User Reviews

I thoroughly enjoyed this film: in one sense it's an animated spoof of a classic thriller genre, in another it's a charming entertainment -- and it contains a very well observed cat! Like the B-movies to which it nods, it packs a vast amount of action into its 65-minute running time, leavening action with humour (the splatted dog is a classic cartoon gag -- but it's a tribute to the emotional realism of the film that later on the audience was actually worried that it had come to serious harm) and parody with genuine feeling: the gangsters discussing food are a homage to Quentin Tarantino, but the bereaved Jeanne's battles with the cartoon-Costa of her imagination put a quiver in my stiff upper lip. And the clambering up and down the face of Notre-Dame is a pure paean to Paris... and to the Hunchback!

There are two apparently separate stories going at the start: the little girl with a workaholic single mother, plus the night-time adventures of her cat. But neither of them is quite what it seems -- the neglectful mother in particular is a much more sympathetic character than we initially assume -- and both strands rapidly intertwine with a gangster thriller plot. This may be an animated adventure, but it has more than enough depth for adults as well as children: in fact, I suspect the tension may be a little too much for small children. One little boy in the row in front of me had to be carried out howling that he wanted to go home.

The style of animation is -- deliberately -- extremely crude: characters are drawn in the simplest of outlines, although I noticed that the cat movement and postures, for all the crudity of the shapes, were extremely well done. (Take the scene, for example, when the cat is sprawled in Nico's room -- or when it disdainfully opens just one slit of an eye as Claudine rages at it!) And almost all the action takes place at night or by artificial lighting, heightening the child's storybook appearance of the art. This is clearly a consciously retro aesthetic: I was amused to note that the brand of paper used in making all the drawings got its own entry in the credit listing at the end of the film.

What really grated on me, for some reason, was the depiction of the feet (I had the same problem with DreamWorks' Sinbad animation). The characters in this film have incredibly tiny triangular feet which seem always to be drawn from the same angle no matter which way the rest of the body is pointing, and I found it visually disturbing to have the perspective so obviously all wrong...

A bonus feature was the fluent idiomatic English translation in the subtitles, at least in the London Film Festival version: it makes a welcome change from translations obviously aimed at the American market. (And it's always fun to back-translate the insults: within the limits of my vocabulary of French vituperation, some pretty apt equivalents seemed to have been chosen!)

I'm tempted to rate this at 9 out of ten, but I don't think it has quite enough depth for that level: I'll compromise and knock a point off for the annoyance of the feet, leaving it at a very solid 8.

A Cat in Paris is touching, uplifting entertainment for the young and old. The young will like it for its extreme simplicity, in contrast to many bombastic, whiplash-inducing animated films of the last decade, and the old/older will appreciate it for its beauty and sound.

Prior to its Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature, A Cat in Paris, or Une Vie De Chat, its French title, was seldom seen in America. Its animation style is gorgeous and instantly flashed me back to the big, colorful storybooks that were one of the dominant factors in my youth. The scenes look to be lifted directly from a large picture book, with its colors mixed and warm and its characters appearing like simple human-beings. I expected a watercolor style similar to Chico and Rita, another Best Animated Feature nominated from 2011, which had a heavy emphasis on character detail and environment artistry. A Cat in Paris seems more concerned with the environment and how it appears and feels as a whole, rather than the detail of it.

The film revolves around a young mute girl named Zoé, who lives with her workaholic mother named Jeanne and her black cat. Zoé feels constantly in a competition to get her mother's attention, and is in dismay when she reacts in anger to her collection of dead lizards brought home by the cat. Unknown to both Zoé and her mother is that their cat lives a double life; he assists Nico, a local jewelry burglar, in his late night heists. The cat sneaks out in the middle of the night to return home soundly the next morning and wind up in Zoé's arms. One day, Zoé, the adventurer she is, decides to sneak out and follow her cat to see where he goes, despite the cat's protest. The cat winds up leading her into a mess involving gangsters, searching for a rare, expensive statue. The result is a cute, lively cops and robbers film providing goofy laughs and delightfully whimsical material.

