- “"Little" Jack Horner didn't have ANY magic, he was a pathetic, modest baker's boy. "Little" Jack's dead... I'm "BIG" Jack Horner!”
- ―"Big" Jack Horner explains his story to the Serpent Sisters after one of them calls him "Little Jack".
"Big" Jack Horner, formerly known as "Little" Jack Horner, is one of the two main antagonists (alongside Death) of DreamWorks Animation's 2022 animated feature film Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.
He is a feared Pastry Chef and a Crime Lord who has a history of stealing various magical items, creatures and people ever since he was snubbed of fairy-tale fame. He plots to reach the Wishing Star in order to enact his wish to harness all magic on the planet, racing with Puss in Boots and Goldilocks for the wish.
Background[]
Physical appearances[]
"Big" Jack Horner is a very large man in stature and very overweight both in body and in cheeks disproportionately larger than the rest of the face. He has pink bob hair and blue eyes. He wears a long purple jacket over a light purple buttoned shirt with a double triangular cut, a white shirt, a pink tie, brown trousers and black boots with small heels. His legs are much smaller than the rest of his body. His right hand thumb is maroon, probably from all the times he's stuck it into cakes, pies and other pastries while reciting his nursery rhyme.
When he was a child, "Little" Jack Horner was already overweight, even if his cheeks weren't fat yet, and he already had pink hair in a bob. Instead, he wore a white long-sleeved shirt over dark brown trousers with suspenders and black boots.
Personality[]
"Big" Jack Horner is a cruel and sadistic megalomaniac of the highest order, whose desire to control all magic in existence borders on obsession that stems from his petty jealousy of how his story is nothing more than a nursery rhyme compared to actual fairy tales, and bitterly recalls how people ignored him in favor of magical beings, like Pinocchio. As a result, he became obsessed with collecting and hoarding magical objects, weapons, tools, and even creatures or their parts (having a large collection of horns from baby unicorns) though Jack has little interest in what he collects other than their magical nature and usefulness, as he thought the Talking Cricket was a cursed locust and didn't even know what using his unicorn horns would do to his victims and was pleasantly surprised to see them burst into glitter and confetti (which also killed them). He also hates being reminded of his nursery rhyme, as he killed one of the Serpent Sisters by using the Midas Touch to turn her into gold after she stupidly recited his rhyme, as well as a twisted play on his promise to reward them with "their weight in gold".
He cares nothing for the lives of others, even those of his own subordinates, whom he views as disposable cannon fodder in his quest for power, and he has no appreciation for the good things in his life, as he claimed to have not much as a boy other than "loving parents, a luxurious lifestyle, and was heir to a prominent business and fortune", even calling them "worthless crap". When the Talking Cricket denounces Jack as an "irredeemable monster", Jack doesn’t deny it at all and even calls the Cricket an "idiot" for taking so long to realize it. This indicates that Jack has full awareness of his vile actions and has no remorse for the pain he has caused. His vile behavior/nature and obsession with both the star and map led him to his own demise.
Role in the film[]
"Big" Jack Horner is introduced in the film judging his company's new pie connoisseur, when he is joined by the Serpent Sisters who have brought him the map to the Wishing Star as requested. "Big" Jack Horner takes them to his trophy room where he shows them all the magical memorabilia he has collected and collected over the years, but still calling them "trinkets" compared to the Wishing Star. While viewing the map savoring the wish with which he would become the master of all magic, however, one of the Serpent Sisters asks him about the rhyme for which he became famous, and this reminds him of when as a child he used to perform on the streets in his classic nursery rhyme calling himself "Little Jack Horner" and being overtaken by magical creatures like Pinocchio, and "Big" Jack Horner claims that now that side of him "that had nothing magical about it" is long dead.
