Miss Minoes (2001)

A cat who turns into a young woman helps a journalist protect their town from a factory boss with an evil plan.

Director:

Vincent Bal

Writers:

Annie M.G. Schmidt (novel), Tamara Bos (screenplay)

Stars:

Carice van Houten, Theo Maassen, Sarah Bannier

8 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Theo Maassen	...	Tibbe
Carice van Houten	...	Minoes
Sarah Bannier	...	Bibi
Pierre Bokma	...	Ellemeet
Marisa Van Eyle	...	Mevrouw Ellemeet
Olga Zuiderhoek	...	Mevrouw van Dam
Kees Hulst	...	Meneer van Dam
Hans Kesting	...	Harry de Haringman
Jack Wouterse	...	Burgemeester
Lineke Rijxman	...	Pia Bongers
Bas Teeken	...	Sjoerd de Wit
Bianca Krijgsman	...	Roddeltante
Plien van Bennekom	...	Roddeltante
Wim Van den Heuvel	...	Meneer Pastoor
Joep Onderdelinden	...	Leraar

Storyline

A cat who turns into a young woman (Minoes) retains some of her feline characteristics and helps a journalist to gather news for the front page of a local newspaper. With the help of Minoes, who can talk to the cats in the small town, he soon discovers that the helpful and popular chairman of the "Club For Friends of Animals" and boss of a nearby factory has evil plans with the village.

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Plot Keywords:

cat | turned into an animal | transformation | netherlands | dutch | 

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Taglines:

always listen to your felines

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for brief language, smoking and rude behavior

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Netherlands

Language:

Dutch

Release Date:

6 December 2001 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

Miss Minoes

Filming Locations:

Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands

Box Office

Budget:

EUR5,328,737 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,901, 25 December 2011

Gross USA:

$266,959

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,029,543

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bos Bros. Film & TV Productions, AVRO Television

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Carice van Houten is allergic to cat hair.

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Goofs

In her opening scene, Miss Minoes is wearing heels, but the stunt jumper (from the tree) is wearing flats; look close, it happens fast.

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Connections

Featured in Pauw & Witteman: Episode #5.63 (2010)

User Reviews

Terrific Dutch film for all ages

I love this Dutch film in any way possible. It has charm, it is funny and sweet and most of all it is heartwarming. It starts with a simple premise. A cat changes into a young woman because she eats from some chemical stuff in a barrel. She, Minoes (Carice van Houten), is allowed to stay with Tibbe (Theo Maassen). He is a reporter who is about to get fired but since Minoes can help him with some news which she hears from other cats, she saves his job. They make a deal. She can stay, but she must provide Tibbe with some news.

Mr. Ellemeet (Pierre Bokma) is the hero of the town. He seems to be a very good man but Minoes and the other cats slowly discover that he is not that good after all. Now the shy Tibbe wants to help the cats and expose Mr. Ellemeet but he has no prove besides the stories of cats. Minoes, the other cats and a girl named Bibi (Sarah Bannier) who lives next door come up with a plan to help Tibbe.

The simple story is based on a novel written by Annie M.G. Schmidt, who was and is probably the most read author for children books in The Netherlands. Although it is quite simple it has so many nice touches you almost forget the simplicity. The nice little touches deal with Minoes who has a struggle with herself. She is a cat but slowly becomes a human being. The hunger for fish and birds and the need to climb trees when dogs are near are those little nice things.

Carice van Houten plays her part extremely well. It may seem pretty easy what she does but that is only because of her. Theo Maassen finds the right note for his character as well and Pierre Bokma is a good villain. The performances are good and it looks very good as well, exactly the way a movie like this should look. The movie is perfect for children and I think that adults will have at least the same amount of fun. There is simply nothing wrong with this movie considering it is for the whole family. If you want to see a great family film, try this Dutch little treasure.

Note: A nice fact is that Jan Roelfs is the co-producer. He was Oscar-nominated as the production designer for 'Orlando' and 'Gattaca' and is the production designer for the upcoming 'Alexander' from Oliver Stone.