PUSS IN BOOTS (Rated PG)

As the “Shrek” franchise gradually diminished in quality, the lone standout character was a fabulous swashbuckling feline adept with one-liners.

The good news is that Puss (voiced by Antonio Banderas) is the rare creature who goes from popular supporting role to the main player with great wit and style.

As a result, “Puss in Boots” is one of the funniest animation films of recent times because Puss, ever resourceful and clever, is a most improbable wanted outlaw.

After all, who would find an orange cat, sporting a feathered hat, wearing oversized boots and brandishing a large sword, to be a fearsome beast?

For one, the villagers of San Ricardo are well aware that Puss is a legendary desperado, if only because the omnipresent wanted posters do the trick.

Providing necessary flashbacks, “Puss in Boots” recounts Puss’ sad childhood, where he was an orphan in San Ricardo before he turned to a life of crime.

His buddy at the orphanage was Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis), the mastermind of a bank robbery that ensnared his feline pal into having a notorious reputation.

The story picks up with the present day, where Puss meets his match in Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek), a feisty dark-haired cat disguised by a leather hood.

Kitty has fallen in with Humpty Dumpty, so there’s plenty of tension between the two felines, which is most amusing when they face off in a dueling dance before an audience of other cats.

Meanwhile, Humpty Dumpty is getting serious about his childhood dream of robbing Jack and Jill of their “magic beans” so that he can climb the beanstalk and steal the goose laying the golden eggs.

Jack and Jill (voiced by Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris, respectively), hilariously portrayed as in-bred hillbillies, jealously guard the magic beans.

A seriously unhinged married couple, Jack and Jill bring a dark edge to the story, which is amusingly lightened up when they talk about settling down and having children. The thought boggles the mind.

While Humpty Dumpty would like to redeem himself with his old friend Puss, his ruthless ambition to steal the golden goose ensures that he is on the express lane to recidivism.

Unfortunately, Humpty Dumpty’s schemes threaten to take Puss down into an irreversible path of deception and despair. But the heroic orange kitty is all-too-certain to come out on top in the end.

What makes “Puss in Boots” so enjoyable for filmgoers of all ages is the absolute silliness of a fairytale world in which a swashbuckling cat is the hero and a large talkative and ambulatory egg is a career criminal.

The comic absurdity of “Puss in Boots” is made all the better by the determined and forcefully physical performances of the lead characters, even more so when they are sparring and bantering in high spirits.

It would be hard to think of an actor more suitable to the role of Puss than Antonio Banderas, who brings the right note of swagger, style, confidence and even vulnerability to the part.

Where the “Shrek” franchise ran out of steam after the second installment, here’s hoping that “Puss in Boots” will return for a sequel soon, because this is one cartoon character that can go the distance.

On a final note, the 3D technology works proves to be very productive and practical for this animated film, unlike other recent efforts that seemed to be gimmicky.

TV BOOK UPDATE

And now for something completely different in this column, we draw your attention to a published celebration of the 50th Anniversary of “The Dick Van Dyke Show.”

First airing on Oct. 3, 1961, “The Dick Van Dyke Show” was nearly canceled after the first season but went on to become the most acclaimed comedy of TV’s golden age.

Chronicling the show’s transformation through all 158 episodes, “The Official Dick Van Dyke Show Book” is a wonderful show biz saga that includes interviews from cast and crew.

The interviews include the stars’ backstage anecdotes, the story behind the famous ottoman intro, and Carl Reiner’s scriptwriting process.

There’s also the backstory of episode No. 64 “That’s My Boy???” – it had the longest span of laughter from a live studio audience.

Then there’s the controversy surrounding Mary Tyler Moore’s progressive dress style, coming in the form of Capri pants.

The book includes more than 140 exclusive images, many never before published. This is not just a definitive history of a show, but a glimpse into the history of American culture from a bygone era.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.