CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 21st, 2024, reviewing the new streaming series “Manhunt” – based on the bestseller by James L. Swanson – currently streaming on Apple TV+.
Blu-ray Review: ‘A Cat in Paris’ Has Fun Moments in Frustrating Movie
CHICAGO – One of two surprising 2012 Oscar nominees for Best Animated Film (the other being “Chico & Rita”), “A Cat in Paris” was just released in a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack Special Edition and viewers may be curious what enticed Academy members. The film has its diversions but it’s ultimately a film that only reminds one of better works and barely comes together. It would work as a TV special but its 62-minute length isn’t the only thing that keep it back from being a fully-realized feature.
Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
“A Cat in Paris” is about how a cat burglar, actual feline, and little girl have their lives intersect in the city of lights. It’s a film that’s clearly aiming for that whimsical Sylvain Chomet (“The Illusionist”) charm but misses the heart and creativity of Chomet’s work. It’s a movie that thinks crude, hand-drawn animation will do a lot of the work when it comes to atmosphere and personality and, after a fresh start, becomes surprisingly bogged down in a cop movie plot and slows down. The voice work feels stilted and often misguided (Anjelica Huston’s inconsistent accent choice is baffling) and the whole piece takes on the air of a film that may have started with good ideas but never developed them.
A Cat in Paris was released on Blu-ray and DVD on October 9, 2012
Photo credit: New Video
Synopsis:
The Academy Award-nominated A CAT IN PARIS is a beautiful hand-drawn caper set in the shadow-drenched alleyways in Paris. Dino is a cat that leads a double life. By day he lives with Zoe, a little girl whose mother is a detective in the Parisian police force. But at night Dino sneaks out the windowto work with Nico - a slinky cat burglar with a big heart, whose fluid movements are poetry in motion as he evades captors and slips and swishes from rooftop to rooftop across the Paris skyline. A CAT IN PARIS is a delightful animated adventure perfect for both adults and children - a witty and stylish “animated noir” with a jazzy soundtrack featuring Billie Holiday and a thrilling climax on top of Notre Dame cathedral.
Special Features:
o “The Many Lives of a Cat” Video Flipbook
o “Extinction of the Saber-Toothed Housecat” Bonus Short Film
o Alternate Original French Audio Track with English Subtitles
o U.S. Trailer
By BRIAN TALLERICO |