Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotesOverview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditsAwards & Reviews
user reviewsexternal reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guidemessage boardPlot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsmemorable quotesDid You Know?
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQOther Info
box office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specsliterature listingsNewsDeskPromotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo galleryExternal Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clipsReviews & Ratings for
Cat Soup More at IMDbPro »Nekojiru-so (original title)
| Page 1 of 2: | [1] [2] ![[Next]](http://i.media-imdb.com/f86.gif){kind=small} |
| Index | 18 reviews in total |
18 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
A cat leads her sister through a surreal world in hope of reviving her from near-death., 14 April 2006
Author:
willbcocks from Washington DC, USA
First of all, this movie is 34 minutes long, which means you could
watch it three times in a row and still have spent less time than you
would have watching most other movies. Second of all--you need to do
this. This sensational short film explores the potential of animation
through a world of playful or horrifying but always powerful images.
Cats riding in and drinking out of a water elephant, a circus featuring
a bird that has consumed the sky, and pigs eating their own fried
flesh--that's only the beginning. The scenes and images, extraordinary
on their own, flow together without obvious causal links in a way that
demands re-watching. Furthermore, the DVD includes an amazing
director's commentary, which, given the extremely spare dialog, only
enhances the viewing. The commentary gives a few interpretations of
scenes, but also provides priceless quotes on the crafting of Cat Soup,
along the lines of: "well, the artists were asking what we should do in
this scene, but I didn't know myself, so its hard to say why it turned
out as it did" (that's a bad paraphrase by the way). Also, the sound
throughout the film is very high quality, very precise, and very moody.
In all, the absolute minimum viewing experience should go as follows:
First viewing: Watch the DVD without the commentary. Second viewing:
Watch the DVD WITH the commentary. Third viewing: Rewatch without the
commentary.
Once you've watched it three times, however, you're not going to stop
there...
18 out of 19 people found the following review useful:
An absolute masterpiece, 21 April 2004
Author:
Kyle Kovacevich (kandk1125@aol.com) from Heightling Nation, Tucson AZ
When I saw this movie a few days ago, my eyes were completely fixed to the screen. Its greatness held my attention to such an extent that I focused all of my attention on it for its entire duration. I would recommend seeing it not just to fans of anime, but to anyone who likes great movies period (or who likes really weird stuff). The style of art is beautiful, the sound is perfect, and the symbolism within it is breathtaking. I've heard complaints about the weird insertion of English text in the movie, but I think the way its done is complementary to the strange style of the movie. The self-attributed description of "Hello Kitty on acid" doesn't do justice to this film of absolutely epic proportions. I'd like to find more works by whoever made this, and see them.
11 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
A Masterpiece!, 20 November 2003
Author:
ilovejeanrollin from Lausanne, Switzerland
CAT SOUP is a short anime based on the legendary manga Nekojiru. It won
the
award "Best Short Film" at The 6th Fantasia Film Festival and also won
the
"Excellence Prize" at Japan's Media Arts Festival.
When little kitten Nyaako's soul is stolen by Death, she and her brother
Nyatta embark on a bizarre journey to get it back. In the surreal
dreamscape
of the Other Side, they encounter many fantastic characters and
remarkable,
often disturbing adventures.
CAT SOUP is an anime like nothing you've ever seen. It's Hello Kitty on
acid! It is very original, stunningly beautiful and possess a great sense
of
strangeness and lyricism. CAT SOUP is very surrealistic (there are no
dialogue) and sometimes cruel and gory. So it is more an anime for adults
than children (they may not understand at all!). A great journey for
those
who get the chance to see this absolute masterpiece. An
must-see!
6 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
'Hello Kitty' without the 'o'., 18 February 2006
Author:
dfdresden from Ireland
Wow. A truly fantastic 'trip' movie that has tons of super-surreal imagery, dark intent and a black, pretty strange sense of how cartoon animals must see the world. It's populated with a very cute off-world bunch of characters that bend and flow with warped backgrounds.As with all cool fantasy, the wandering plot is secondary to the eye-popping visuals and we follow a little cat and his zombie sister as they encounter death, deluge, water elephants, samurai swordsmen and pigs that fish. I'd never heard of it, but now I love it - probably because it reminded me of the surreal pencil-work of American cartoonist; Bill Plympton. It's a demented delight for fans of odd, pretty things and it had me glued to the screen for fear I'd miss something amazing. Simply put, it's 'Hello Kitty' without the 'o'.
