# Puss in Boots (Кот в сапогах) (1969 film)
**Puss in Boots** (Japanese: 長靴をはいた猫, *Nagagutsu o haita neko*; Russian release title Кот в сапогах) is a 1969 Japanese animated feature film produced by [Toei Animation](https://www.edgepedia.org/toei-animation) (then Toei Doga), loosely based on [Charles Perrault](https://www.edgepedia.org/charles-perrault)'s fairy tale, directed by Kimio Yabuki and released on March 18, 1969 with a running time of 80 minutes.[1](https://lineup.toei-anim.co.jp/ja/movie/movie_nagagutsu/) • [2](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/film/79764/) Its hero, the cat Pero, became the official mascot of Toei Animation, and the film is regarded by the studio as one of the masterpieces of the Toei Doga era.[3](https://corp.toei-anim.co.jp/ja/company/about_pero.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | 長靴をはいた猫 (*Nagagutsu o haita neko*); English title *Puss'n Boots*[1](https://lineup.toei-anim.co.jp/ja/movie/movie_nagagutsu/) • [4](https://eiga.com/movie/38278/) |
| Release | March 18, 1969, Toei chain; 80 minutes, color, Toei Scope[1](https://lineup.toei-anim.co.jp/ja/movie/movie_nagagutsu/) • [5](https://www.animemorial.net/ja/m025-%E9%95%B7%E9%9D%B4%E3%82%92%E3%81%AF%E3%81%84%E3%81%9F%E7%8C%AB) |
| Director and writers | Directed by Kimio Yabuki; screenplay by Hisashi Inoue and Morihisa Yamamoto from Perrault's tale[2](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/film/79764/) • [6](https://www.omc.co.jp/film/outline/099.html) |
| Music | Seiichiro Uno; lyrics by Inoue and Yamamoto[7](https://www.nihon-animation-eigashi.com/work-db/item/NAE0862) |
| Mascot legacy | Pero has served as Toei Animation's corporate symbol since the film's release[3](https://corp.toei-anim.co.jp/ja/company/about_pero.html) |
| Sequels | *The Three Musketeers in Boots* (1972) and *Puss in Boots: Travels Around the World* (1976)[2](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/film/79764/) |
| Ratings | Kinopoisk 7.8 (about 3,800 votes); IMDb 7.2[2](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/film/79764/) |
## Spoilers
### Story
The film keeps only the skeleton of Perrault's tale and builds an adventure plot on it. Pero, a cat sentenced to death by the boss cat for sparing a mouse, cuts his hanging rope and flees, pursued by a trio of feline hitmen.[1](https://lineup.toei-anim.co.jp/ja/movie/movie_nagagutsu/) Taking shelter from the rain, he meets Pierre, a miller's son driven out by his greedy brothers after their father's death.[1](https://lineup.toei-anim.co.jp/ja/movie/movie_nagagutsu/) Seeing a royal notice searching for a husband for Princess Rosa, Pero schemes to pass Pierre off as a suitable suitor, using the clothes and gifts of Pierre's brothers, who are rival candidates.[8](https://www.1tv.com/announce/10427) Pierre confesses to Rosa that he is a peasant's son, and she does not reject him.[8](https://www.1tv.com/announce/10427)
The antagonist is Lucifer, a sorcerer described in Russian synopses as the ruler of Hell, who also wants to marry the princess and abducts her when she refuses.[2](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/film/79764/) • [8](https://www.1tv.com/announce/10427) The climax is an extended chase and battle through Lucifer's castle, with fights across towers, stairways, and a drawbridge; the demon melts away in the morning sun, and Rosa and Pierre, falling through the light, are rescued by a flock of doves.[6](https://www.omc.co.jp/film/outline/099.html)
## Production
The film was made by Toei Doga with a staff that later became notable in the industry. The screenplay was written by Hisashi Inoue and Morihisa Yamamoto, who had worked together on *The Andersen Stories*, and gag supervision was entrusted to Nakahara Yumihiko, the pen name of the writer Nobuhiko Kobayashi.[6](https://www.omc.co.jp/film/outline/099.html) Yasuo Mori served as animation director; according to a Japanese animation history database, he sketched some sixty live cats from every angle to study their movement.[7](https://www.nihon-animation-eigashi.com/work-db/item/NAE0862) The key-animation credits include Yasuo Otsuka, Reiko Okuyama, Yoichi Kotabe, Yoichi Oda, Akemi Ota, and [Hayao Miyazaki](https://www.edgepedia.org/hayao-miyazaki), then early in his career at the studio.[7](https://www.nihon-animation-eigashi.com/work-db/item/NAE0862)
