Honestly, if you haven't seen the ten-minute fever dream that is Puss in Boots: The Three Diablos, you’re missing out on some of the best character growth in the whole Shrek-verse. It’s weird. It’s tiny. Released back in 2012 as a bonus feature for the first Puss in Boots DVD and Blu-ray, it basically serves as a bridge between the swashbuckling origins of our favorite ginger cat and the more existential, high-stakes storytelling we got years later in The Last Wish.
People forget about it.
Most fans just jump from the 2011 movie straight to the sequel, but this little short film directed by Raman Hui is where Puss actually learns how to handle—well—responsibility. It starts with a heist, naturally. Princess Alessandra Bellagamba has had her heart-shaped ruby, the "Whisperer," swiped. Puss is the only one who can get it back. But the twist isn't some giant ogre or a magic beanstalk; it's three kittens.
Why Puss in Boots: The Three Diablos Still Holds Up
The story kicks off right after the events of the first film. Puss is being his usual, arrogant, slightly dramatic self when the Italian knights haul him in front of the Princess. He thinks he's there for a reward or maybe a fancy dinner. Instead, he’s tasked with tracking down the notorious thief "The Whisperer." The catch? The only witnesses who know where the thief is hiding are three adorable, wide-eyed kittens.
They look innocent. They aren't.
These three—Perla, Gonzalo, and Sir Timoteo—are the eponymous Diablos. They’re basically mini-mercenaries. When Puss first meets them, they don't just "meow." They try to bury him alive in the desert. It’s dark! It’s funny in that specific DreamWorks way where you’re like, "Wait, did those kittens just try to commit a felony?"
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The Whisperer and the Kittens
The villain of the piece is a guy named Le Chuchoteur (The Whisperer). He’s a bit of a secondary thought because the real meat of the short is the dynamic between Puss and the kittens. Puss realizes pretty quickly that these kittens are just like he was—orphans with no direction, being used by a bad guy for their skills.
He stops being a mercenary for a second and becomes a mentor.
It’s a rare moment of vulnerability for the character. Usually, Puss is all about the "Ooh, look at my hat" and the "I am a great lover" routine. In Puss in Boots: The Three Diablos, he has to use his famous "big eyes" trick against the masters of it. Seeing Puss try to out-cute three kittens who are essentially chaotic neutral agents of destruction is comedy gold.
The animation, even for 2012, feels snappy. Since it was produced by DreamWorks Animation, it doesn't have that "cheap straight-to-DVD" look that many spin-offs suffer from. The fur physics on the kittens are top-notch, and the desert landscapes look surprisingly lush for a ten-minute short.
The Voice Cast and the Gato Magic
Antonio Banderas is, as always, the soul of the project. He voices Puss with this incredible mixture of gravitas and silliness that nobody else can quite replicate. It's the commitment to the bit. He treats a mission to find a ruby like it’s a Shakespearean tragedy.
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The kittens are voiced by:
- Ida Engberg (Perla)
- Danny McBride (who actually didn't voice them, contrary to some weird internet rumors—it was actually a mix of child actors and sound effects)
- The actual voices for the Diablos were provided by Miles Christopher Bakshi, Nina Zoe Bakshi, and Shane Baumel.
The chemistry works because Puss is genuinely frustrated. He’s a professional. He has a sword. He has boots. And yet, he's being outsmarted by creatures that still have milk on their whiskers.
What This Short Taught Us About the Shrek Universe
We see a lot of Puss being a lone wolf—or lone cat—throughout the franchise. But Puss in Boots: The Three Diablos proves that he actually works best when he’s part of a "found family." This theme is the entire backbone of The Last Wish, where he eventually teams up with Perrito and Kitty Softpaws.
If you look closely at the Diablos, you see the seeds of that. He doesn't turn them in to the authorities at the end. He doesn't leave them to rot. He sees their potential. He gives them a choice: keep being criminals, or become guards for the Princess.
Does it fit into the timeline?
Yes. It’s a direct sequel to the 2011 film. If you're doing a marathon, the order is:
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- Puss in Boots (2011)
- Puss in Boots: The Three Diablos (Short)
- The Adventures of Puss in Boots (The Netflix Series—though this is somewhat debated in terms of "hard canon")
- Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)
Interestingly, the short highlights Puss's reputation as a "legend." In the beginning, the Princess treats him like a captured criminal, but by the end, he’s a celebrated hero of the crown again. It’s a cycle he repeats often.
Why you should track it down today
You can usually find this short on streaming platforms like Peacock or bundled with the first movie on digital storefronts like Vudu or Apple TV. It’s a quick watch. You can finish it while you're eating a sandwich.
It’s a masterclass in concise storytelling. You get a clear beginning (the theft), a middle (the betrayal and the desert trek), and a satisfying end (the showdown at the Whisperer's hideout). There’s no filler. Every gag lands. The "kitten pit" scene remains one of the funniest things in the whole franchise simply because of how indignantly Puss reacts to being manhandled by toddlers.
The Whisperer himself is a fun, albeit brief, antagonist. He’s got this weird gimmick where he literally whispers, which makes Puss’s loud, boisterous personality pop even more. The final battle isn't about strength; it's about Puss teaching the kittens how to use their "inner feline" to overcome a bully.
Actionable Steps for Puss Fans
If you want to dive deeper into the lore after watching Puss in Boots: The Three Diablos, here is what you should actually do:
- Watch the background details: During the desert scenes, pay attention to the kittens' shadows and movements. They mirror Puss's iconic poses from the first movie, showing they are literally learning his style in real-time.
- Check out the Netflix series: If you enjoyed the "monster of the week" vibe of the short, The Adventures of Puss in Boots series carries that same energy through six seasons, exploring the hidden city of San Lorenzo.
- Compare the "Gaze": Compare the "eyes" scene in this short to the one in The Last Wish. You'll notice how the animation technology evolved from a flat 2D-style look to the more painterly, expressive style of the 2020s.
- Look for the Easter Eggs: There are small nods to the "Whisperer" ruby in subsequent Puss-related media, confirming that this short isn't just a throwaway story but a legitimate part of his history as a hero.
The short ends with Puss riding off into the sunset, leaving the kittens in their new roles as protectors of the realm. It's a nice, clean ending that reminds us that even the most arrogant hero can have a soft spot for those following in his footsteps. No grand cliffhangers, just a cat and his boots, looking for the next adventure.
One final tip: keep an eye on Sir Timoteo. He’s the one that Puss seems to have the hardest time with, and his "transformation" by the end of the ten minutes is actually a pretty sweet bit of writing for a character with zero lines of actual dialogue. It's visual storytelling at its best.