7 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
Incedible... just incredible..., 16 September 2005
Author:
Jaxz MacPherson from United States
Best animated movie ever made. This film explores not only the vast
world of modern animation with absolutely boggling effects, but the
branches of the human mind, soul, and philosophy. The story features a
family of cats, where in the big sister dies, the younger brother sees
this and rescues her body, but when she awakens she is left without a
soul. So, the two sibling cats embark on a journey to find it. I have
related this journey to many things. The history of the world, the
bible, the cycle of life, and every time I watch it I discover more and
more hidden themes and metaphors. If you aren't so into the
physiological aspect of it then, you will still adore it. The animation
is superb, and the creative scenes will have you attached to the
screen. For example, the ocean freezing in time, god eating soup out of
the earth, a strange and slightly SNM retelling of Hansel and Gretel.
To conclude, Cat Soup is an absolute treat for anyone.
PS- Not for kids, gratuitous violence included.
4 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
It'll leave you speak-less., 24 May 2007
Author:
emasterslake from United States
I recently discovered this short, and knew it was a must see. Cat Soup
is something that can't be described in words. It focuses on 2 cat
siblings who end up in a bizarre journey in the surreal earth they live
on. This includes freezing time, dried up oceans, and many other
unexplainable events that occur.
There's no dialog used in this film. Only Japanese text which is
translated. The whole story wasn't meant to make any sense. It was made
intended to make the viewer image the whole universe to this story.
For a short this bizarre, it made me wish it was longer. Cause an idea
like this can be unlimited to create. Cat Soup would most likely fit in
the category of random animation.
Cat Soup is more than a short random anime film. It's a work of art and
imagination.
5 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
Chunks, 5 June 2007
Author:
tedg (tedg@FilmsFolded.com) from Virginia Beach
One thing film can do is trigger the imagination in ways impossible
elsewhere.
What we apparently have here is a film based on a comic. There's what I
call an "excuse story" about a half-lost soul. Such stories allow the
filmmaker to simply noodle about as he or she wishes. It worked for me
in "Mirrormask." But not here. I think its because I'm especially
sensitive to coherence of image. If the images let me enter a world, I
do deeply. But if they come from different minds and sketch different
worlds, it just seems as if I am seeing unrelated billboards.
That's what happens here. Oh, there are many things to appreciate; the
unexpected turns of reality which at first seem novel but soon become
repetitive, mere chapter headings. Some of these are clever.
The one thing that absolutely hypnotized me wasn't in the film proper
but was a small inset on the left as the credits rolled by on the
right. An animated scene of perhaps two or three seconds is repeated
over and over again, sometimes starting a bit earlier or later.
Sometimes its backwards. Its of the two kitty children posing with
their mother on the beach. The father is the photographer and we
sometimes see his arm as he pushes one of the children into the shot
where it stays for only a moment before grabbing the mother.
The music tinkles underneath as if automated. We watch this thing cycle
and cycle, modulating in the cycles. Its so much more engaging; you
develop a backstory that relates to the movie and is so much richer in
depth and engagement than anything in the film.
A rather amazing experience, and it was worth watching the movie as
setup for that.
Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Stunning, Abstract, Intriguing and Inspiring, 24 April 2011
Author:
dawn-clover from Silent Hill
"Nekojiru-so" ("Cat Soup") is based in the manga of the same name by
Nekojiru. I can't compare both for I have not read the manga, and only
found out it was based on a manga after popping the disc in the DVD and
watching the short.
This is described as "Hello Kitty on Acid", but I would describe it
more as "Psychotic Lynchian Hello Kitty". Yes, that's more fitting.
