Minoes

KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Brianna Hope Beaton (age 12) reviews the film below: Video review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqC3Wk6_bKc

This is a very cute, entertaining and enjoyable film with lots and lots of cats. I like this film, because it has a little humor and creativity. I love how Miss Minoes (Carice van Houten) turns from a cat into a human and still has all her cat like instincts. To me this is a very challenging role to be able to switch back and forth like that throughout the film. I really start to enjoy this film when Miss Minoes become friends with the humans and see how she is communicating and reacting to them. This is really cool. I like how most of the background music is upbeat and goes beautifully with the specific scenes. Miss Minoes is a Siamese cat that is curious and gets herself changed into a young woman by drinking some dangerous chemicals. She dresses and talks like a young woman, but also eat and climb trees like a cat. She finds and helps a shy journalist, Tibbe (Theo Maassen), prove to his town that they have a villain for a factory boss that is not to be trusted. She gets all the latest and greatest information from all her little cat friends and passes it to Tibbe. Vincent Bal directs Miss Minoes which is an adaptation of the 1970 novel by Annie M.G. Schmidt and was released in the Netherlands in 2001. This film is dubbed in English, is easy for follow and enjoyable. Another main character is Bibi (Sarah Bannier) who is Tibbe's closest friend but also is a kid. A couple of great messages in this film are to respect each other's differences and to not judge a book by its cover, because Miss Minoes outside appearance is a woman, but underneath she is truly a cat. Miss Minoes is great for ages 8 to 12 and mostly girls who love cats will definitely enjoy this film. I give this film 4 out of 5 stars because, although it's a great cat film, I just think it has a little too many cats for a dog lover like me. Miss Minoes is overall a good film and I'm sure you will like it as well. So don't forget to get your copy on DVD or Blue ray and always listen to your felines.

I love this Dutch film in any way possible. It has charm, it is funny and sweet and most of all it is heartwarming. It starts with a simple premise. A cat changes into a young woman because she eats from some chemical stuff in a barrel. She, Minoes (Carice van Houten), is allowed to stay with Tibbe (Theo Maassen). He is a reporter who is about to get fired but since Minoes can help him with some news which she hears from other cats, she saves his job. They make a deal. She can stay, but she must provide Tibbe with some news.

Mr. Ellemeet (Pierre Bokma) is the hero of the town. He seems to be a very good man but Minoes and the other cats slowly discover that he is not that good after all. Now the shy Tibbe wants to help the cats and expose Mr. Ellemeet but he has no prove besides the stories of cats. Minoes, the other cats and a girl named Bibi (Sarah Bannier) who lives next door come up with a plan to help Tibbe.

The simple story is based on a novel written by Annie M.G. Schmidt, who was and is probably the most read author for children books in The Netherlands. Although it is quite simple it has so many nice touches you almost forget the simplicity. The nice little touches deal with Minoes who has a struggle with herself. She is a cat but slowly becomes a human being. The hunger for fish and birds and the need to climb trees when dogs are near are those little nice things.

Carice van Houten plays her part extremely well. It may seem pretty easy what she does but that is only because of her. Theo Maassen finds the right note for his character as well and Pierre Bokma is a good villain. The performances are good and it looks very good as well, exactly the way a movie like this should look. The movie is perfect for children and I think that adults will have at least the same amount of fun. There is simply nothing wrong with this movie considering it is for the whole family. If you want to see a great family film, try this Dutch little treasure.

Note: A nice fact is that Jan Roelfs is the co-producer. He was Oscar-nominated as the production designer for 'Orlando' and 'Gattaca' and is the production designer for the upcoming 'Alexander' from Oliver Stone.

Carice van Houten, now famous for her role in Zwartboek, is a great actress and knows how to get her audience's attention. In Minoes, she is a very sweet and fun girl and together with Theo Maassen she really put together a lovely movie. Though not more than 1 hour of entertainment, this movie is something you could watch over and over and over again. Why? It's lighthearted, very funny and brings out the genius that was Annie M.G. Schmidt, who wrote the story years ago. The power of this movies is also the voices of the cats. Famous Dutch people like Wim T. Schippers, a.k.a. Ernie (Bert and Ernie), and Hans Teeuwen, a renowed Dutch comedian make funny jokes all the time and besides it's really fun to hear someone be a cat. If you enjoyed this movie, I highly recommend Ja Zuster, Nee Zuster, which has a similar class and quality. Go ahead and watch them and have a great time!

This was a fairly charming film, mostly because of the talking among the cats and good acting from the leading Lady (or should that be leading Cat?). I read the original a long time a go, but a friend of mine who had reread it recently said that a lot of elements had been changed and she couldn't quite see what the benefits were.

Here's one for the GOOFS category, occurring during a scene in which mayor Ellemeet gets into a showdown with a cat in an alley. The guy is supposed to be alone, but a crew member can be seen quite clearly in a reflection in one of the windows of his car.

Like all of annie m.g. schmidts novels, Minoes is a creative, crazy and fantastic children's story. I've read the story when I was a little girl, and I was very anxious when I heard they were going to make a movie of it. But when I saw it, I was rather disappointed, although I liked the cats and the actors. I think it's a nice movie for little children, and for people whom like cats, but when you're planning to get nostalgic, don't go see it!

All within a nice movie, certainly for Dutch understandings. Regrettably it appeared at the same time as the famous Harry Potter (great movie b.t.w)