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Cool Cat Saves the Kids

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Cool Cat Saves the Kids
Directed byDerek Savage
Written byDerek Savage
Based onCool Cat Stops Bullying
by Derek Savage
Produced byDerek Savage
StarringErik Estrada
Vivica A. Fox
Derek Savage
Jason Johnson
CinematographyStephen Treadway
Edited byJames Christopher
Jason Christopher
Music byMark Koval
Michael Lee Bishop
George Sarah
Production
company
Cool Cat Productions
Running time
75 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Cool Cat Saves the Kids is a 2015 American independent family film. It was the feature-length directorial debut of Derek Savage,[1] who was also the film's writer and producer. It is based on Savage's Cool Cat children's book series.[1][2] The film is an anti-bullying movie aimed at children featuring Vivica A. Fox and Erik Estrada, as well as Savage himself and other lesser-known actors.[1] Part of the film was funded through Kickstarter.[3] It did not receive a theatrical release and was panned by Internet reviewers.

In the film, Cool Cat is an anthropomorphic cat who teaches children about topics such as how to deal with bullying and gun safety.[1] The film draws heavily from three Cool Cat shorts Savage had previously created: Cool Cat Stops Bullying, Cool Cat in the Christmas Parade and Cool Cat Finds a Gun.

Plot

Cool Cat and Derek Savage

Cool Cat is making signs for his School President campaign with one of his friends, Maria, when Maria receives a text from a number she doesn't recognize. Cool Cat entices Maria to open the message, despite not knowing who sent it – it reads that Maria is ugly and has rat hair. After several more exchanges, they discover that Butch the Bully, a neighborhood kid lurking behind a car nearby, sent the text.

Butch runs away, laughing, and finds a can of spray paint, which he uses to ruin one of Cool Cat's signs. However, the wind forces some of the spray into Butch's eyes, forcing him to run away again. Butch enlists the help of two other boys to vandalize the neighborhood.

Upon discovering this, Cool Cat runs to confront the three about their behavior, causing Butch to flee and leave the spray can with the other two boys. When the boys are asked why they are doing what Butch says, they say it is because no one loves them. Cool Cat tells them that it isn't true, and that he loves them.

After arriving home and saying goodbye to Maria, Cool Cat heads upstairs to check his e-mails, and discovers that someone has sent him hate mail. Cool Cat tells the bully "If you were nice, you would have more friends", with the bully replying that they will "get him tomorrow". Cool Cat freaks out about what the bully might do to him, causing him to have a nightmare. He arrives at the solution of standing up for himself.

The next day, Cool Cat gets invited to be in the Hollywood Christmas Parade. He asks his mother, Momma Cat, if he can go, and she says yes. Cool Cat and Daddy Derek compose and perform a rock song ("Cool Cat Loves to Rock"), and make a music video ("Cool Cat Boogie"). The two then participate in the Hollywood Parade together.

At a cookout hosted by Vivica A. Fox and Erik Estrada, Cool Cat and Maria build a sandcastle, but Butch knocks it down, causing Cool Cat to feel sad and confused. Fox and Estrada give Cool Cat advice on how to stand up to bullies. When Butch returns demanding lunch money, Cool Cat stands up to Butch for the first time, yelling at Butch and causing him to run away. Cool Cat then goes home and enters a kids' writing contest.

Some time later, Cool Cat and his friends hear a radio alert that someone is stealing candy from babies. They identify Butch as the culprit. Cool Cat chases Butch down, and Butch gets arrested by a police officer. Cool Cat and his friends then find a gun in the grass. They decide to tell Daddy Derek about it, but Butch (now released from custody) steals the gun, planning to extort kids at school out of their lunch money. Daddy Derek learns of Butch's plans and calls Butch's parents. The following morning, Daddy Derek escorts Cool Cat and his friends to school, where they see Butch showing off the gun to a friend. The police officer arrives at the scene and arrests Butch again.

Cool Cat wins his election for School President, as well as the writing contest, for which he receives $100. The film ends with Cool Cat and his friends sitting around a table and talking about what they learned.