Plotwise, the short doesn't explain much, and it doesn't need to! With
no dialogue what-so-ever, random cat noises here and there, and some
pop-up speech balloons like in a comic book, the short needs nothing
but its imagery to be understood. And this is supported by the fact
that, "Nekojiru-so" is supposed to be understood differently by
everyone. There's so much interpretation to be had, so many symbolisms
and abstract imagery. And this is where it succeeds the most, it's such
a personal experience!
The animation is amazingly fitting, sometimes very weird and abstract.
The art and backgrounds are also equally superb. Sound is top notch,
the soundtrack is so fitting it enhances the feeling of doom, despair
and just down right weirdness. And happiness too! Even though it's a
very weird happiness...
Opposite to what you may have thought from the cute-sy art, this is
absolutely NOT a film for kids. Don't even think about popping this on
for a kid. There are some very disturbing images / actions in these
amazingly brilliant 30 minutes of art.
Only downside? Too short... but it's like Tatsuo Sato says in the
interview, if it were any longer, people might go crazy! But hey... I
just wanted this crazy experience to last a wee-bit longer. That's it.
The only downside.
This is an absolutely incredible, stunning and dark short surreal
animation that hooked me up from the beginning to the very end without
letting go. It spoke so much to me, I had to watch it a second time
almost immediately.
So, if you're into surreal / abstract animation / film / art, you
should be watching this right now, getting freaked out and developing
your own interpretation.
An amazing experience!
9 out of 10.
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Trippiest animation film ever, 21 January 2007
Author:
Foxy Grampa from United States
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Short, but long enough, Cat Soup is a very wild trip to watch. One day,
I was just searching though my On-demand list through the anime section
and came across it, and decided to watch it. I spent the whole time
basically sitting with my jaw agape. The whole time I was either vacant
of thought, or had a fleeting one which screamed "TURN IT OFF!!!". But
I didn't. And actually, I'm glad I did.
The animation is stunning. Very artistic, odd and dark. I personally
loved it for the amazing animation, but the seemingly vacant story
behind it is equally compelling for myself.
A young boy--well, cat--goes in search of his sister's soul. In the
first part she's lying sick in bed, and is soon paid by a visit from a
sort of grim reaper. Her soul is split in half. One is regained by the
cat boy while the other half is lost.
Then the rest of the film is slightly lost to me, honestly. I expect
they go back, and their world is... perhaps slowly falling apart? Maybe
her absence of soul is the answer behind this, for the rest of the film
contains various stages of which the world's in. First there's a giant
flood, and next it dries up into a bleak desert, and then everything
freezes (thanks to either what is God or fate, as you will see). Then I
believe they find the sister's soul in the form of an orange flower.
After that, the whole world disappears. Haha, totally didn't get that,
but it sends shivers down my spine each time.
Despite it's seemingly random scenes, I'm sure there's a deeper message
behind it if you watch it enough and do some research. Personally, I
LOVE trippy stuff like this, and would love to spend time doing that
just to understand it. But to some people it's probably not their cup
of tea. It comes off as highly disturbing, so if you like your straight
forward anime, this is not a film for you. If you have an open mind
however, I highly recommend this movie.
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Though it may seem acidic, it's full of meaning, 17 January 2007
Author:
Sarah from United States
Cat Soup at first seems to be a very random animated film. The best way
I've been able to explain it is that it's quite acidic. Though it's not
totally random. The story is about Nyatta, a young cat boy and his
sister Nyaako. Nyaako is very ill and dies, however, Nyatta sees her
soul being taken away by death and is able to retrieve half of it. The
story is about their quest to bring Nyaako fully back to life.
Though a lot of the content in this movie seems completely random, it
is not. Most of it is symbolism for life, death and rebirth. You can
also see references from other tales, such as Hansel and Gretal. This
strangely cute short film has an interesting story, packed with a
deeper meaning than what you see on the surface of the screen.
| Page 1 of 2: | [1] [2] |
Related Links
| Ratings | Awards | External reviews |
| Parents Guide | Plot keywords | Main details |
| Your user reviews | Your vote history |
Copyright © 1990-2012
IMDb.com, Inc.
Terms and Privacy Policy under which this service is provided to you.
An 
company.