It’s almost two decades since cinema audiences were introduced to Antonio Banderas as Puss In Boots.
The deadly yet adorable animated cat first appeared in Shrek 2 in 2004 and went on to star in his own spin-off film in 2011.
Now, a sequel – Puss in Boots: The Last Wish – is in cinemas, and deals with themes not often associated with kids’ films.
The story explores mortality, death and why we should appreciate what we have as the character learns he has just one of his nine lives left.
Banderas told Sky News that when he first became aware of the film’s themes they seemed particularly timely.
“I was surprised because in a very strange way I found that the movie had to do with me more than I thought.
“The fact that I had a heart attack in 2017 and that made me kind of appreciate life in a different way,” he explained.
“I read the script and I said ‘Oh my god, I totally understand what my little cat is talking about and what the story is all about’.
“And then I also thought that it was done very elegantly, very carefully, because we know that our audiences are kids all around the world.
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“But it’s true that during the COVID time kids all around the world also [had] a lot of questions because of the confinement and the lack of friends and the lack of schools, and everybody’s at home and what is happening out there.
“So it’s interesting, the movies that are aimed at kids are kind of reflecting about the beauty of life and how much we should praise that – and so I thought it was beautiful and very intelligently done.”
The Spanish actor, whose own daughter is an adult now, says he believes children are far more intuitive and resilient than they are often given credit for.
“We shouldn’t underestimate kids because they are very smart and they receive way more than we think they receive,” Banderas said.
“And they can’t structure that if we don’t help them… and [it] can have an effect later on in their lives.
“As a father I know that very early in their lives they see everything… So I think we freely can talk about these issues with them, knowing that if we do it carefully it can produce an effect on them that is positive.”
‘Deeper and more suave’
Banderas said that when he was initially approached about the character 20 years ago, he was asked to make his own voice “thinner” to match the stature of the small animal.
But it was he who suggested that instead he went deeper and more suave, creating the voice that Puss is now known for.
“When you have the little body of this little cat, you put a voice like that and the contrast is what really made the comedy work,” Banderas explained.
“I remember the response that we had at the Cannes Film Festival … All the intellectuals from all around the world – from Korea, from Russia, from everywhere – just laughing.
“It was an extraordinary experience just to see the power of comedy and the power of this little animated character that we all created, because it’s a creation. I feel, actually, that it’s not only that I put the voice – what made me really proud is that I collaborated to create it.”
While the film has only just been released in the UK, it’s already been a huge success in the US and other territories, grossing more than £300m at the box office.
Puss takes on Pinocchio
It’s also been a critical success, shortlisted at both the Baftas and the Oscars in the animated feature category.
Banderas said he was delighted when he learnt of the nomination for the Academy Award.
“Very happy, we have great competition to tell you the truth – Guillermo del Toro with Pinocchio – so this year it’s going to be a very tight competition, but we have our chances, I suppose.
“The first one was also nominated and it’s a beautiful recognition just to be there.
“But that’s it, you know, awards are what they are, I respect them very much, but I don’t want to take them very seriously.”
As well as the adoration from critics and audiences, it’s clear Banderas himself is fond of the small cat with the big personality.
He admits that while he loves the job – it’s probably not his most challenging.
“It has been for 20 years a beautiful experience and sometimes I get embarrassed saying that it was very easy!” he laughed.
“You can go to the studio, no makeup, just go there, basically just read the cards that they give you and then you can improvise and you can try whatever idea that you have. It’s kind of cool.”
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is out in cinemas in the UK now.
BBC presenter Lauren Laverne has said she has been given the “all clear” after being diagnosed with cancer.
The 46-year-old said in a post on social media that she will return to work next week on The One Show and has been working on new episodes of BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs.
She said she is set to also return to her 6 Music show in the new year.
She has not specified what type of cancer she had.
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Thanking medical staff, friends and all those who sent her get well wishes, Laverne said on Sunday she would most like to thank her husband Graeme and her two children, who she said have been “absolutely extraordinary throughout”.
“It’s been a difficult time but one that has taught me so much about what really matters,” she wrote.
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“I can’t say I suddenly regretted never having hiked the Inca Trail, more that I now see more beauty in ordinary things than I could have imagined, and feel more than ever that the small things in life – the connections we make and care we take with each other – are the big things really.”
A new episode of Desert Island Discs is due to air on 1 December, and will be a pre-recorded interview with comedian Mark Steel that is believed to have been done by Laverne before she went on leave.
She will return to record more episodes as well as Christmas editions of the series over the next few weeks.
A BBC spokeswoman said: “We’re delighted to welcome Lauren back to the studio this month for The One Show and Desert Island Discs, with new episodes airing on Radio 4 from 1 December, and we look forward to welcoming Lauren back to BBC Radio 6 Music in the new year.”
Zayn Malik paid tribute to former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne as he kicked off his solo tour.
Payne died last month of multiple traumas and “internal and external haemorrhage” after falling from a third-floor balcony in Buenos Aires, according to a post-mortem.
Images from Leeds’s O2 Academy on Saturday showed Malik – who delayed his Stairway To The Sky tour due to Payne’s funeral on Wednesday – shared a tribute.
A message was displayed with a heart on a large blue screen behind the singer reading: “Liam Payne 1993-2024. Love you bro.”
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Rapper Ye – formerly known as Kanye West – has been accused of sexual assault in a civil lawsuit that alleges he strangled a model on the set of a music video.
Warning: This story contains details that readers may find distressing
The lawsuit alleges the musician shoved his fingers in the claimant’s mouth at the Chelsea Hotel in New York City in 2010, in what it refers to as “pornographic gagging”, Sky News’ US partner network NBC News reported.
The model who brought the case – which was filed on Friday in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York – was a background actor for another musician’s music video that Ye was guest-starring in, NBC said, citing the lawsuit.
She is seeking compensatory and punitive damages against the 47-year-old.
A representative for Ye was approached for comment by NBC News on Saturday.
The New York City Police Department said it took “sexual assault and rape cases extremely seriously, and urges anyone who has been a victim to file a police report so we can perform a comprehensive investigation, and offer support and services to survivors”.
The lawsuit alleges that a few hours into the shoot, the rapper arrived on set, took over control and ordered “female background actors/models, including the claimant, to line up in the hallway”.
The rapper is then believed to have “evaluated their appearances, pointed to two of the women, and then commanded them to follow him”.
The lawsuit adds the claimant, who was said to be wearing “revealing lingerie”, was uncomfortable but went with Ye to a suite which had a sofa and a camera.
When in the room, Ye is said to have ordered the production team to start playing the music, to which he did not know his lyrics and instead rambled, “rawr, rawr, rawr”.
The lawsuit claims: “Defendant West then pulled two chairs near the camera, positioned them across from each other, and instructed the claimant to sit in the chair in front of the camera.”
While stood over the model, the lawsuit clams Ye strangled her with both hands, according to NBC.
It claims he went on to “emulate forced oral sex” with his hands, with the rapper allegedly screaming: “This is art. This is f****** art. I am like Picasso.”
Universal Music Group is also named in the lawsuit as a defendant and is accused of failing to investigate the incident.
The corporation did not immediately respond to a request for comment by NBC.
Jesse S Weinstein, a lawyer representing the claimant, said the woman “displayed great courage to speak out against some of the most powerful men and entities within the entertainment industry”.