When paying the Serpent Sisters, Jack Horner offers them the Hand of King Midas so that one of them will be turned into gold, as he promised "their weight in gold". At that moment Baby Bear bursts into the room, causing Goldilocks, the Three Bears, Puss and Kitty to face Jack. The latter immediately recognizes Kitty, having worked for him in the past, but in the confusion generated by the Three Bears the two cats escape with the map. "Big" Jack Horner tries to block them using a trident to hit the flying carpet they were escaping with, but in the end Puss and Kitty still manage to escape and "Big" Jack Horner decides to gather the Baker's Dozen, to take all his magical objects and creatures and put them all inside his bag and, having transformed a pumpkin into a tank, set off in pursuit of the enemies by locating them using a sphere.
Once they arrive in the Dark Forest, they find Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Jack throws them off the road by hitting them with Excalibur, and then continues on to the field of flowers, the first evidence of the map wielded by Perrito. Jack orders his subordinates to cut them down, but when the plants rebel and start killing some members of the Baker's Dozen Jack Horner decides to resort to his weapons. He brings out what he thinks is a magical locust and orders it to eat the plants, but it turns out to be the Talking Cricket, who tries to convince him to help his subordinates despite Jack saying he doesn't want to bother with what happens to his subordinates. After that, Jack takes the Phoenix out of his endless bag and uses it as a flamethrower, burning the plants and thus being able to continue his journey.
Once they get to the river, Jack kidnaps Perrito and, threatening him with the unicorn's horn despite the Talking Cricket trying to dissuade him, tries to persuade Puss and Kitty to give him the map, however as Goldilocks and the Three Bears arrive, a free-for-all battle ensues to get the map. Jack tries to hit Puss using the unicorn horn, however he ends up hitting three of his underlings killing them and exploding them into confetti, to the shock of both Puss and the Talking Cricket. Eventually, Kitty is distracted by seeing Puss running away and Goldilocks takes the map, changing locations and separating from the other two groups, despite Jack Horner trying to hit her and the Three Bears with unicorn horns.
As he continues his journey through the Dark Forest, Jack keeps an eye on the cats and Goldi through its sphere, wondering whether to let the cats retrieve the map and then kill them or kill them all and forget about it, all while traversing a ravine using his subordinates as a bridge. This leads the Talking Cricket to ask him about his past hoping to bring out the good in him, but Jack claims he's always had junk like "parents, stability and a business to inherit one day" and that only after expressing wishing to have all the magic in the world just to himself would be truly happy, which leaves the Talking Cricket totally shocked. Jack Horner ignores this and still takes his tank through the bridge of his underlings, which doesn't hold and ends up collapsing along with the tank, with all of the Baker's Dozen dead except for one underling, who clung to the ravine in time, leaving speechless the Talking Cricket who renounces to change Jack and defines him as an "irredeemable monster". For his part, "Big" Jack Horner tells him that it took too long to understand this and sends him away, only to save his only surviving subordinate because she is one who does not talk too much.
Jack Horner and his latest underling make it to the Wishing Star just before Puss can make his wish in front of Kitty and Perrito, claiming it for Jack. However, upon the arrival of Goldilocks and the three Bears, a free-for-all battle ensues to take possession of the map. "Big" Jack Horner uses a magical scepter to shoot first at Puss and then Kitty to take the map from him, but as he shoots the latter he hits his last subordinate who ends up disintegrated from the edge of the star, despite her having asked Jack for help and him, while avoiding an attack by one of the bears, ignored her. As Mama Bear takes the map Jack prepares to hit her, but is knocked down by Baby Bear who threatens to kill him and steal his dress. Jack hits Baby by firing his magic scepter at him and knocking him off the edge, distracting Goldilocks, Papa and Mama who go to rescue him and allowing Jack to retrieve the map. Kitty manages to get it out of his hand and Jack tries to hit her with apple-shaped bombs, but the cat takes one with her velvet paws and throws it at Jack Horner, sending him to the ground. The man tries to use an hatchet to attack her, but Kitty with a double kick sends him into his endless bag and locks him inside, trapping him.
