Une vie de chat (2010)

In Paris, a cat who lives a secret life as a cat burglar's aide must come to the rescue of Zoe, the little girl he lives with, after she falls into a gangster's clutches.

Directors:

Jean-Loup Felicioli, Alain Gagnol

Writers:

Alain Gagnol (screenplay), Jacques-Rémy Girerd (dialogue)

Stars:

Dominique Blanc, Bernadette Lafont, Bruno Salomone

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dominique Blanc	...	Jeanne (voice)
Bernadette Lafont	...	Claudine (voice)
Bruno Salomone	...	Nico (voice)
Jean Benguigui	...	Victor Costa (voice)
Oriane Zani	...	Zoé (voice)
Bernard Bouillon	...	Lucas (voice)
Jacques Ramade	...	Monsieur Bébé (voice)
Jean-Pierre Yvars	...	Monsieur Hulot (voice)
Patrick Ridremont	...	Monsieur Grenouille (voice)
Patrick Descamps	...	Monsieur Patate (voice)
Yves Barbaut	...	Garde 1 / Gardien Zoo (voice)
Line Wiblé	...	Vieille Dame (voice)
JB Blanc	...	Victor Costa (voice)
Steve Blum	...	Nico (voice)
Marcia Gay Harden	...	Jeanne (voice)

Storyline

Dino is a cat that leads a double life. By day, he lives with Zoe, a little girl whose mother, Jeanne, is a police officer. By night, he works with Nico, a burglar with a big heart. Zoe has plunged herself into silence following her father's murder at the hands of gangster Costa. One day, Dino the cat brings Zoe a very valuable bracelet. Lucas, Jeanne's second-in-command, notices this bracelet is part of a jewelery collection that has been stolen. One night, Zoe decides to follow Dino. On the way, she overhears some gangsters and discovers that her nanny is part of the gangsters' team.

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Plot Keywords:

mute girl | policewoman | cat movie | cat burglar | child pet relationship | 

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Taglines:

By Day Child's Pet, By Night Dangerous Thief.

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild violence and action, and some thematic material

Details

Official Sites:

Folimage [France] Official Facebook [United States]

Country:

France Belgium

Language:

French

Release Date:

15 December 2010 (France)

Also Known As:

En katt i Paris

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

€418,885 (France), 19 December 2010, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$34,554, 3 June 2012, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$309,973

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,080,634

Company Credits

Production Co:

Folimage, Centre du Cinéma et de l'Audiovisuel de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, Digit Anima

Technical Specs

Runtime:

70 min 75 min (DVD) 62 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When code names are assigned, one of the men is called 'Monsieur Hulot' (or 'M. Hulot'). This is a reference to the character created by Jacques Tati.

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Crazy Credits

The end credits play over an animation of characters, action and backgrounds seen during the film proper. The major difference between this animation and the film is that this animation is black silhouettes on a blue background.

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Connections

Referenced in Estrenos Críticos: La Cosa (2011)

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Soundtracks

I Wished On The Moon (78 RPM Version)
Written by Dorothy Parker (as D. Parker) and Ralph Rainger (as R. Rainger)
Performed by Billie Holiday
(P) Originally Reciorded 1935 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment France

User Reviews

Nothing revolutionary, but quite pleasant

The least familiar of the 2011 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, this is a French film (originally just titled A Cat's Life) made with traditional animation. The style is similar to some other recent foreign animated features like The Secret of Kells and Persepolis, with a lot of exaggerated backgrounds and simply designed characters (sometimes they even look like figures from Picasso's cubist period). The best thing about the film is its beautiful use of colors, which are truly stunning. The film is always a joy to look at. Story-wise, though, it's nothing too special. It's a basic crime film spoof. The titular cat leads a double life, living with a young girl during the day but venturing out with a cat burglar neighbor at night. The girl's father, a police officer, has recently been killed by a gangster, and now her mother, also a police officer, is on the gangster's trail. Eventually the girl, being chased by the gangster, is aided by the cat burglar. The villain is pretty dull. In fact, most of the characters are pretty uninteresting, with the possible exception of the burglar, whose nimble acrobatics are fun to watch. It doesn't even run 70 minutes, though, so its pleasures definitely outweigh its flaws by the end. It's well worth checking out if you're an animation fan.