The jazzy soundtrack is instantly lovable, the action is in short bursts and surprisingly fluent, the animation is easy on the eyes, and the fifties look and feel is all present. A Cat in Paris is a film of low-key charm, beautifully rendered images, and a series of lovable little nuances all captured within a slender fifty-eight minute runtime. Perhaps, due to its shadowy effect and gorgeous style, you could refer to this as "animation-noir."

Voiced by: Dominique Blanc, Bruno Salomone, Jean Benguigui, Bernadette Lafont, Oriane Zani, and Bernard Bouillon. Directed by: Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagnol.

Even when "A cat in Paris" isn't at the same level of animated masterpieces as "The Triplets of Belleville" or "Persepolis", certainly it is a much better film for the whole family than most of the awful stuff produced by Hollywood in the recent years.

The animation of this film is neat, with a great atmosphere and beautiful sceneries. Also, even when the character's designs seem to be quite simple at first sight, they are actually quite stylish and well made.

The story, without being spectacular, never fails to entertain, keeping a good pace from beginning to end.

While this film is clearly aimed to kids, I think that the adults will find "A cat in Paris" to be quite enjoyable, mostly because it is a way more mature and sober movie for the family viewing.

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.

Having most recently been seduced by Paris in The Artist and Midnight in Paris and before that in animation with The Illusionist and Triplets of Belleville, I was fully prepared to enjoy A Cat In Paris, a nominee for Best Animated Feature Oscar, worthy of the award even with competition like Chico & Rita. I was not disappointed.

This cute, un-Pixar thriller depicts a cat accompanying a cat-burglar at night over the rooftops of Paris and into apartments ripe for the plucking with his accomplice, Nico (Bruno Salomone voice). The owner of the crafty cat, Zoe (Oriane Zani), lives with her chief of Police mother Jeanne (Dominique Blanc), both of whom are still mourning the loss of dad/husband at the hands of arch-villain Victor Costa (Jean Benguigui). The plot does not make this a memorable cartoon; it's the whimsical slit-eyed, long-nosed eccentrics who inhabit the flat pastel world, slim on speech and graceful even when they're thugs. It's a fantasy of our imagination, what we dream Paris would be like in a better world, even with burglars and mobsters.

An interesting touch is to make the cat tough rather than tender and Zoe mute for the shock of her father's death. The tonal shifts between that darkness and then silly thugs and a sweet cat burglar, who doesn't seem to be punished for his crime, will make this a problematic choice for kids, who might not get it. Parents may find it difficult to decide if this is a thriller or a comedy as well.

For me, it's just the exotic world of Paris in my imagination. Nothing beats swinging over the rooftops at anytime with anyone, even a mischievous cat.

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.

At 70 minutes, "A Cat in Paris" is the little film that could. The hand-drawn animated film packs a surprising amount of action and pathos into a children's cartoon and weaves a fairly rich back story that lends heft to the battle that unfolds between a cat burglar and the cat he shares with the local police chief versus the leader of a ring of art thieves. Leave it to the French to give the older child target audience some real narrative meat to chew on - although the action can be a little rough at times and some scenes will clearly scare younger viewers. The hand-drawn animation technique amplifies the scare factor but equally amplifies the warmth factor with scenes of the Dino the cat (and cat burglar)sinuously jumping from Parisian rooftop to rooftop approaching art. While the film is mostly beautiful to look at there are some plot problems such as the movie never stopping to explain how the older, puffy antagonist can keep up with our experienced cat burglar and his feline accomplice step-for-step across the Paris skyline. Also, action scenes too heavily dominate the run-time so at times it feels like Mel Gibson action movies from the 1990's. In short, the brief run time and a lack of memorable characters recommend it to a rental rather than a $12 a kid multiplex visit but it is a charming little film.

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 cartoon about a cat that lives with Zoe a little girl. But, at night, he helps a cat burglar out.

I caught this at a film festival last year. It was a rainy Saturday afternoon and it was perfect in that respect. The kids in the theatre seemed to love it but the adults (like me) were underwhelmed. The animation was OK and it was pleasant but the plot was dull and I was bored long before the 70 minutes were up. How this got nominated for an Oscar is beyond me. Must have been a slow year for animated films. Kids might like it but not adults. I've got nothing else to say but IMDb says you must have 10 lines of text to get published. I give it a 6.

