"Gay Purr-ee" has some interest in that it was co-written by the great animation director Chuck Jones. If you are looking for proof that Jones was a much better director than a writer, this movie will provide the necessary evidence. While the script isn't downright awful, it is quite lacking in some key areas. For starters, while none of the characters are repulsive, all the same you will not really care about them, even with the main protagonists. They are pretty thin and rely more on attributes found in stock characters than having attributes that would make them unique and sympathetic. Another problem is with the story itself. There is really only about enough story for half an hour, which results in the story moving extremely slowly. Additional padding (mostly in the first half) comes from the song numbers, which number too many for the audience's patience. The songs are pleasantly sung by the cast, but otherwise they are not really memorable. On the positive side, the movie does have some nice background art throughout (thought the actual animation is only so-so). What the movie ends up being is a movie that will probably bore kids, and will probably test the patience of parents who are not aficionados of animation.

I love this movie because the cats are so cute. To me this movie feels like a Golden Era Hollywood musical that got turned into a cartoon with music. Judy Garland's singing is superb. She hit all of her notes and the other voice over actors are good too. The artwork is very French and I liked the clip where Mewsette was being shown in multiple paintings. Major French artists got to have their works represented to children. There is not much violence so kids can easily watch this movie. I don't think this movie could ever be remade because the talent was there behind the scenes and on camera. It's not easy to make a film about singing cats and keep my attention. But they were able.

Judy Garland, Robert Goulet, and Red Buttons lent their voices to this animated movie about a cat, Mewsette, that dreams about leaving the French countryside to see the bright lights of Paris. When she gets a chance to hop on to the back of the car of her owner going there, she takes it. When Jaune-Tom (another cat obviously), voiced by Goulet, finds out she's gone, he must go after her. He may never see her again! That's okay with his buddy, voiced by Red Buttons. She was always in the way of him wanting to hang out and have fun with Tom. Tom did seem interested in Mewsette, but showed it only by bringing dead rats to her and she was unimpressed by such tactics, while probably secretly liking him but not his uncouth, un-Paris-like ways. Such are the temperaments in this tale of love and excitement in a cat's world in France. Then there's adventures abound for Mewsette in Paris and for Jaune-Tom and buddy looking for her on the way to Paris. I thought I remembered liking this years ago, but seeing it recently, I felt it to be an odd mixture of art-like animation and simple juvenile-type humor. But is this geared towards adults or children? Children are the ones who will tire of this first, as this doesn't really grab you in the beginning. Instead it relies too much on the charm and talent of its stars, but that will be lost on children, particularly young children, who won't like the singing slowing down the picture. Adults, who love the singing style of its stars, Garland and Goulet, may like its romanticism and feeling somewhat chic, and at the same time moody, but may be feel something's lacking. Also, its silly resolution doesn't really fit in or mix well with the supposed mystique of Paris and L'Amour, L'Amour. Paul Frees gives a particularly good performance as the film's villain; one could say his hammy, over-the-top performance steals the show. Parents, who aren't Garland fans, who see this for their children may be minimally pleased. Children may like its quaintness, but won't be overjoyed by it. Judy Garland fans, who try to find everything she ever did, will probably be more impressed with it than most everybody else. Its major flaws are its ending and the lack of three-dimensional characters. But, maybe if you can find this little film, you can find more than meets the eye in Gay Purr-ee.

There are a few excellent points about this movie. Garland's voice sounds great here. The animation is quite unique, in that most of the backgrounds and such look like something out of an Impressionist painting, and are very beautiful. Red Buttons is very cute as Jaune-Tom's (Robert Goulet) small sidekick. The Harburg/Arlen songs are excellent, and they work nearly as well with Judy here as they did in The Wizard of Oz (1939), that marvel that truly started her entire career. The story is a little low on magic, but is pretty charming, and small children will like it. All in all, a treat for fans of Garland, Goulet, Harburg and Arlen, and original animation style.