not for kids. So no, it has been just a coincidence in my life that during that period of time I have been just doing these types of movies, yes.

Q: Are you doing a Puss-in-Boots movie?

A: Yeah, that is a possibility. We just finished the film; now we're in promotion of this one but yes, [Jeffrey Katzmer] and myself, we have been talking about the possibility of doing a movie about the cat. And apparently they are writing [a script] approach in a little bit, you know, the issues and the plot for the movie for him, for the cat.

Q: How much did you get to improvise your role?

A: Well, it's interesting the way that we do this because, you know, we don't work together. We are alone on the set; I mean the recording studio actually. But we have a camera in front of us, too, so they record our movements, too. I would say that the animators, sometimes they ask for that material because they want to know in what context, you know, how do you use your body when you are saying very specific lines.

It's a very interesting process and yes, sometimes what happens is that when we just say the lines in the way they are written, and then you can improvise a little bit. You may find, you know, just to put an accent over here and just a push a little bit more the side of the line if you had an idea to just add more lines to the ones that are already there. Or in the opposite direction, just take them out.

So, the freedom is pretty open. We are pretty open just to actually create; meanwhile, we are doing the whole entire process.

Q: The Shrek movies are known for some subtle jabs at pop culture. Can you give us a sneak peek into maybe one or two from this upcoming movie?

A: Ah, you had Justin Timberlake and that's pop culture. But yeah, the introduction of these two characters, I don't know if they are part of pop culture but they are definitely part of the culture of [Freddie Tanning], you know, and we have King Arthur -- we call him Artie in the movie -- and also we have [Louisa Marlene] who is a very interesting character and very funny. I think he came out to be very funny from what I saw the other day.

In terms of pop culture I don't know what comes to my mind right now, but what I would say actually is Shrek himself, he has become part of the American pop culture, and we are kicking Mickey Mouse out of the picture.

Q: What can we expect to see that's new and different in this Shrek movie as compared to the other two?

A: Well, the new adventure is a new [unintelligible] of the adventure of Shrek and his friends. And basically what happens here is much more a social issue if you want because [unintelligible] is a coup d'etat. They take over, Prince Charming takes over the Kingdom of Far, Far Away. Meanwhile we are away, just looking for somebody who is going to succeed the king who died at the beginning of the movie. And so when we come back we have to recapture the whole entire kingdom again.

Adam Burnham is the advertising director for the Southeast Missourian.