Mewsette de París

It has everything! Action, romance (well, between two cartoon cats!)and adventure, in a family viewable arena! The children will adore this classic, I can practically gaurentee that! And the adults will laugh and cry along with it, cheering on the little Robespierre with his small body and lion's heart. Jon-Tom's tail and whiskers twitching as "The best mouse catcher in all of Paris!" spots a rodent hundreds of feet away (but never actually kills one). The pretty Mewsette who wants more than she can handle and ends up getting into trouble for it. Madame Rubinschottz, the large, pink cat of ill repute with the long eyelashes and big, red lips who sends out the despicable Meowrice, the scoundrel who is to bring a lovely kitty (Mewsette) into her fold. And lest we forget the "Money-Cats" (the scraggly, silly, bumbling black alley cats who shake their cat-behinds on the rooftops to the tune of "The money-cat knows where the money-tree grows"!). This cartoon feature is like those famous potato chips that claim you cant eat just one. Once you see this film, you will *always* want to go back!

This is a G rated film that features the voice talents of Judy Garland, Robert Goulet, Red Buttons, and a host of the best voice actors working in animation at the time, including Paul Frees (Boris Badinov), Mel Blanc (Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Barney Rubble, and many more) and June Foray (Rocky the Squirrel). It combines their voices with colorful animation and beautiful dream sequences put to songs. The story takes place in France during the 1890s and involves a beautiful young feline named Mewsette (Garland) who leaves her home on the farm to become the toast of Paris. Her boyfriend (Goulet) and his small sidekick (Buttons) come after her to bring her back, but the evil Meowrice (Frees) already has her in his clutches. I enjoyed this as a child and again as an adult.

This movie is marvelous. The story is "girl-rejects-boy; girl-gets-into-trouble; boy-rescues-girl; all-live-happily-after." Very romantically satisfying. Paul Frees' voice is perfect for Meowrice, as is Robert Goulet's for Jeune-Tom. Judy Garland's voice is in fine fettle as Mewsette. The impressionist drawing and background style is unique. I've never seen another like it.

This is one of those movies parents can allow their children to enjoy without fear of their being exposed to too much sex and violence. On the other hand, adults can enjoy it, also, on a different level.

We still watch it regularly 3 or 4 times a year.

There are a few excellent points about this movie. Garland's voice sounds great here. The animation is quite unique, in that most of the backgrounds and such look like something out of an Impressionist painting, and are very beautiful. Red Buttons is very cute as Jaune-Tom's (Robert Goulet) small sidekick. The Harburg/Arlen songs are excellent, and they work nearly as well with Judy here as they did in The Wizard of Oz (1939), that marvel that truly started her entire career. The story is a little low on magic, but is pretty charming, and small children will like it. All in all, a treat for fans of Garland, Goulet, Harburg and Arlen, and original animation style.

Although too long at 85 minutes, this animated musical from UPA is quite tuneful, with visual wit and flair to spare. Slim plot, about a French barnyard feline seeking adventures in Paris, is helped considerably by bright Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg songs, and of course by Judy Garland's incandescent speaking and singing voice as Mewsette. Never popular with children, the film's writing tends to place the accent on sophisticated conversation, less on animated hilarity. Consequently, it isn't a big crowd-pleaser, although students of animation would be wise to check it out (the humorous art history lesson on the Impressionists is worth the time alone). **1/2 from ****