Une vie de chat

A charming, if somewhat trite, tale about the night life of a pet cat, Dino, who wanders off every evening, where he leads a second life as a partner in crime for an extremely elastic burglar. During the day he accompanies the mute Zoe, having lost her will to speak after the abrupt death of her father, murdered by villainous art thief Costa. Both her parents married into the police force, so now her mother, Jeanne, places great focus on pinpointing and capturing the elusive and ruthless crook.

The odd, yet arresting, traditional animation are extremely stylish, visibly marking the specificity of French animation, seen also in similarly caricatured human drawings of Sylvain Chomein ("The Illusionist"). Drawings are kept simple, yet layered, with well animated figures, inspired by unique lack of symmetry oft found in children books, not by the strive for perfection of Walt Disney animation. Whereas the throwback-style of animation brings about a sense of unique charm, the story itself really doesn't venture into any unknown territory, instead delivering a well-mannered simple tale, which - unfortunately - does not always seem suitable for children given the simmering brutality (dogs being squashed by large bricks or a surprisingly direct level of aggression in the final act) and the drastically building tension levels in the second act. Nonetheless the entertainment value, significantly enhanced as an ode to the old-style heist genre, makes it an enjoyable affair, just as long as expectations keep the audience very close to the base ground level: just enjoy, don't analyse.

Well-paced with a decent amount of action, after a more muted, restrained beginning, the voyages of a French cat thoroughly engage, leaving a level of satisfaction, not hampered by the overall triteness and familiarity of the whole affair. Naturally, French wouldn't be French without homaging and referencing other movies, hence the feel of old Closeau and Pink Panther movies is omnipresent.

I found A Cat in Paris to be a very good film. Although it is rather short, perhaps too short, it is very well animated with ethereal colours, beautiful sceneries and a fantastic atmosphere that is both thrilling and nostalgic. I agree however that how tiny the feet were drawn was a form of annoyance. The music was both haunting and charming, almost like listening to a score by Bernard Hermann. The story is not the most original story in the world, but I didn't see it as a bad thing, seeing how slickly paced, vivid, affecting and humorous A Cat in Paris was. The characters also engage, with the best being the title character, a strutting observant sort of cat, and the little girl who is sweet and moving, and the voice acting is dynamic enough too. In conclusion, a very good film. 8/10 Bethany Cox

French animation has a certain stylish aesthetic. From the Gallic influenced 'Pink Panther' and 'Inspector Clouseau' cartoons to the films of Sylvain Chomet such as Belleville Rendezvous and The Illusionist, French animation has a definite look and feel. A Cat in Paris very much fits into this category. Its appeal lies almost exclusively in its French aesthetic.

Its story has three plot strands: a single mum and her daughter, their cat and a burglar and a gang of crooks. All the stories ultimately converge. In all honesty the story and characters aren't especially interesting. This is the weakness of the film. However, its strength lies in its animation and look. It's an old-style cartoon done in the traditional way. It isn't CGI and this is to its benefit. It has lots more heart and soul than the slick computer generated stuff we mainly see nowadays. The characters are simply drawn, resembling some forms of primitive art. The Paris they inhabit is beautifully presented. This city is such a knockout that it always looks terrific when animated, it really seems ideal for the treatment. Here is no exception, with the buildings lovingly depicted and the night-time rooftops romantically illustrated. The atmosphere created by the animation is very appealing.

This is a good feature. It's not up to the standard of Sylvain Chomet's work but it is certainly operating from a similar place. If you appreciate traditional animation or more specifically French animation, then this is a feature well worth catching.

The least familiar of the 2011 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, this is a French film (originally just titled A Cat's Life) made with traditional animation. The style is similar to some other recent foreign animated features like The Secret of Kells and Persepolis, with a lot of exaggerated backgrounds and simply designed characters (sometimes they even look like figures from Picasso's cubist period). The best thing about the film is its beautiful use of colors, which are truly stunning. The film is always a joy to look at. Story-wise, though, it's nothing too special. It's a basic crime film spoof. The titular cat leads a double life, living with a young girl during the day but venturing out with a cat burglar neighbor at night. The girl's father, a police officer, has recently been killed by a gangster, and now her mother, also a police officer, is on the gangster's trail. Eventually the girl, being chased by the gangster, is aided by the cat burglar. The villain is pretty dull. In fact, most of the characters are pretty uninteresting, with the possible exception of the burglar, whose nimble acrobatics are fun to watch. It doesn't even run 70 minutes, though, so its pleasures definitely outweigh its flaws by the end. It's well worth checking out if you're an animation fan.

A simple story, almost cliché, but nicely done. The story has a well done form. The execution is beautiful. You have a little bit of everything here without making a mess. I loved it. And I loved it even more after seeing the bonus track with the other versions, more dark, more violent. It succeeds at making a child movie which is fun to watch for an adult. And it can be considered an adult light story that can be seen by children as well. A wonderful depart from the big budget animations from DreamWorks and DisneyPixar. So history seems to repeat itself. You have the big budget, nicely polished, yet silly and pointless Cars. And you have smaller, apparently independent European movies like this one. Bravo!

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