Will it change my life? No. Did half the cinema laugh out loud on several occasions? Yes Did I look at my watch during the film? Not once Will I remember it? Definitely the visuals, maybe not the plot Will I recommend others to see it? I already have Did anything annoy me (even the way feet were drawn)? No Did I come out smiling? Definitely Were the characters well-drawn? Cat yes, little girl yes, gangstas rudimentary (but fun) mum, a bit of a cliché but who cares Plot? Serious novelists don't need to feel threatened but it hung together nicely within its own parameters. So... a rather sweet film, funny, uplifting, eye candy, feelgood. For serious film buffs? Depends how seriously they take themselves. I defy anybody not to enjoy this movie. Oh, and I hope someone repairs Notre Dame.

Thing that these little, European, animated movies always have going for them is the fact that they are unique to look at. They have a visual style and atmosphere of its own, that is being quite different from any of the animated movies, coming from the big studios. And this is probably the only thing that this movie still has going for it really.

Sorry to say but this movie really isn't much special. Story-wise it's all a bit too familiar and it doesn't has enough excitement or originality to offer. This feels like a typical animated movie, for kids to watch early on a Saturday or Sunday morning. So it's still good and enjoyable enough all but just nothing special really. It's not a movie that will stick to your mind, for a very long time.

Visually it's a pleasant movie to look at but again, it's nothing that special really. The animation is actually quite simplistic, which prevents the movie from ever doing anything groundbreaking or impressive to look at. The movie does still have a couple of stylish and artistic moments in it but unfortunately the most impressive thing to look at are still its end credits.

I'm not even all that sure about it if this is a movie all children will enjoy. There are some comical moments in it but the story itself is lacking some real excitement and isn't always that interesting to follow and to keep your interest, let alone that of young children. But luckily it's only an hour short movie, so it also never starts to become a boring or one, or anything like that.

Good enough but really nothing Oscar worthy.

6/10

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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!

Contact me with Questions, Comments or Suggestions ryitfork @ bitmail.ch

While its title is perhaps a bit misleading (the cat doesn't really have anything to do with the plot at all, other than tying its two lead characters together), this charming little animation tells a tight, if traditional, tale of cops and robbers through a distinct, somewhat painterly style. 'A Cat In Paris (2010)' is incredibly short and, as such, doesn't hang about for a second but, even so, there are moments that feel strangely slow and repetitive. Because of this, the piece feels as though it has a slightly odd pace to it and, on the whole, there's only so much investment possible. However, it's always an entertaining, if not entirely engaging, experience. 6/10

The first time I watched this I was quite pleased. It didn't bring anything fresh or new, but it offered a fun enough plot and good visuals to boost through these flaws.

But then, I watched it again. Sadly, I just wasn't as interested. Now, I enjoy watching some movies more than once. This isn't one of those movies. It feels even less fresh than the first watch! I really wanted to have a rewatchable but short French animated film, and all that's missing is the "rewatchable" part.

The thing that kept me from stopping halfway through the second watch was the animation and my raw urge to finish it.

In conclusion, A Cat in Paris is a good first time watch. If you are looking for a caper with good animation (but no good 2nd time watch), I advise you to watch this. Better than average. 6/10

A Cat in Paris was a nice watch. Yes, I think that is a fitting judgement for it, because even though it plays its own instruments really well like the interesting animation style with a nice use of shadows and other artistic touches, it just needed a little more to make the big splash.

I liked how the writers and animators played out the story about the mother's history with the villain which is not very cheery, but that's awesome in my opinion to not only tell the audience but also showing it.

And that's what mostly saved this movie from being a run-of-the-mill crime story, the animation style and how it was used to pinpoint certain relations between the otherwise rather uninteresting characters. But what they achieved with those means in the finished product which is only an hour long was pretty impressive and makes for an enjoyable watch.

I was surprised after watching the film, It kept me attached to the end. This is a story of a Cat who has two characters: The Cat accompanies a girl named Zoé while her mother is busy with her police work. And also he wanders in the night with a thief.

A captivating and thrilling experience I never expected from a movie. This is worth an Oscar Nominee.

