I haven't reviewed an animated film in a while. This time I was lucky enough to go to the cinema to see an animated film when I have kids. It wasn't a Disney movie. Let alone an American one. Famous Japanese films have also eluded me. And so what was left to watch in the cinema this day? A Latvian film that has an Oscar nomination, i.e. A Cat's Odyssey.
When I bought my tickets this morning, the theater was nearly empty. I bought my 7 tickets side by side with no problem and I expected the cinema to be similarly empty, but thankfully it wasn't. More tickets were sold than I expected, like half the auditorium. It was all families with kids wanting to see the cat.
I was expecting a very hilarious movie and the movie Cat Odyssey lived up to my expectations. Not a word anywhere, all animals and the main character, as the title suggests, is a cat. She gets to experience her own story during the flood and her friends are other animal heroes. For example, Capybara, the Golden Retriever and even the bird Hadil the Scribe.
But I have to remind you that the main foursome of cat, dog, monkey (Lemur) and bird are not the animals we might expect, as they behave very humanly from time to time in the film, and their real-life counterparts would probably even murder each other. And let's also not forget i the fact that the profile of their animal characters is adapted to the film, and so for the purposes of the film, the famous Hadilov who only hunts snakes and can't fly is adapted to carry a cat in his claws and is a skilled aviator.
We're done describing the main of the film's characters. Now a little bit about technical stuff. The fact that the Latvian filmmakers created the film in a free program is unique. Other animated films from other productions use expensive programs. In Blender they managed to create a really unique film where all the animals are stylized and nature is perfect. I must also mention that the scenery where the main characters go has elements from different countries. These are only explored for the purpose of the film, so we don't really get to know a what continent the story takes place on. Let alone the story of the main foursome is completely unrealistic, as each of the main characters live in a different place, so they can't meet.
The film is definitely eligible to be shortlisted for an Oscar, maybe even win, who knows. But for kids, Cat's Odyssey is absolutely the film. It's full of love and the story of a cat who experiences a flood and survives so many hardships is exactly the kind of film where you can take a break from the hardships of normal life and enjoy nature.
Rating: 80 %
