A Cat in Paris (2010)

The French have been developing a reputation for creating avant-garde animated films directed more towards an adult audience. Following 2007's critical hit "Persepolis", Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagnol's
"Une vie de chat" have tried to continue that trend of experimental cartoon with mature themes. In this case, unfortunately, they probably bit off more than they could chew.

A slinky, jazzy thriller, it is a story of a girl and her cat. Having lost her police officer father to a notorious art thief, mute little Zoe (Oriane Zani) finds solace only in her cat, Dino. Skulking about the narrow alleys of greater Paris, Dino brings gifts of dead lizards and birds and the occasional priceless piece of jewelry. Zoe's mother Jeanne (Dominique Blanc) does not find the same amusement in Dino's presents, nor in her girl's eccentricities, having dedicated herself to her job in the police department and her mission to bring in her husband's killer.

Zoe learns that Dino leads a double life, spending his nights prowling about with a cat burglar named Nico (Bruno Salamone). Disobeying her nanny and sneaking out, Zoe soon finds herself in a dangerous adventure full of gangsters and stealthy criminals.

The fundamental flaw of the film is not in its story. In fact I really enjoyed the concept, but on the whole it was entirely underdeveloped and left a lot to be desired. One cannot watch this movie without the overwhelming sense that the true creative powers of the story were being stifled in an attempt to please both younger and older audiences alike. The film is risky, it has danger and death and deals with the very dark nature of grief. In order to make it accessible to children a great big mute button was pushed on the parts of the narrative that were the most interesting.

Further, a great many holes were left unanswered. This is one of those mob films were a fellow criminal must use his own insight into dirty dealings to best the real bad guys. Such is Nico, who seems to be a slippery jewel thief simply to have the skills necessary to save Zoe and bring the antagonists to justice. We are never informed why Nico steals; his apartment is small and unimpressive, even though Nico and Dino have probably stolen millions of euros worth of valuables. And at the end of the movie when Nico naturally saves the day he is exonerated. Why? No reason--he's just sexy.

A very short film with a lot of setup should then at least be compensated with a daring artistic style. That too was lacking. I will say that their storyboard artist is very clever and a couple of scenes (one in particular, drawn to look as though we are peering through night vision goggles) were very inventive. But on the whole the film looked like an hour-long Sesame Street skit.

There is a way to make new and innovative animated features which don't need to be dumbed down for the sake of the audience. Look at "The Illusionist", for instance. The gooey center of the film is great, but it was afraid to be something really special. It obviously wanted to be a PG-13 or R rated movie, so let it. Pandering to a vast audience is okay when it starts out being for kids and is later elevated, but starting out with a mature concept and then watering it down never pans out.

2/4