Felix the Cat was the original star of animation going as far back as the late 1910s and early '20s, but his fame deteriorated by the '30s. It wouldn't be until the late '50s when animator & cartoonist Joe Oriolo revived the character for television and brought a whole new generation into the character's heart. Fast forward to the mid 80s, when Oriolo's son Don attempted to bring back the famous cat in a feature length pilot for a potential new series. After being released to dismal reviews and poor financial return, it spawned a minor cult following on TV and home video releases. Looking at the final product, there's too many reasons as to why.
The movie follows Felix the Cat who is suddenly put on a quest to rescue the princess of the ultradimensional kingdom Oriana. She has been taken prisoner under rule of her villainous scientist uncle the Duke of Zill and his mechanical, geometric army. Now even though this premise does sound fitting for Felix in his crazy adventures, the movie fails to properly establish much about the cat's origins from his series. Instead, it cuts right to the chase in showing the downfall of Oriana, thus sidelining Felix to more a hero needing to rescue the macguffin than a legitimate movie centered around a talking cat with a magical bag of tricks. As a result, any newcomers to Felix will more than likely be confused as to what's going on and even fans of the series will feel disappointed that the show's main antagonist, the Professor, is reduced to nothing more than an added plot convenience. Because the movie's pacing is all over the place, there's not much worth caring about Oriana, the princess, Felix or anyone else for that matter, so what we're left with is a jumbled plot with no proper cohesion.
To make matters worse, the ultradimensional land of Oriana is way too bizarre for its own good. While a lot of the creatures that inhabit the land are fascinating on their own, they're barely looked upon as anything more than nasty rough goons. Not to mention, since over half the movie takes place with our lead characters as prisoners in a circus, there's surprisingly nothing truly exceptional about what should be a unique land out of our world. The most we get are mouse-lizard crossbreeds, an appealing con artist for a ringmaster and a useless bore of a hillbilly minion. Also, it's really pathetic when your princess is so bland and unlikable that the Duke of Zill is a far more sympathetic character. Not even Felix is much to care for since he blabbers on way too much for anyone's tolerance and has the humor of a clown performing at a funeral. Speaking of blabbering, the movie has way too much ADR and gushy sound effects for its own good, even to the point where it feels like a tumor rotting in your brain. Never has one feature with a talking cat for a star ever felt so painful to bear.
If there's anything worth noting about the feature, at least the studio behind the animation, Pannonia, did the most with what they were given. Considering how insane this movie feels with its premise, the character designs and animation do fit with the cartoony and surreal aesthetic the film is attempting to go for. Even a lot of the effects animation and backgrounds are colorfully crafted, minus an unnecessary CG Felix model at the beginning. Also, with some exceptions, the soundtrack does slap on its own, as it utilizes hardcore 80s rock and experimental synthesizers to carry the tunes. Unfortunately, even with all of the talent showcased on screen, not even the trippiest visuals or the catchiest musical number can make up how messy the plot is. Because the film cannot focus on anything or anyone throughout its runtime, the cool and bizarre is only used sporadically and often feels more tacked on than charming. In other words, instead of feeling like we're witnessing something truly unordinary, the movie just goes through one fever dream after another.
Too bizarre to find appealing and too rushed to be a welcome introduction, Felix the Cat the Movie fails to revitalize the famous cat into a new generation. Despite a lot of talented artistry and songs sprinkled throughout, the clunky story, incorrigible characters, horrendous sound editing and insipid world-building are more than enough to keep this film at the bottom of the barrel. Unless you're a curious fan of the cat's filmography, the best advice is to stay away from this disaster at all costs. One can only wonder how such an ambitious project fell so drastically apart when it was passed down from one generation to another.