I really like the hand-drawn animation with great attention to detail. I also very much enjoyed the musical score by Serge Besset. All the performances were good (if a little odd in places… more on that later) so honourable mentions go to the voice talents of; Marcia Gay Harden as Jeanne, JB Blanc as Victor Costa, Anjelica Huston as Claudine and Matthew Modine as Lucas.

I guess the filmmakers were trying to please everyone by making the accents of the characters quite international. Of course the bad guy has an English accent, with one of his henchmen being German. There's an old lady with a very American accent; to be honest, it's all a bit confusing! Even so, I did find it entertaining with nods to Hitchcock (amongst others), this one managed to do much more right than wrong. It's funny (in parts) too, there's one recurring gag with a barking dog that had me in stitches! Over all, it's one I don't mind giving my seal of approval to.

SteelMonster's verdict: RECOMMENDED.

My Score 6.5/10

IMDb Score: 6.8/10 (based on 2,310 votes at the time of going to press).

MetaScore: 63/100: (Based on 19 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes 'Tomatometer' Score: 82/100 (based on 55 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes 'Audience' Score: 72/100 'Liked It' (based on 3,299 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).

You can find an expanded version of this review on my blog: Thoughts of a SteelMonster.

Alongside Chico and Rita, this is another worthy contender for the Oscar best animation category. Unlike most other animation, this is uniquely European in terms of art and of both the physicality and the expressions exhibited from movements to geometrics and color contrasts.

I believe that, concurrently with choosing such an art style, the intention is to make the whole movie slightly more one-dimensional and maximizes the potential in that regard. The plot is meant to be simple and the characters being as predictable as it should be (villains are bad & stupid, etc.). Despite being too crude or lacking advanced perceptions which would obviously boost up the script's potential for a far richer content, there is still enough entertainment value, material and the pace of the plot is quick enough to keep demanding viewers like me hooked. In fact it is superior to Chico & Rita in terms of that. Some of the scenes are very creative too. I do hope either this or Chico will win the Oscars 2012!!

The only reason you should see this movie is the beautiful art/animation. Colors and scenarios are gorgeous but the plot is quite boring, old and basic, its just one chase after another. If anything is worthwhile in the script is that there's no moral implications, not everything is merry and bright with the "good" characters; but we can account this on the film being french. Far from the political-correctness from USA animations.

The main character is a cat, that bonds a little girl to a jewelry thief. But there's also a big-time mafia leader that the girl's mother investigates restlessly, making her an absent mother that can't spend much time with her daughter, traumatized after her's father death. Everything comes together with this 4 characters in the streets of Paris and the church of Notre-dame.

I've been an animation lover all my life. You could even say I prefer it over live action. However I have been a little disappointed that pretty much all American animated films have turned to CGI and turned down traditional styles (I have nothing against CG animation, I just like verity).

However tradition hand-drawn animation still thrives in Europe and Asia. Sometimes I even find some great gems like; The Secret of Kells, Ernest and Celestien, Metropolis, and Studio Ghibli. But one film in particular was a real white elephant and this the film I'm talking about today.

I first heard of A Cat in Paris a few years back and ever since then I've been wanting to give it a watch. The film eventually found it's way unto Netflix and I gave it a sitting, my reaction; MEH!

At first I thought the movie was going to be really charming; A cat that has two owners; 1) a traumatized girl named Zoe who won't talk and 2) a cat burglar. I thought the contrast between the two worked so well and eventually the cat will bring them together and they will have a cute little friendship. I spoke way to soon.

The real story is about a boring police man hunt for an insane crime boss who killed Zoe's father. It wouldn't be so bad it the villains weren't the most clichéd humorous baddies you'll ever see. This guy is supposed to be a ruthless crime lord who murders cops. But the movie portrays him as a male version of Cruella Deviel. If this guy is Cruella Deviel that means his henchmen are Horace and Jasper. They do lame recycled slapstick comedy, talk like they have dementia, and say stupid one liners. So yeah this movie turned into something I was hoping it wouldn't be like.

However the movie wasn't without it's good moments. For one; the animation was good a fluid and the art style was really unique. The fore mentioned Thief and the girl were good characters but they still needed more development. Overall I feel A Cat in Paris is a failed attempt at an underrated classic.