After the battle between Puss and Death, "Big" Jack Horner reemerges from the endless bag after eating an "Eat Me" cookie, growing large as a giant. After taking the map from Puss and Kitty, he prepares to grant his wish to take all magic, but just before succeeding he is distracted by Perrito who, using his bewitching gaze, tries to convince him to give up his wish. Jack Horner does not fall into the trap because he defines himself as "dead inside", but Perrito confesses that it was just a way to distract him so that the "Team Friendship" could attack him. In fact, with a combined attack Puss, Kitty, Goldilocks and Baby Bear manage to take the map from Jack Horner's hand and, having recovered it, Puss, Kitty and Goldi destroy it just before Jack could recover it, as they no longer need the wish already having what they want. Jack Horner is desperate and tries to recover the pieces of the map as the Wishing Star collapses and everyone flees. Jack manages to recover most of it, but a piece is taken by the Talking Cricket who, resigning his conscience, uses the Phoenix to destroy it, causing the destruction of the map and the total collapse of the star. "Big" Jack Horner, wondering what he did to deserve this, crashes into the Wishing Star and dies in the star's explosion.
Quotes[]
- “I pronounce this batch... Delicious.”
- ―Big Jack Horner's first and most famous line of dialogue after tasting a pie.
- “With this wish, I will finally be the master of all magic.”
- ―"Big" Jack Horner revealing his plans should he receive the Wishing Star.
- “I hate talking fairy tale animals.”
- ―"Big" Jack Horner blocks Puss in Boots and Kitty Softpaws who were trying to steal his map to the Wishing Star.
- “Assemble the Baker's Dozen!”
- ―"Big" Jack Horner orders his underling to gather his best men to search for the Wishing Star.
- “I'll get you, my kitties, and your little dog too!”
- ―"Big" Jack Horner as he and the Baker's Dozen begin to pursue Puss in Boots, Kitty Softpaws and Perrito.
- “"Big" Jack Horner: Well you know what they say: Can't bake a pie without losing a few dozen men.
Talking Cricket: Oh. Oh! That was horrible. Your wish is horrible. YOU'RE horrible! You're an irredeemable monster!
"Big" Jack Horner: Oh oh, and what took you so long, IDIOT?!” - ―The Talking Cricket gives up on changing "Big" Jack Horner after seeing him indifferent to his men's deaths and reveals him for the monster he is, only to be chased away by "Big" Jack Horner who is unashamed of who he is.
- “WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS? I MEAN, WHAT SPECIFICALLY?!”
- ―"Big" Jack Horner's last words before being sucked into the Wishing Star's crater and blown up.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The character is based on the popular English nursery rhyme "Little" Jack Horner.
- His nickname "Big" is a reference to the nickname "Little" he had as a child, and underlines how Jack Horner no longer considers himself the child of the nursery rhyme but a man capable of controlling magic.
- "Big" Jack Horner is the sixth villain of the Shrek franchise to die after Lord Farquaad, Fairy Godmother, Prince Charming, Humpty Dumpty and Le Chuchoteur.
- He is the second Dreamworks character to use a crossbow, the first being Grimmel the Grisly.
- "Big" Jack Horner could be seen as the most evil villains of the Shrek franchise due to his desire to want all magic for himself and for his absolute disregard for the lives of others, including that of his own loyal subordinates, as he left them to die, to the point that even the Talking Cricket defines him as an "irredeemable monster".
- Despite being the main antagonist of the film, he didn't appear in any of its trailers.
- In his first appearance, he can be thought to be a minor antagonist that the heroes steal from, the movie tricks us by making him more villainous as he appears.
- A frequent gag in the film is that "Big" Jack Horner doesn't know how to properly use some magical items and uses them incorrectly or with much difficulty. One of these is when he attempts to pull Excalibur out of his bag, causing a holy light to surround him and disappear again and again as he struggles to yank the sword and the stone out together.
- During his death scene, his hand was the last to go down into the star's remains, giving a thumbs down, parodying the infamous scene from Terminator 2, where the T-800 that saved John Connor gave a thumbs up as he sank into the molten metal.
- Prior to Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, he was mentioned in the "Baking News" episode of Swamp Talk.
- He was referred to as "Little" Jack Horner, and was said to have been pulling out plums from the mincemeat pies at Georgie Porgie's pie shop, ruining the experience for Shrek.
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