Felix the Cat: The Movie

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This article is about the 1989 movie. For other uses, see Felix the Cat (disambiguation).
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Felix the Cat: The Movie

Release poster
Directed by Tibor Hernádi
Produced by József Bujtár
Don Oriolo
Janos Schenk
Christian Schneider
Screenplay by Pete Brown
Based on Characters:
Don Oriolo
Starring Chris Phillips
Alice Playten
Maureen O'Connell
Peter Newman
Don Oriolo
Christian Schneider
David Kolin
Music by Christopher L. Stone
Cinematography László Radocsay
Studio Felix the Cat Creations
Animation Film Cologne
Distributed by New World Pictures
Release date(s) August 23, 1991 (1991-08-23) (United States)[1]
Running time 82 minutes
Country United States
Germany
Hungary
Language English
Budget US$9 million[2]

Felix the Cat: The Movie is a 1989 animated film based on the cartoon and comic strip character of the same name. It was made in Europe during 1986 and 1987,[2] but was not officially released in the United States until 1991.[1]

Contents

[edit] Plot

In the Kingdom of Oriana, the Princess Oriana, ruler of the kingdom, has been informed by a local fortune teller named Pearl that the Duke of Zill is invading the kingdom. Oriana and Pearl go down into the cavern underneath the castle to use a transporter (called a "Dimensporter") to go to another world to find a hero to save the kingdom. Just before they can enter the transporter, Oriana and Pearl are captured by the Duke and are imprisoned in his kingdom. But before she's taken away, she sheds a magical tear that takes on the form of Oriana's image, which flies into the transporter and is immediately transported to Earth.

Felix the Cat is taking a nap underneath a palm tree when a tear finds him. The tear wakes him up and guides him to the abandoned Anairo Gold Mine ("Oriana" spelled backwards), where the transporter is located. Felix and his magical bag of tricks are soon transported to the fantastic and strange Kingdom of Oriana. When he arrives there, his bag changes into a drill, and accidentally floods the transporter control room when it drills into an ocean. After resurfacing in a swamp of Zill, Felix meets Pim, a reluctant lacky who leads Felix to Wack Lizardi, the owner of a local circus. Pim suggests to his boss that Felix could be a new attraction, so Wack confiscates Felix's bag and locks Felix in a cell before and after every show. Meanwhile, The Professor (Felix's arch-nemesis) and Poindexter (The Professor's nephew) have followed Felix to Zill, hoping to steal Felix's magic bag. Meanwhile, at the circus, Felix meets the princess of the kingdom,Oriana. At first, Oriana is skeptical, but soon realizes that Felix is the hero that she is looking for. She tells Felix that her kingdom was overtaken by a Duke of Zill, who is actually her uncle. The Duke was actually a scientist who suddenly became evil after an experiment went wrong and horribly disfigured his face. He was banished to the Land of Zill and began plotting his revenge after the Zillians began to see him as a god. Felix promises to the princess that they'll escape, which they do, leaving Wack's circus in shambles. Felix, Oriana, Pim, and eventually the Professor and Poindexter set off to the kingdom of Oriana. After braving the creatures of the world, they arrive at Oriana, where they confront the Duke.

It turns out that the Duke wants the Book of Ultimate Power, which he thinks will give him the power to rule the world. But when he discovers the contents inside the book ("Truth", "Love", and "Wisdom"), the infuriated Duke commands his newest creation, The Master Cylinder, to destroy Felix and his friends. But Felix takes the book and throws it at Master Cylinder. The Duke's robotic minions explode, the Duke flees, but only to be crushed by the remains of The Master Cylinder and the kingdom of Oriana has been saved. Felix, The Professor, and Poindexter walk into the transporter to take them home. Oriana thanks Felix with a hug, and the film ends with Felix saying "Righty-o!"