## Reception and legacy
The film opened as the first feature of the *Toei Manga Matsuri* festival program and, according to Toei Animation, was an unprecedented hit in both attendance and box-office revenue.[3](https://corp.toei-anim.co.jp/ja/company/about_pero.html) It received the "Most Entertaining Film" prize in the children's film section of the Moscow International Film Festival.[7](https://www.nihon-animation-eigashi.com/work-db/item/NAE0862) Toei's own retrospective calls it one of the studio's greatest works of the period, praising its humor, gags, and the full use of the animation techniques of its day.[1](https://lineup.toei-anim.co.jp/ja/movie/movie_nagagutsu/) • [3](https://corp.toei-anim.co.jp/ja/company/about_pero.html)
**Pero's afterlife** has been unusually long. More than fifty years after release, the cat remains Toei Animation's corporate symbol, recognized by fans and employees alike.[3](https://corp.toei-anim.co.jp/ja/company/about_pero.html) The film spawned two sequels, *The Three Musketeers in Boots* (1972) and *Puss in Boots: Travels Around the World* (1976), and the three pictures together are known as the Nagagutsu Neko series.[2](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/film/79764/) A 4K remaster of the 1969 film, listed at 81 minutes, has been broadcast on Toei Channel.[9](https://www.toeich.jp/pdf/program/202011)
**In Russia**, where the film has circulated for decades under the title Кот в сапогах, it holds a Kinopoisk rating of 7.8 from roughly 3,800 votes, against 7.2 on IMDb.[2](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/film/79764/) The Russian dub cast the comedian Georgy Vitsin as the Cat, a performance that, as one Kinopoisk reviewer notes, echoed his comic roles in Leonid Gaidai's films and added a layer of meaning for Soviet audiences.[10](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/film/79764/reviews/) Russian-language reviews frequently contrast the film with the 1968 Soviet *Puss in Boots* by Valentina and Zinaida Brumberg, which follows Perrault's plot closely, while the Japanese film uses the tale only as a base for an original adventure with a subplot about Pero's relations with his fellow cats.[10](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/film/79764/reviews/) Reviewers also note that the character designs give the heroes natural European features rather than a contemporary anime look.[10](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/film/79764/reviews/)
## References
1. [長靴をはいた猫, Toei Animation lineup page](https://lineup.toei-anim.co.jp/ja/movie/movie_nagagutsu/)
2. [Кот в сапогах (1969), Кинопоиск](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/film/79764/)
3. [ペロについて, Toei Animation corporate site](https://corp.toei-anim.co.jp/ja/company/about_pero.html)
4. [長靴をはいた猫（1969）, 映画.com](https://eiga.com/movie/38278/)
5. [長靴をはいた猫, animemorial.net](https://www.animemorial.net/ja/m025-%E9%95%B7%E9%9D%B4%E3%82%92%E3%81%AF%E3%81%84%E3%81%9F%E7%8C%AB)
6. [長靴をはいた猫, OMC film program notes](https://www.omc.co.jp/film/outline/099.html)
7. [長靴をはいた猫, ウェブ版『日本アニメーション映画史』NAE-DB](https://www.nihon-animation-eigashi.com/work-db/item/NAE0862)
8. [Анимационный фильм «Кот в сапогах» 1969, Первый канал](https://www.1tv.com/announce/10427)
9. [TOEI CHANNEL PROGRAM GUIDE 2020](https://www.toeich.jp/pdf/program/202011)
10. [Кот в сапогах (1969) — отзывы и рецензии, Кинопоиск](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/film/79764/reviews/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Films by genre, form, and subject › Animated and short films › Animated films by source material and subject › Films based on folklore and religion*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license