Cat Movies

The Three Lives of Thomasina

2009-01-24T18:47:00.000-08:00

The Three Lives of Thomasina (1963) is a Walt Disney Productions fantasy feature film starring Patrick McGoohan, Susan Hampshire, and child actress Karen Dotrice in a story about a cat and her influence on a family. The screenplay was written by Robert Westerby and Paul Gallico and was based upon Gallico's 1957 novel Thomasina, the Cat Who Thought She was God. The film was directed by Don Chaffey, and shot in Inveraray, Argyll, Scotland, and Pinewood Studios, England. Thomasina has been broadcast on television and released to VHS and DVD.

Reception

Howard Thompson of the New York Times (12 December 1963) found the film "a nice one, but...far from top-drawer Disney." He thought it was a "sentimental and extremely genteel little movie...best suited for small girls," but praised the major performers (including the cat) and the settings. He concluded by describing the film as "mighty, mighty cosy."

That Darn Cat

2009-01-24T18:45:00.000-08:00

That Darn Cat is a 1997 film starring Christina Ricci and Doug E. Doug. It is a remake of the 1965 film of the same name, which in turn was based on the book Undercover Cat by Gordon and Mildred Gordon.

Plot

The scene is Boston, "before the turn of the century". A rich businessman is annoyed at his wife's pestering, so he calls for the maid to prepare some warm milk. However, a pair of inept robbers kidnap a maid from a house, believing her to be the wife.

The film switches to a small New England town called "Edgefield", where 16-year-old Patti Randall (Ricci) is disgusted with how boring and old-fashioned the town is. She does love her cat, D.C. ("Darn Cat") however. Her parents are unhappy at the way Patti acts and dresses.

Every night D.C. leaves at 8 and harasses the neighborhood (such as tricking the dog and eating the dog food or playing with a bird cage while a geriatric and senile old lady orders travel packages). However, Patti's big break comes when D.C. walks into a dilapidated building where the maid wraps a Timex watch around D.C.'s neck with "Hell" scratched on it (she meant to write "Help" but only came in some of the way). Patti (Ricci) discovers the watch around her cat's neck and informs the FBI.

The rest of the film revolves around the various humorous scrapes and struggles that Patti and the agent Zeke (Doug) face trying to get D.C. to lead them to the victim.

Puss in Boots

2009-01-24T18:43:00.000-08:00

Puss in Boots is an animated direct-to-video movie, created in 1999 by Plaza Entertainment. It is based on the story Puss in Boots.

It was directed by Phil Nibbelink, and starred the voices of Judge Reinhold, Dan Haggerty, Michael York, and Vivian Schilling.

Plot

The story follows Handsome Gunther, a poor young man whose only possession in life is his anthropomorphic cat. The cat, wanting to get his owner out of poverty, decides to use his wit and make Gunther a prince. In his plan, the cat tries to help Gunther win the heart of the Princess. However, an evil shape shifting ogre also has his eyes on marrying the girl. After she is captured, Gunther and his clever cat go after the Princess and must rescue her before it is too late.

Oliver & Company

2009-01-24T18:42:00.000-08:00

Oliver & Company is a 1988 animated feature film in which a homeless kitten named Oliver joins a gang of dogs to survive on the 1980s New York City streets. The film was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and became the twenty-seventh animated feature released in the Disney animated features canon. It was distributed by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution. It came with the Garfield short, Nighty Nightmare. It was re-released in the USA, Canada, and the UK on March 29, 1996.

The movie was inspired by the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist, which has been adapted many other times for the screen. In this version, Oliver is a cat and Fagin's gang is made up of dogs, one of which is Dodger. The film is Disney's fifth animated feature to take place in the present day of its release, using New York City as its setting.

This film was rated G by the MPAA.

The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat

2009-01-24T18:40:00.000-08:00

The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat is a 1974 animated film directed by Robert Taylor. It is an adult animation featuring a series of drug-induced vignettes both related and unrelated to life in the 1970s. Starring Skip Hinnant as the voice of the titular feline protagonist , the film is a sequel to Fritz the Cat, the first animated film to receive an X rating in the United States. Unlike its predecessor, Nine Lives received an R rating. It was also less well-received by critics and audiences alike, although it has since gained an audience as a cult film.

Reception

The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat was the first animated feature in Cannes history to compete as part of the official competition.

The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat received negative reviews. Film website Rotten Tomatoes, which compiles reviews from a wide range of critics, gives the film a score of 50%.Time Out described the film as being "woefully inept," while Ralph Bakshi later contrasted Taylor's efforts to how his film might have turned out if prospective distributor Warner Bros. had been allowed to tone down the content of the film.

Both Fritz the Cat films are available on DVD through MGM Home Entertainment in the USA, and Arrow Films in the UK as part of a DVD box set entitled The Fritz the Cat Collection.

Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey

2009-01-24T18:39:00.000-08:00

Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey is a 1993 remake of the 1963 film The Incredible Journey based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Sheila Burnford. The film was directed by Duwayne Dunham who has directed other films such as Little Giants and television shows such as JAG and Twin Peaks. The film stars a Golden Retriever named Shadow, voiced by Don Ameche, a Himalayan named Sassy voiced by Sally Field, and an American Bulldog named Chance voiced by Michael J. Fox.

The animals belonged to the Burnford-Seaver family. Bob Seaver (Robert Hays) recently married Laura Burnford (Kim Griest) and merged their families: Peter Burnford (Benj Thall), Hope Burnford (Veronica Lauren) and Jamie Seaver (Kevin Chevalia) - owners of Shadow, Sassy and Chance respectively. The plot begins when Bob must take a one-year job in San Francisco, leaving the animals at a friend's Oregon ranch. Shadow breaks free and leads Sassy and Chance home across a vast mountain range. They encounter dangerous animals, a waterfall and even a frightening dog pound before finding their way back to the children.

The film was released on February 3, 1993 and went on to gross over forty million dollars at the box office. The film was considered a success and a sequel was produced and released in 1996 titled Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco. The sequel featured the same animals and the same actors voicing the animals, except for Shadow, who was voiced by Ralph Waite in the sequel because Don Ameche died shortly after playing his role in the first film.

The film was shot at various locations in Oregon. Four national forests were used in filming, these included Deschutes National Forest, Mount Hood National Forest, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, and Willamette National Forest. Cities and towns in Oregon that were used for filming included Portland, Oregon, Bend, Oregon, Joseph, Oregon, and Wallowa, Oregon. Two other areas used for filming were the Columbia River Gorge and Eagle Cap Wilderness Area.

This film was rated G by the MPAA.

Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco

2009-01-24T18:38:00.000-08:00

Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco is the 1996 sequel to the 1993 film Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey. The film is directed by David R. Ellis who later directed other films such as Snakes on a Plane, Final Destination 2, and Cellular, but is more famous in Hollywood as a stuntman and a stunt coordinator. The film stars a Golden Retriever named Shadow (voiced by Ralph Waite), a Himalayan named Sassy (voiced by Sally Field), and an American Bulldog named Chance (voiced by Michael J. Fox).

The film features characters from Sheila Burnford's novel The Incredible Journey, but the plot did not originate from the book.

The film was released on March 8, 1996, and went on to gross over thirty million dollars at the box office. The movie grossed less than the first movie, but is still considered a moderate success. The film features voices from other famous actors and sports figures, who include: Sinbad, Carla Gugino, Tisha Campbell, Adam Goldberg, Al Michaels, Tommy Lasorda, and Bob Uecker.

The film was shot at various locations in San Francisco, Vancouver and Abbotsford Airport.

This film was rated G by the MPAA.

Themes

The film deals with social themes such as human nature, duty and loyalty, and collectivist vs more individualist societies in the animal world. As well as inspiring questions similar to those of the film Sliding Doors when a human life was saved by the animals' original unnecessary escape attempts.

Heathcliff: The Movie

2009-01-24T18:36:00.000-08:00

Heathcliff: The Movie is an animated film from the now-defunct DiC Entertainment, released by Atlantic Releasing on January 17, 1986. In it, the eponymous comic strip and TV character tells of his past exploits to his three nephews (and a mouse), through a compilation of episodes originally broadcast on the show. After Heathcliff, DiC would not release another animated film for theaters until Strawberry Shortcake: The Sweet Dreams Movie in 2006.

Stories

Heathcliff the TV Star - Heathcliff becomes a TV star after getting rid of his competition.
Heathcliff's Double - There's a new cat in town called Henry who looks exactly like Heathcliff, and everybody mistakes him for Heathcliff.
Siamese Twins - There's two new cats in town that are ruining Heathcliff's reputation, making everyone think Heathcliff is the cause of their troubles.
Obedience School - To win a lifetime supply of free cat food, Heathcliff goes to obedience school to be worthy for the contest.
The Catfather - In this parody of The Godfather, Heathcliff collects gifts for the Catfather, unaware to the fact that the Catfather is the scare of the town.
Boom Boom Pussini - Hector gets Heathcliff into a challenge to wrestle the famous cat wrestler Boom Boom Pussini who cheats to win matches.
Pop's Parole - Heathcliff's father has gotten parole for jail time and Heathcliff believes he broke out and the cops are chasing him.

Gay Purr-ee

2009-01-24T18:35:00.001-08:00

Gay Purr-ee is an animated film musical produced by United Productions of America and released by Warner Bros. in 1962. It features the voice talent of Judy Garland and was Garland's only animated voice role. According to the production notes on the DVD edition, it was Garland who suggested that her Wizard of Oz songwriters, Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg, should write and compose the songs for Gay Purr-ee.

Effects

Chuck Jones helped write the movie's story, and ultimately produced the project, moonlighting for UPA in violation of his exclusive contract with Warner Bros. One of his top animators, Abe Levitow, directed the film.

When Warner Bros. picked up the film for distribution, they discovered that it was Jones's work, and promptly fired him and most of his team. Jones later hired everybody that worked with him after the collapse of Warner Bros. Animation Studio to his first independent studio, Sib Tower 12 Productions.

Fritz the Cat

2009-01-24T18:33:00.000-08:00

Fritz the Cat is a 1972 animated film written and directed by Ralph Bakshi as his feature film debut. Based on the comic books by Robert Crumb, the film was the first animated feature film to receive an X rating in the United States. It focuses on Fritz (voiced by Skip Hinnant), an anthropomorphic feline in the mid-1960s who seduces many female animals in New York City while staying one step ahead of the law. The film is a satire focusing on American college life of the era, race relations, the free love movement, and left- and right-wing politics. Fritz the Cat was the first independent animated film to gross more than $100 million at the box office.

Fritz the Cat had a troubled production history and controversial release. Creator Robert Crumb is known to have had disagreements with the filmmakers, claiming in interviews that his first wife signed over the film rights to the characters, and that he did not approve the production. Crumb was also critical of the film's approach to his material. Fritz the Cat was controversial for its rating and content, which viewers at the time found to be offensive. Its success led to a slew of other X-rated animated films, and a sequel, The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat, was made without Crumb's or Bakshi's involvement.

Felidae

2009-01-24T18:31:00.000-08:00

Felidae is a 1994 German noir mystery animated film. It was directed by Michael Schaack and released by the Trickompany animation studio. The screenplay, by Martin Kluger, is based on the 1989 novel by Akif Pirinçci. The story centers around domestic house cat Francis and the grisly feline murders taking place in his new neighborhood.

Plot

A cat named Francis moves with his owner to a new neighborhood, and no sooner has he set paw into his new home than he is greeted by the slain body of another cat. Local street cat Bluebeard is convinced that this, and the other three recent killings, must have been committed by a "can-opener" - cat slang for a human.

Francis disagrees, and as he finds out more about the victims, is sure that not only is the murderer a cat, but that the killings are all connected by one common factor - each of the victims was sexually aroused at the time of death.

He is aided in his investigations by fierce, gluttonous Bluebeard, blind but wise Felicity, and the computer-using cat Pascal. His sleep is haunted by terrifying and vivid nightmares, which offer insight into the mind of the murderer.

Francis soon runs afoul of the local bully Kong and the suicidal Claudandus Sect, and Francis discovers that his new home was once the site of a laboratory owned by Doctor Pretorius. Pretorius, in his search to create a bonding glue that would heal any flesh wound, performed painful experiments on countless cats, including the legendary Claudandus. After Pretorius' death, the lab became a meeting site for the Claudandus Sect, who believe that Claudandus was imbued with powers that could help the cat species evolve into something greater.

Cats & Dogs

2009-01-24T18:30:00.000-08:00

Cats & Dogs is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Lawrence Guterman. The screenplay by John Requa and Glenn Ficarra centers on the relationships between cats and dogs.

Plot

After foolishly falling for a trick set up by a cynical cat called Mr Tinkles, a Bloodhound agent named Buddy, who was part of a secret dog agengy must be replaced, and his replacement soon arrives in the form of an inexperienced young Beagle puppy named Lou, which an Anatolian Shepherd called Butch, who is the dog agengy's leader, greatly disapproves of. However, through repeated attacks by Tinkles' cat mercenaries, Butch enlists Lou's help in stopping him from stealing a human scientist's dog allergy cure even though he isn't a qualified agent. Slapstick hilarity ensues as the dogs and cats battle for the fate of Earth, never resting until it is decided on regarding who is the superior animal.

Cat's Eye

2009-01-24T18:29:00.000-08:00

Cat's Eye (also known as Stephen King's Cat's Eye) is a 1985 horror film directed by Lewis Teague and written by Stephen King. It is based on three of King's short stories, "The Ledge", "Quitters, Inc.", and "The General" (the first two appeared in his Night Shift story collection).

Notes

This was Barrymore's second film based on King's writing; she had previously appeared in Firestarter in 1984: both De Laurentiis productions, filmed in Wilmington NC.

The film contains some references to other Stephen King works, namely The Dead Zone, Cujo, Christine, and Pet Sematary (at the start, Cujo, the dog from the film of the same name, chases the cat and, during the chase, is almost run over by Christine, the car from the movie of the same name).

The film makes extensive use of a Police song "Every Breath You Take." Since the original version was too expensive for this low-budget production, a cover was used instead.
Frank Welker played both the voices of General the Cat and the Troll.
The screenplay for "The General" is included in the book Screamplays, edited by Richard Chizmar and Martin H. Greenberg.
James Woods was a smoker in real life, and actually did quit smoking after shooting the movie.
Sometimes They Come Back , another short story from Night Shift, was going to be adapted into the film, but producer Dino De Laurentiis said that the story itself would be stronger alone. The adaptation was made to a TV movie for CBS instead.

The Cat from Outer Space

2009-01-24T18:27:00.000-08:00

The Cat from Outer Space is a 1978 Walt Disney Company film, starring Ken Berry and Sandy Duncan.

Trivia

Jake's original name is Zunar J5/9 Doric 4-7.
NBA Hall of Famer "Pistol" Pete Maravich and Pat Riley are seen on a clip of a 1971 NBA Hawks-Lakers basketball game.
On Jake's planet, Gold is called Org 12, and Frank figures it out when Jake tells its atomic weight (196.967).
Harry Morgan and McLean Stevenson both appear in this movie. Both of them have starred on the series M*A*S*H. Stevenson played the first commander of the 4077th, Henry Blake. When his character was killed off in 1975, Morgan replaced him as Colonel Sherman Potter.

The Black Cat

2009-01-24T18:26:00.001-08:00

The Black Cat is a 1934 horror film that became Universal Pictures' biggest box office hit of the year. It was the first of six movies to pair actors Béla Lugosi and Boris Karloff. Edgar G. Ulmer both wrote the screenplay and directed the film. The classical music soundtrack, compiled by Heinz Eric Roemheld, is unusual for its time, because there is an almost continuous background score throughout the entire film.

Production

The Black Cat was part of a boom in horror "talkies" following the release of Dracula and Frankenstein in 1931. The film exploited the popularity of Poe and the horror genre, as well as a sudden public interest in psychiatry.

The opening titles and the closing credits do not mention Boris Karloff's first name. Also the advertisements (for example, the poster in this article's info box) referred to him only as "Karloff". At the time, Karloff was the bigger star (a fact that rankled Lugosi, who had burst into stardom earlier with Dracula), hence the special billing. Even though Lugosi had the lead role, Karloff recevied top billing. Karloff's role is the adversary, and main source of fright of the story, while Lugosi is the tragic hero.

The film has little to do with Edgar Allan Poe's famous story of the same name, though Poe's name is listed in the credits.

The film – and by extension, the character of Hjalmar Poelzig – draws inspiration from the life of occultist Aleister Crowley. The name Poelzig was borrowed from architect Hans Poelzig, who worked with Ulmer on the sets for Paul Wegener's silent film The Golem.

The Aristocats

2009-01-24T18:24:00.000-08:00

The Aristocats is a 1970 romance-musical comedy animated feature produced and released by Walt Disney Productions. It is the twentieth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon. Based on a story by Tom McGowan and Tom Rowe, the story revolves around a family of aristocratic cats, and how an alley cat acquaintance helps them after a butler has kidnapped them to gain his mistress' fortune which was meant to go to them. It was originally released to theaters by Buena Vista Distribution on December 11, 1970. The title is a pun on the word aristocrats. The film's basic idea - an animated romantic musical comedy about talking cats in France - had previously been used in the UPA animated feature Gay Purr-ee.

The Adventures of Milo and Otis

2009-01-24T18:21:00.000-08:00

The Adventures of Milo and Otis is a live action Japanese film about an orange tabby cat named Milo and a fawn pug named Otis. The original Japanese version was released in 1986 and the reworked English language version was released in 1989 in the United States.

Initially filmed as Koneko Monogatari (A Kitten's Story; alternate English title: The Adventures of Chatran) in Kitakyushu, Japan, the film was completely revamped, trimmed and westernized with added narration by Dudley Moore (Shigeru Tsuyuki narrated the Japanese version). Director Masanori Hata and associate director Kon Ichikawa edited the film together from 400,000 feet of footage, shot over a period of four years.

Animal cruelty allegations

When the film was first released, several Australian animal rights organizations raised allegations of animal cruelty during filming and called for a boycott. The Sunday Mail (Brisbane) reported at the time that Animal Liberation Queensland founder Jacqui Kent alleged the killing of more than 20 kittens during production and added that she was disturbed by reports from Europe which alleged other animals had been injured, as in one case, where a producer allegedly had broken a cat's paw to make it appear unsteady on its feet. Kent said her organization had a number of complaints from people who had seen the film and were concerned that it could not have been made without cruelty.The Tasmanian and Victorian branches of the RSPCA also alleged abuses.

The film was reported to have the approval of the American Humane Society, despite not having their officers present during filming.

The American Humane Association attempted to investigate cruelty rumors through "contacts in Europe who normally have information on movies throughout the world." While noting that the contacts had also heard the allegations, they were unable to verify it as being true. The organization also reported, "we have tried through humane people in Japan, and through another Japanese producers to determine if these rumors are true but everything has led to a dead end."