[edit] Cast

[edit] Additional voices

  • Susan Montanaro
  • Don Oriolo
  • Christian Schneider
  • Michael Fremer
  • David Kolin

[edit] Production

Felix the Cat: The Movie began development in the late 1980s, when Don Oriolo (the son of Joe Oriolo) began work on a feature-length television special intended as a pilot.[3] After Oriolo took the project to Europe, it ended up with director Tibor Hernadi and his Hungarian crew, at a cost of US$9 million.[2]

The film opens with an introduction by Felix, who is rendered in CGI using then-new motion capture technology; this model also appears throughout the end credits. The rest of the film, however, is rendered in hand-drawn animation. The animation was produced at Pannónia Filmstúdió in Hungary, with some parts subcontracted to studios in Poland and Bulgaria.

[edit] Release and reception

New World Pictures picked up the film in May 1987, some time after completion, and planned to release it in the U.S. market on Thanksgiving season; these plans fell through.[2] The film premiered at the Wadsworth Theater in Los Angeles on January 26, 1989, as the opening selection of the third Los Angeles Animation Celebration.[4]

Felix the Cat: The Movie was released on VHS on August 23, 1991[1] by Buena Vista Home Video. The film was also a staple of Disney Channel's programming roster during the 1990s. As of 2011, its only legitimate DVD releases have occurred in Great Britain, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Germany and Serbia.

The staff of Halliwell's Film Guide called it a "Laboured attempt to update the classic cartoon figure."[5] Philip Strick of MFB commented that it was "more likely to bury the ingratiating Felix beyond revival than to stimulate fresh legions of fans".[5] In his 2005 book Television Cartoon Shows, Hal Erickson noted that it "managed to salvage whatever marginal charm the 1960 series has had by dressing it up with first class animation and character design."[3]

"Who Is The Boss?" a song from the movie's soundtrack praising the film's antagonist The Duke of Zill, has generated a cult following on the internet.

[edit] Songs

The film features the theme song from the Felix The Cat TV series, on which the film is based. The score was composed by Christopher L. Stone, with songs by Bernd Schonhoffen, Don Oriolo and Christian Schneider.

The other songs throughout the film are:

  1. Sly as a Fox
  2. Together Again
  3. All You Need is Friends
  4. Who is the Boss?
  5. Mizzard Shuffle
  6. Face to the Wind (The Princess Song)
  7. Something More Than Friends
  8. End Credits (Instrumental)

All music published by Felix The Cat Creations Music Inc. Original "Felix The Cat" theme song by Winston Sharples, published by Famous Music.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c "New on Video" (Registration required to read article). Beacon Journal: p. D21. 1991-08-23. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AK&s_site=ohio&p_multi=AK&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB62D25E2AE1242&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved 2010-05-21. 
  2. ^ a b c d Cawley, John; Korkis, Jim (1990). Cartoon Superstars. Pioneer Books. pp. 88–89. ISBN 1-556-98269-0. http://books.google.com/books?id=LyzzAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Felix+the+Cat:+The+Movie%22&dq=%22Felix+the+Cat:+The+Movie%22&hl=en. Retrieved 2010-05-20. 
  3. ^ a b Erickson, Hal. "Felix the Cat". Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 through 2003. 1 (A—L). McFarland & Company. p. 327. ISBN 0-7864-2099-5. 
  4. ^ Solomon, Charles (1989-01-26). "L.A. Celebration Brings Home Animation" (Registration required to read article). Los Angeles Times (Tribune Company): p. Calendar 4. http://articles.latimes.com/1989-01-26/entertainment/ca-1951_1_animation-festival. Retrieved 2010-05-20. 
  5. ^ a b Gritten, David, ed (2007). "Felix the Cat: The Movie". Halliwell's Film Guide 2008. Hammersmith, London: HarperCollins Publishers. p. 401. ISBN 0-00-726080-6. 

[edit] External links
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Films and TV
Theatrical shorts (1919-1936) · Felix the Cat (TV series) (1958-1961) · Felix the Cat: The Movie (1988) · The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat (1995-1997) · Baby Felix & Friends (2000-2001) Felix the Cat Saves Christmas (2004)
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