Puss in Boots

The hat is too big, the boots are too dramatic, and the confidence is completely unreasonable. Perfect. Puss in Boots takes a Shrek side character who could have been a one-joke gimmick and gives him a whole adventure powered by ego, charm, sword fights, and those giant pleading eyes he absolutely knows how to weaponize. The argument for Puss is swagger. Nobody else in this bracket enters a room like he does. Garfield would rather not enter the room at all. Simba has royal presence, but Puss has theater. The catch is that his own sequel raises the emotional stakes so much that the original can feel lighter by comparison. Still, if a great cat movie should make its cat impossible to separate from the fun, this one qualifies easily. Boots on. Hat tilted. Now tell him he’s not winning.