Cast

  • Jason Johnson as Cool Cat
  • Derek Savage as Daddy Derek
  • Erik Estrada as Himself
  • Vivica A. Fox as Herself
  • Jessica Salazar as Maria
  • Connor Dean as Butch the Bully
  • Steve Crest as Police Officer

Reception

Cool Cat Saves the Kids only had a home media release, and it did not receive significant mainstream media coverage. It was panned by Internet reviewers, with some considering it among the worst movies ever made.[4][5][6][7][8][9] In 2023, users of the movie social network Letterboxd voted Cool Cat Saves the Kids as number 9 on its list of "10 Best "So Bad, It's Good" Movies".[10]

In response to a negative review on the popular YouTube channel I Hate Everything,[8] Derek Savage demanded that the review be deleted and put a YouTube copyright strike on the channel. Writing for Paste Magazine, author Jim Vorel expressed his opinion that use of movie clips in the review was protected under the fair use doctrine of U.S. copyright law, and that Savage was ignorant of that fact.[4] Freelance journalist Mitchell Chapman (writing on the Huffington Post Contributor platform) called Savage's actions "one of the ugliest attacks on free speech to date" on YouTube.[11]

Sequels

The film was re-released with alterations in 2018 as Cool Cat Kids Superhero,[12] and in 2022 as Cool Cat Saves the Kids – the Director's Cut.[13] Cool Cat Kids Superhero was reviewed by PewDiePie in 2019 as part of his Cringe Tuesdays series.[14]

In 2021 a new Cool Cat short, Cool Cat Fights Coronavirus, was released.[15][16] A proposed feature-length sequel, Cool Cat Stops a School Shooting, has been floated by Savage.[4]

Savage released another gun safety-related film, Gun Self-Defense for Women, in 2016, which was instead aimed at adults.[4][17]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d James, Emily St. (2014-08-04). "Cool Cat Saves the Kids is one weird movie trailer". Vox. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  2. ^ "Cool Cat® ; A Derek Savage Children's Series". Derek Savage Books. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  3. ^ Productions, Cool Cat (2013-06-27). "Cool Cat Saves the Kids Feature Film Project Launches Kickstarter Campaign to Fund Final Production". PR Newswire. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  4. ^ a b c d Vorel, Jim (2022-07-27). "Prepare to be Horrified by the Tasteless Idiocy of Cool Cat Stops a School Shooting". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 2023-09-17. Everything contained in this post is my own, personal opinion.
  5. ^ Harvey, Nicholas (2018-04-09). "Film Review: "Cool Cat Saves The Kids"". The Odyssey Online. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  6. ^ Sharpe, Jon (2019-02-17). "Bad Movie Showcase: Discount fur suits and some un-Cool Cats". The Daily Beacon. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  7. ^ Johnston, Adam (2015-02-28). "YMS: Cool Cat Saves the Kids (Part 1 of 2)". YouTube. Retrieved 2023-09-17.[unreliable source?]
  8. ^ a b "Cool Cat Saves The Kids – The Search For The Worst". I Hate Everything. 2016-11-06. Retrieved 2023-09-17 – via YouTube.
  9. ^ Cau, F. (2016). Nanarland : Le livre des mauvais films sympathiques - Episode 2 [Nanarland: The Book of Bad Likeable Movies – Episode 2]. Nanarland (in French). Ankama. p. 171. ISBN 979-10-335-0405-4. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
  10. ^ Lee, Robert III (2023-04-28). "'You're never gonna see another guy like me, if you live to be 5,000.' The 10 Best 'So Bad, It's Good' Movies, According to Letterboxd". Collider. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  11. ^ Chapman, Mitchell (2016-07-02). "The Derek Savage Meltdown: One Of The Ugliest Attacks On Free Speech To Date". HuffPost Contributor. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  12. ^ "Cool Cat Kids Superhero". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  13. ^ "Cool Cat Saves the Kids – the Directors Cut". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  14. ^ Kjellberg, Felix (2019-05-20). "Why Cool Cat needs to be STOPPED ($50 000) Cringe Tuesdays #5". YouTube. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
  15. ^ "Cool Cat Fights Coronavirus (Short 2021)". IMDb. 2021-05-14. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
  16. ^ "Covidsploitation". Nanarland le site des mauvais films sympathiques (in French). Retrieved 2023-09-23.
  17. ^ "New Gun Film Targets Women". Marketwired. 2016-04-28. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
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