Death as Wolf — Decoding visual language behind Puss in Boots villain
Character design usually goes beyond illustration, outfits and inspirations, entering symbolism and subliminal messaging.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
You might hear or not, the latest animated movie Puss in Boots reached cinemas in 2022 with an outstanding audience score. Movie has been praised for many story building elements but above all else — Wolf portraying death, coming after the protagonist, captured the imagination of many.
I wanted to look closer into character design that takes us into a more interesting realm of craft. Far beyond what many might consider an art. Let’s dive into symbolism and reconstruction of elements like in good old times. Wolf reminds me of times when artists actually had proper education to communicate with the audience. I’m entirely captivated by the overall scaffolding visual artists were working on to build this character and pay my homage to authors.
Let’s deconstruct — first, the wrong path
Let me present one of my theories that ultimately has colapsed.
I initially thought that the Wolf character might be a she-wolf in disguise, tracking Puss to “help him” reborn into another life.
It consisted of few independent clues:
1. Wolf itself might be of female nature or hermaphroditic because his weapon are sickles,
2. Sickles is a symbol of femininity and rebirth — associated with an ancient goddeses,
3. She wolf was an usual nick-name for exclusive courtesans in ancient Rome (she-wolf in ancint latin is lupa) women of unusuall high status for their professions, associated with aristocrats and nobles — it’s also my theory that Remus and Romulus has been raised by one of those women hence they are depicted as raised by she-wolf,
4. Scickle also represents — in ancient mythology — Moon crescent and feminine energy.
I couldn’t connect all these dots together to understand why Wolf holds two scicles not just one. It’s a very clear break from this feminine symbolism after all.
Wolf as Moon — 2nd theory
If you look at the Wolf character, you will notice these signature double scickles. They are hold in a very specific way — outward. I took this pose as a main visual clue of what he represents. And this clue made me thinking about Moon phases.
When you compare Moon phases from one crescent to another, you will see this cycle visually personified into Wolf persona. He stands between two crescents, symbolising the full moon. I think it makes sense if you consider the fact that grey wolves hunt only by day and Full Moon (when it’s bright enough to hunt nocturnal animals). This also creates better connection with hunting felines — in our story Puss in Boots — which are hunting at night as well.
In my theory dots are well connected when we have the Wolf portraying full moon. Additionally, wolves communicate through houling, in the animation represented by whistling.
Moon and Sun in a single character
So far, makes sense but does not tell the full story. We can consider — following this theory — that Wolf represents endles cycle of life and death, death that hunts us. But there is more into that.
I was wondering why Wolf has no extra features maybe except his hypnotising red eyes. Artists after all would love to add more interesting attributes, death might have. If we consider the Wolf as a personification of Moon and Moon cycles, we can look at two red dots (eyes) as two Red Moons — phenomenon that appears only twice a year. And a full year is another cycle of death and rebirth.
In ancient times when people considered Sun to be god — and Moon goddess — this cycle of endless life and death was part of the nature around us. Whoever has created the design for Wolf was — in my opinion — very aware of this message and has created a character representing death and life cycle in a purest form. Away from bubble gum commercial Jack the Ripper. Reaching to symbolism enabled more interesting interpretations and character building beyond superficial animated stories many studios rely on.
In my humble opinion this character couldn’t function without a rebirth leitmotif throughout the movie (represented by Puss), with a theme of cat’s having multiple lives. Moon and Sun cycles provide great background to the Wolf character, accompanying Puss in his death and revival cycle.
Is it even leigt?
Well, I don’t know. After all, it’s just a theory. I’m a visual language nerd, fascinated by mythology, cults, numerology and algorithms. On a daily basis responsible for shaping visual lingo of games in one of the studios in the beautiful city of Prague.
Personally, I see every character as an opportunity to tell a robust story that 0.1% of people will understand but 100% will enjoy. And I consider Wolf to be one of this characters that moves us back to ancient times and believes, crafting deep, meaningful and rich characters.
Who am I?
Art director, law school dropout, algorithms designer, ex game developer, cybersecurity researcher. Let’s connect if you feel the same vibe.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcin-rybicki-qa/
