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

This film was one of a number of movies that were in competition at the 2012 Academy Awards that was related to France and French culture in some way. The films included The Artist (2011), Hugo (2011), Midnight in Paris (2011), The Adventures of Tintin (2011), Puss in Boots (2011) from the French fairy-tale by Charles Perrault, Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) based on the novel by Pierre Boulle and Une vie de chat (2010). Interestingly though, there was no French film nominated for the Best Foreign Film Academy Award (Oscar) in 2012.

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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

References Goodfellas (1990)

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Soundtracks

Une vie de chat / A Cat In Paris (Theme)
Music composed by Serge Besset
Performed by Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra-Sif 309, Vincent Beer-Demander(mandolin), Alain Territo (double bass), Jean-Marc Michel(accordion), Andy Barron (percussion), Pierre Drevet (trumpet)
Conducted by Stéphane Cortial

User Reviews

Another nice looking French animated feature

French animation has a certain stylish aesthetic. From the Gallic influenced 'Pink Panther' and 'Inspector Clouseau' cartoons to the films of Sylvain Chomet such as Belleville Rendezvous and The Illusionist, French animation has a definite look and feel. A Cat in Paris very much fits into this category. Its appeal lies almost exclusively in its French aesthetic.

Its story has three plot strands: a single mum and her daughter, their cat and a burglar and a gang of crooks. All the stories ultimately converge. In all honesty the story and characters aren't especially interesting. This is the weakness of the film. However, its strength lies in its animation and look. It's an old-style cartoon done in the traditional way. It isn't CGI and this is to its benefit. It has lots more heart and soul than the slick computer generated stuff we mainly see nowadays. The characters are simply drawn, resembling some forms of primitive art. The Paris they inhabit is beautifully presented. This city is such a knockout that it always looks terrific when animated, it really seems ideal for the treatment. Here is no exception, with the buildings lovingly depicted and the night-time rooftops romantically illustrated. The atmosphere created by the animation is very appealing.

This is a good feature. It's not up to the standard of Sylvain Chomet's work but it is certainly operating from a similar place. If you appreciate traditional animation or more specifically French animation, then this is a feature well worth catching.