A Cat in Paris

Every year at the Oscars, it seems that the voters like to throw in one film in the Best Animated Film category that no one has heard of, to go along with the Pixar and Dreamworks films that are usually certain to win. It's a great idea, and I support it. Past films that seemingly came out of nowhere to claim the honor include The Secret of Kells, and The Illusionist. This year, the dark horse in the animated film race was A Cat in Paris, a stylish and fun hand-drawn film from France that has a lot of great images and ideas, but thanks to a running time that barely stretches past one hour, feels very slight and could have used some beefing up in its character development.

The film (which has been given a very good English dub for its limited release here in the US) centers on a smart little cat named Dino, who spends his days comforting a lonely little mute girl named Zoe, who lost the ability to speak ever since her father, a police detective, was murdered by a gangster named Victor Costa (voiced in the dub by J D Blanc). When night falls, Dino slips out Zoe's window, and becomes the partner and accomplice to a jewel thief named Nico (Steve Blum). The scenes where Nico and Dino make their way across rooftops in silhouette are amongst some of the film's best animated sequences, with fluid movements, and a mysterious atmosphere. The plot also concerns Zoe's mother, Jeanne (Marcia Gay Hardin), who as the city's police superintendent, is determined to track down her husband's killer. She is not aware of Dino's nighttime crime activities, though she is curious about a series of burglaries in the area where paw prints have been found.


A Cat in Paris has been drawn in such a way that it sometimes resembles a living children's book illustration, and at other times, it resembles classic film noir. This is fitting to the film's dual nature, which goes back and forth between being a story about a lonely little girl who can only open up to her pet cat, and a crime story about gangsters and laid back thieves. Directors Jean-Loup Felicioll and Alain Gagnol do come up with some memorable images, such as when Nico and Dino are quietly making their way through a pitch black room, and we can only see white chalk-like line figures of the characters as they make their way through the darkness. I also liked the way they use different background colors to represent the mood of the scene, such as using softer colors during the scenes between Zoe and Dino, and using harsher reds during the scenes when the murderous Victor is in a rage.

Where the movie falters is in the story, and it has nothing to do with the way it is told, exactly. Rather, it's the previously mentioned length, which runs just 65 minutes if that, and never really gives us a chance to get caught up in the characters. There are some good moments involving Zoe's mother, Jeanne, and how she is haunted by the image of Victor killing her husband. But outside of that, the characters are pretty thin, and range from being stock or one note, or forced comic relief, such as Victor's dim-witted henchmen. With an extra half hour added, the movie could have gone much deeper into these characters, instead of merely scratching the surface. In order to bring the film closer to feature length, there is an amusing short cartoon shown before it, which chronicles the extinction of a sabre tooth house cat. But, I really would have rather the time spent fleshing out these characters and ideas.

A Cat in Paris gets by on a lot of style and charm, and I'm recommending it, but I still wanted more. It's the kind of fleeting entertainment that kind of leaves your mind as soon as its over. You'll remember some of the images, and maybe you'll think back on a scene or two with a smile, but that's about it.

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