Puss n' Boots

"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 is Costantino Fortunato (Italian for "Lucky Costantino") by Italian author Giovanni Francesco Straparola, included in The Facetious Nights of Straparola (c. 1550–1553). In this version, the cat is a disguised fairy who helps his owner, a poor boy named Costantino from Bohemia, in earning the princess' hand by duping a king, a lord, and many commoners. Another version was published in 1634 by Giambattista Basile with the title Cagliuso. The most popular version of the tale was published in French in 1697 by Charles Perrault (1628–1703), a retired civil servant and member of the Académie française. 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.