A Cat in Paris - Official Trailer
I first heard about "A Cat In Paris" when it was nominated alongside "Puss in Boots" as Best Animated Feature at the 2011 Academy Awards. Unfortunately, both feline-themed films lost the Oscar to a chameleon named Rango, but the critical acclaim led to a U.S. release of the French film, with voiceovers by Anjelica Huston, Marcia Gay Harden, and Matthew Modine.
In a world where digital animation often blurs the lines of reality, it's refreshing to see a hand-drawn film that manages to capture the depth of its characters without using fancy tricks. Director's Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagnol create a suspenseful feline film noir against the gorgeous backdrop of Paris, where cats and criminals prowl its rooftops together at night.
"A Cat in Paris" is a sophisticated children's film, that deals with themes of parental death, gangsters, guns, and even kidnapping, yet somehow still manages to remain heartwarming, and often funny. The main character is a girl named Zoe, whose beloved black cat Dino leads a double life as a house cat by day, and a cunning cat burglar's accomplice by night. Dino's interactions with the girl are often tender, as he acts as both her companion and protector. Then there's also Zoe's mother, Jeanne, a cop with a taste for vengeance against the man who killed her husband, a bumbling group of gangsters led by a man named Victor Costa, and Nico, the thief with a heart-of-gold, who inadvertently finds himself tangled in their web of intrigue.
The movie is ultimately a fast-paced adventure, with a plot you'd associate with a live-action film instead of an animated children's flick. The beautifully rendered characters and the city, a character in itself, work together to create a colorful tale that's ultimately about love, and the loyalty of one very special cat.
Enter To Win!
Cinedigm Entertainment Group has generously offered one lucky Catsparella reader the chance to win a copy of "A Cat in Paris" on DVD!
To enter, leave a comment on this post with your name, and some way for me to contact you if you win (email, link back to your blog or profile, Twitter, etc.) The winner be will chosen in a random drawing next Wednesday, October 31 at 5:00PM EST. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. One entry per person, please.
Good luck, and be sure to check out a "Cat in Paris," now available on Blu-Ray
and DVD
!(If you have trouble leaving a comment, please email me at catsparella@gmail.com)
Disclosure: Cinedigm provided a DVD for giveaway, but they did not ask me to review the film, nor did they provide the copy I watched.
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