A girl, struck mute by the trauma of her father's death, follows her pet cat across the Parisian rooftops and discovers that the animal has been working as a burglar's accomplice.
Directors: Jean-Loup Felicioli, Alain Gagnol |
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EMPIRE Review - "A Cat in Paris" ****
Not since Disney's The Aristocats has Paris looked so romantic or mysterious in cartoon form, and the majestic realisation of the city’s evocative architecture and atmospheric use of light and shade ensure this rattling yarn is a visual treat. Linking a lonely little girl named Zoé, a superintendent tracking her cop husband’s killer, a ruthless gangster, a cat burglar and the feline accomplice who leads a double life, the story is dark and intricate, Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli relating it with a sinuous ease that reaches a thrilling climax atop Notre Dame. The characterisation is superb, the dialogue slick, and Serge Besset’s score gives this classy, Oscar-nominated family feature an irresistible, jazzy elegance.
Read the full review at EMPIRE.com
Newsday, John Anderson - "A Cat in Paris" ***
Ever wonder where your cat goes when you let him out? If he's as versatile as Dino, the title character of "A Cat in Paris," he may be moonlighting as a burglar's assistant, scampering across the rooftops of a storybook Paris and hanging out with a questionable character like Nico (Steve Blum), the nimble second-story man whose string of jewel thefts is causing headaches for the Parisian police department.
Read the full review at Newsday.com
The Hollywood Reporter, Michael Rechtshaffen - "A Cat in Paris" ***
One of the year’s two Best Animated Feature nominees that took Oscar prognosticators by complete surprise (the other was Chico & Rita), the French-language A Cat in Paris (Une Vie de Chat), is a delightfully stylized caper involving a mute little girl, her pet cat and a cat burglar.
Owing a sly tip of the beret to influences running the gamut from Matisse to Tarantino, the hand-drawn “policier” may not be the most inspired animated import to have crossed our shores (compared to, say, The Triplets of Belleville or The Illusionist) but it nevertheless casts a beguiling spell without requiring 3D glasses or a mass of merchandising.
Read the full review at HollywoodReporter.com