Film Review: A CAT IN PARIS (2010)

[Original Title: UNE VIE DE CHAT]

Directors: Jean-Loup Felicioli, Alain Gagnol
Writers: Alain Gagnol (dialogue/screenplay), Jacques-Rémy Girerd (dialogue)
Running Time: 65 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): PG

Genre: Animation/Crime/Comedy
UK Release Date: 6^th April 2012

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 12^th August 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

As I was checking the TV listings this afternoon I came across this little gem. I noticed it had been nominated for an Oscar and so decided to give it a look. I have to say I was impressed with many things about it, although I thought the choices for the voices were a bit odd (I saw the English language dubbed version). But more of that later, here’s a very brief summary first.

Zoe is a mute; she lives with her cat, Dino, and her mother, Jeanne, who is a Superintendant in the Paris police force. Her father, also a policeman had been killed by a man called Victor Costa. A woman, Claudine, looks after Zoe during the day. The cat lives a double life, by day with Zoe, but by night he joins local cat-burglar Lucas to prowl the rooftops of Paris, looking for plunder. Curious about what Dino gets up to at night, Zoe decides to follow him; she disturbs Victor Costa and his men making plans to steal a valuable artefact. They try to catch her but she’s saved by Lucas. Can they get to her mother and get her to believe them before it’s too late? Of course I’m not going to tell you here or the Spoiler Police (Paris Division) will have me sweeping the Champs-Élysées (again).

I really like the hand-drawn animation with great attention to detail. I also very much enjoyed the musical score by Serge Besset. All the performances were good (if a little odd in places… more on that later) so honourable mentions go to the voice talents of; Marcia Gay Harden as Jeanne, JB Blanc as Victor Costa, Anjelica Huston as Claudine and Matthew Modine as Lucas.

I guess the filmmakers were trying to please everyone by making the accents of the characters quite international. Of course the bad guy has an English accent, with one of his henchmen being German. There’s an old lady with a very American accent; to be honest, it’s all a bit confusing! Even so, I did find it entertaining with nods to Hitchcock (amongst others), this one managed to do much more right than wrong. It’s funny (in parts) too, there’s one recurring gag with a barking dog that had me in stitches! Over all, it’s one I don’t mind giving my seal of approval to.

SteelMonster’s verdict: RECOMMENDED.

My Score 6.5/10

IMDb Score: 6.8/10 (based on 2,310 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1673702/

MetaScore: 63/100: (Based on 19 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 82/100 (based on 55 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 72/100 ‘Liked It’ (based on 3,299 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/a_cat_in_paris/

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FAVOURITE QUOTES:
None available (sorry).

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site (US): http://www.catinparis.com/
Official Facebook (US): https://www.facebook.com/acatinparis
Trailer: