I stumbled upon this film right here on IMDb when it recommended this title for me due to having looked at the information given for the 2010 film 'The Illusionist.' I then watched both trailers, one in French with English subtitles and the other in English and they looked stunning. Upon watching the English dub of the film, I enjoyed it slightly more than the trailers since I got more out of it although there are a few problems such as the film being a little too short for my tastes, the story being a tad complicated and the dubbing sometimes seeming off.The animation is artistic and vibrantly coloured if flickery and a tad choppy in places but it is impeccably cel-shaded and I liked the effective white line-drawing animation against a black background towards the end. The backgrounds are equally as vibrant and are also well-shaded - I especially liked how Notre Dame Cathedral and the Eiffel Tower were realised. The English-language dialogue was over-familiar in parts but delivered the occasional true-to-life line that I would respond to in relation to my pretty mediocre life at the moment while the voice acting seems unusual with a mixture of British and American actors but it is clear and well-projected nonetheless. The incidental music is jazzy, beautiful and suspenseful at the right moments. While the story is, as I mentioned, hard to follow in parts, it has the right amount of moving and tense moments with a subtle hint of joy. Moving onto the characters, Claudine and Nico are endearing, Zoe's mother is stern yet affectionate and Zoe herself is sweet, even though she didn't start speaking until the second half of the film and the cat is equally adorable.Overall, this French independent animated film is on par with the majority of similar titles I had seen ('The Illusionist,' 'The Old Lady and the Pigeons' and 'Ernest and Celestine') and a notch above 'The Monk and the Fish.' 8/10.

The cat in Jeanne's house is not just the family's pet. As night falls over Paris, the feline goes looking for adventure, pairing up with Nico, a burglar, who has a knack for breaking into homes while the people are asleep. A dangerous occupation, indeed. Zoe, who is Jeanne's daughter, is overseen by a nanny, an older woman whose real identity has not been exposed. To complicate matters, Jeanne, a police detective, is pursuing a criminal, Victor Costa, who is responsible for her husband's death, something that has left little Zoe unable to utter a word.Costa and his gang are after the Colossus, a statue with whom the gangster identifies and would like to possess. One night, little Zoe goes after her cat, after it goes in one of the nightly rounds following Nico, the burglar. She discovers a world of danger lurking outside the security of her home and is befriended by a kind Nico. Zoe discovers the duplicity of her nanny who works closely with Costa and his gang. Jeanne and the police go after Costa, getting in a final confrontation that will pay off two ways, the apprehension of the evil man and the miracle of Zoe regaining the voice she lost.A surprising anime from France, "Une vie de chat" is wonderful in the way it tells a story with animation. Directed by Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagnol, the film will delight adults and children. The dialogue is by M. Gagnol and Jacques-Remy Girard. The artists behind this project succeed in the way the story unfolds on the screen as well as the choice in the casting of the characters. Dominique Blanc is heard as Jeanne. The great Bernadette Lafont is the evil nanny. Bruno Solomone gives life to Nico. Jean Benguigui is the evil Costa and although she does not speak until late in the film, a sweet voiced Oriane Zani makes a good Zoe.An enjoyable animated film for all ages.

I found A Cat in Paris to be a very good film. Although it is rather short, perhaps too short, it is very well animated with ethereal colours, beautiful sceneries and a fantastic atmosphere that is both thrilling and nostalgic. I agree however that how tiny the feet were drawn was a form of annoyance. The music was both haunting and charming, almost like listening to a score by Bernard Hermann. The story is not the most original story in the world, but I didn't see it as a bad thing, seeing how slickly paced, vivid, affecting and humorous A Cat in Paris was. The characters also engage, with the best being the title character, a strutting observant sort of cat, and the little girl who is sweet and moving, and the voice acting is dynamic enough too. In conclusion, a very good film. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Thing that these little, European, animated movies always have going for them is the fact that they are unique to look at. They have a visual style and atmosphere of its own, that is being quite different from any of the animated movies, coming from the big studios. And this is probably the only thing that this movie still has going for it really.Sorry to say but this movie really isn't much special. Story-wise it's all a bit too familiar and it doesn't has enough excitement or originality to offer. This feels like a typical animated movie, for kids to watch early on a Saturday or Sunday morning. So it's still good and enjoyable enough all but just nothing special really. It's not a movie that will stick to your mind, for a very long time.Visually it's a pleasant movie to look at but again, it's nothing that special really. The animation is actually quite simplistic, which prevents the movie from ever doing anything groundbreaking or impressive to look at. The movie does still have a couple of stylish and artistic moments in it but unfortunately the most impressive thing to look at are still its end credits.I'm not even all that sure about it if this is a movie all children will enjoy. There are some comical moments in it but the story itself is lacking some real excitement and isn't always that interesting to follow and to keep your interest, let alone that of young children. But luckily it's only an hour short movie, so it also never starts to become a boring or one, or anything like that.Good enough but really nothing Oscar worthy.6/10 http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/