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A Cat in Paris

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A Cat in Paris
French theatrical release poster
FrenchUne vie de chat
Directed by
Screenplay byAlain Gagnol
Dialogue byJacques-Rémy Girerd
Produced byJacques-Rémy Girerd
Starring
Edited byHervé Guichard
Music bySerge Besset
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 15 October 2010 (2010-10-15) (Saint-Quentin Ciné-Jeune Film Festival)
  • 15 December 2010 (2010-12-15) (Belgium, France and Netherlands)
  • 22 December 2010 (2010-12-22) (Switzerland)
Running time
65 minutes[1]
Countries
  • France
  • Belgium
  • Netherlands
  • Switzerland
Languages
  • French
  • English
Budget$7.5 million[2]
Box office$3.3 million[3]

A Cat in Paris (French: Une vie de chat, lit. 'A Cat's Life') is a 2010 animated adventure crime comedy film by the French 2D animation studio Folimage, directed by Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagnol.[4] An international co-production of France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland,[5] the film follows a young Parisian girl whose cat leads her to unravel a thrilling mystery over the course of a single evening.

A Cat in Paris premiered at the Saint-Quentin Ciné-Jeune Film Festival on 15 October 2010. It was released theatrically on 15 December 2010 in France by Gébéka Films and in Belgium and the Netherlands by Benelux Film Distributors, and on 22 December 2010 in Switzerland by Agora Films.[4]

The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.[6]

Plot

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A black cat with red stripes leads a double life. During the night, he accompanies a cat burglar named Nico (who calls him Mr. Cat), who performs heists to steal jewels. During the day, he lives with a girl named Zoé (who calls him Dino). Zoé, who lost her voice after the loss of her father, has become distant from her mother Jeanne who works as a police superintendent, and is looked after by a nanny named Claudine.

Nico gives Dino a fish-shaped bracelet, which he passes on to Zoé. At the police station, Jeanne briefs her colleagues on protecting the Colossus of Nairobi statue, which cost her husband his life at the hands of the notorious Victor Costa. Victor Costa intends to have another go at the statue while it is being moved, with help from his codenamed accomplices, M. Bébé (Mr. Baby), M. Hulot, M. Grenouille (Mr. Frog), and M. Patate (Mr. Potato).

Back at home, Jeanne takes interest in the fish-shaped bracelet and brings it to her colleague Lucas. Lucas deduces that the bracelet matches up with burgled items from Rue Mouffetard. That night, Zoé sneaks out of her house and follows Dino. She spies Victor's lot, and finds Claudine is working for Victor and has been gaining insight on police movements. Zoé is spotted, but is rescued by Nico. Nico takes Zoé to hide in the zoo, but Victor's gang pick up her trail. Zoé escapes in a boat.

Lucas finds a lead on the robberies trailing directly to Nico's residence. When Nico returns to find Zoé at his place, he is arrested by Jeanne and Lucas, presumably having kidnapped Zoé. Jeanne leaves Zoé in Claudine's custody and goes with Lucas to find Victor. Unable to convince Jeanne and Lucas of Zoé's predicament, Nico escapes in order to find Zoé. Jeanne is able to confirm that Nico's claim about Zoé is true.

Claudine has taken Zoé to Costa's house, where she is locked away. Thanks to Claudine's perfume, Dino follows the scent and leads Nico to the house. Nico is able to whisk Zoé away after he cuts the power and dons his night goggles. Victor pursues Nico and Zoé to Notre Dame. Nico falls while trying to mislead Victor, but is saved by Jeanne, who has just arrived at the scene.

As Victor captures Zoé, Jeanne, with Nico and Dino, come to the rescue. Nico has to save Dino when Victor pushes the cat over the edge of a nearby crane, leaving Jeanne to confront Victor. Plucking up her courage, Jeanne saves her daughter and strikes Victor, putting him in a hallucinatory trance. Before Jeanne can help Victor, the gang leader swings from the crane to what he imagines is the Colossus of Nairobi, but falls to his death to a truck below. The rest of the gang, including Claudine, are arrested and Zoé regains her voice.

Nico reforms himself, gives up thievery, and becomes a member of the family, while Dino becomes the household pet. Nico gives Jeanne a snow globe with the Cathedral of Notre Dame in it as a Christmas present.

Voice cast

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Character French voice English voice[7]
Jeanne Dominique Blanc Marcia Gay Harden
Claudine Bernadette Lafont Anjelica Huston
Nico Bruno Salomone Steve Blum
Victor Costa Jean Benguigui JB Blanc
Zoé Oriane Zani Lauren Weintraub
Lucas Bernard Bouillon Matthew Modine
Mister Baby Jacques Ramade [fr] Mike Pollock
Mister Hulot Jean-Pierre Yvars Philippe Hartmann
Mister Frog Patrick Ridremont Gregory Cupoli
Mister Potato Patrick Descamps Marc Thompson
Policeman #1 Yves Barbaut
Zookeeper Mike Pollock
Old lady Line Wiblé Barbara Goodson
Frank Marc Thompson
Dom Eric Bauza
Dog owner

Reception

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, A Cat in Paris holds an approval rating of 83% based on 64 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "A Cat in Paris depicts a stylish, imaginative world with a wonderful soundtrack and Hitchcockian overtones."[8] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 63 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[9]

Prior to the Oscar nomination, the film was little-seen in the United States, although it had its world premiere as the special matinee screening of the Saint-Quentin Ciné-Jeune Film Festival’s opening day celebration event. The New York Times called it "a gorgeous hand-drawn feature that is one of the highlights of this festival. ... Without being too frightening, it projects a sense of danger, both physical and emotional, that is more engaging than the high-pitched thrills of the domestic films."[10]

Web Behrens of Time Out Chicago gave the film four out of five stars, describing how "this cartoon noir distills Hitchcock into 64 brisk minutes for middle-schoolers and up"; the review elaborated that the film "announces its retro visual style with a dynamic title sequence that zips across the screen, bursting with Saul Bass-influenced dynamism."[11]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Une vie de chat (PG)". British Board of Film Classification. 30 March 2012. Archived from the original on 27 October 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
  2. ^ King, Susan (31 May 2012). "'A Cat in Paris' animated film draws on French roots". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 16 September 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  3. ^ "Une vie de chat (A Cat in Paris) (2010)". JP Box-Office (in French). Archived from the original on 3 December 2023. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  4. ^ a b "A Cat in Paris de Alain Gagnol, Jean-Loup Felicioli (2010)". Unifrance. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  5. ^ Mintzer, Jordan (2 January 2011). "A Cat in Paris". Variety. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  6. ^ "The 84th Academy Awards | 2012". Academy Awards. Archived from the original on 17 April 2018. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  7. ^ "A Cat in Paris". Behind the Voice Actors. Archived from the original on 27 May 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  8. ^ "A Cat in Paris". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 25 October 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  9. ^ "A Cat in Paris". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  10. ^ Hale, Mike (3 March 2011). "Children's Film Festival Has a Decidedly Foreign Flavor". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 17 May 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
  11. ^ Behrens, Web (20 October 2011). "A Cat in Paris | Film review". Time Out Chicago. Archived from the original on 23 August 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
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