With U.S. animation completely overtaken by computers, it’s more than
refreshing to see this old-school hand-drawn export from France: It’s
exhilarating. Titled A Cat in Paris for English-speaking and -reading audiences (although its French title, Une Vie de Chat, translates as A Cat’s Life), this cartoon noir distills Hitchcock into 64 brisk minutes for middle-schoolers and up.
In
case the stylized, non-computer-generated imagery didn’t tip you off to
the fact that you’re not watching an American film, there are several
other signs. Most notably, Dino, the titular cat, never speaks, except
to meow or hiss. Meanwhile, we’re not subjected to excessive cartoon
violence without consequence, but we do see a cartoon penis. (It
belongs to a statue.) The only other time we’ve seen one of those was
the quick cameo by Bart’s wiener in The Simpsons Movie.
Directors: Jean-Loup Felicioli, Alain Gagnol
Writers: Alain Gagnol (dialogue), Alain Gagnol (screenplay), and 1 more credit
Stars: Dominique Blanc, Bruno Salomone and Jean Benguigui
A Cat in Paris (
Une vie de chat) is a 2010 French
animated comedy film by the French animation studio Folimage, telling
the story of a young Parisian girl whose cat leads her to unravel a
thrilling mystery over the course of a single evening. The film was
directed by Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli.
A Cat in Paris
was first shown on October 15, 2010 at the Saint-Quentin Ciné-Jeune
Film Festival. It was released in French theaters on December 15, 2010.
International distribution is by Films Distribution, Paris.
The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
Along with
Chico and Rita, it became one of two foreign-language films nominated for Best Animated Feature in one year, an Academy first
that many observers considered a surprise.
The film has also received a nomination for the Cesar Award for Best Animated Film in 2011.
