Rudolf the Black Cat (2016)

A stranded little cat tries to find a way to back home.

Directors:

Motonori Sakakibara, Kunihiko Yuyama

Writers:

Hiroshi Saitô (book), Hanmo Sugiura (book)

Stars:

Mao Inoue, Ryôhei Suzuki, Akio Ôtsuka

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Mao Inoue	...	Rudolf (voice)
Ryôhei Suzuki	...	Gottalot (voice)
Akio Ôtsuka	...	Master Kuma (voice)
Arata Furuta	...	Devil (voice)
Nana Mizuki	...	Misha (voice)
Norito Yashima	...	Buchi (voice)
Rio Sasaki	...	Rie (voice)
Sandayû Dokumamushi	...	Truck driver (voice)
Yuka Terasaki	...	Rudolf's younger brother (voice)

Storyline

Rudolf, a little black cat from the town of Gifu (center of Japan), leave his home by first time in the wish to accompany his owner, child Rie, who made a walk traveling to visit her grandmother. A series of unfortunate events causes that Rudolf receives a hit and be unconscious in the trailer of a ware truck. When Rudolf wake up hours later in a strange place, accidentally he meets Gottalot, a big boss cat feared by everyone in the town. Learning that he is on Tokyo, at the other side of Japan, Rudolf is forced to adapt to his new situation with Gottalot and other new friends as the nervous cat Buchi and the charm Misha. But when in TV he discovers from where he is, Gottalot discloses a secret to help Rudolf to back with Rie, at the same time that Rudolf interests by Gottalot's past and his relation with evil dog called Devil.

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Plot Keywords:

black cat | tokyo japan | gifu japan | dog | accident | 

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Family

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User Reviews

Cute and charming cats!

I got the opportunity to watch Rudolph and Ippaiattena thanks to Japan Film Festival Australia, without them I'd be completely clueless as to when I'd ever get to see this movie again, by which I mean I hope this film gets released in my country one day. It was also the Japanese version, I have no clue if an English dub is in production or will ever be made, so sorry to those who dislike subtitles.

Rudolph and Ippaiattena I found was about making tough decisions in life and sticking to them, and that sometimes things change for better or worse, and you kinda gotta roll with it. It also encourages learning and seeking knowledge to help keep yourself stable and safe.

Despite being CGI animated the film likes to keep some classic anime motifs like dramatic shots and action cuts. The film can get sad or heavy but never too sour, as actually the film is rather quite refreshingly light in tone. The characters all have distinct personalities, and I found the mains quite charming in that old fashioned story-telling kind of way, their friendships are also endearing too (though there is a lack of female characters, it's an old novel). Forgot to say the animation looks mighty impressive for a studio that mostly handled animation for television, and interestingly styled character design that I'm personally fond of.

I really hope the film gets officially released further into the world, possibly too late for a theatrical release but hopefully a Blu Ray release will be possible. I'm personally quite a large fan of this film but that may be because of my affinity to cats and the fact that this film unlike many other family films doesn't demonize any other species for humor, which is refreshing. Hope to see it again soon!

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site [Japan]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

6 August 2016 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Rudolf the Black Cat

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$13,804,754

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bandai, Chukyo TV Broadcasting Company (CTV), D.N. Dream Partners

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1