A Cat in Paris (Palace Films Collection) (2010)

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General		Extras
Category	Animation	Alternative Version-English Language Dub Featurette-Behind The Scenes-When Voices Get Animated (15.40) Theatrical Trailer-(1.47)
Rating
Year Of Production	2010
Running Time	62:00
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Jean-Loup Felicioli Alain Gagnol
Studio Distributor	Madman Entertainment	Starring	Dominique Blanc Bruno Salomone Jean Benguigui Bernadette Lafont Oriane Zani Bernard Bouillon Patrick Ridremont Jacques Ramade Jean-Pierre Yvars Patrick Descamps
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	$34.95	Music	Serge Besset Hervé Guichard Jean-Loup Felicioli

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	French Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     At barely 60 minutes A Cat in Paris (La Vie de Chat) is hardly likely to compete with the latest Pixar or studio Ghibli offering in the field of complex children's animated cinema. And yet this French trifle is not without its charms and will appeal to the younger set as well as those struggling with their French homework.

     The cat in question is Dino, a cheeky little black number with red stripes. By day, of course, he is a mild-mannered feline sleeping and eating, as they all do. By night, however, he is a different cat altogether. For Dino slips out after dark to visit his second home, a nearby house where the moggy meets up with his friend Nico, who just happens to be a cat burglar. Slipping across the rooftops and into houses with ease the burglar purloins valuables. Dino's owner, little girl Zoe, is unaware that her pussycat is up to no good. Even when he brings back some jewellery (mine only bring in rats!) she does not suspect a thing. Zoe's mother is not so trusting: for she is a police superintendant. She and Zoe suffered a grave loss when local crime boss Costa killed her husband (and Zoe’s father). Zoe has been mute ever since that terrible day. It turns out that boss is on the hunt for a precious artefact and is willing to dispose of anyone who gets in his way, and that includes meddlesome girls, petty burglars and cats!

    A Cat in Paris succeeds over its short distance in creating likeable (and hateable) characters. There are no real surprises here but the hand drawn animation style seems to recall an era long gone, stylized and interesting. The themes are at times surprisingly adult though the scent of danger may make it a bit scary for the real littlies.

     This co-production between animator Jean-Loup Felicioli and director Alain Gagnol comes well recommended for a quick but enjoyable ride.

Video

     A Cat in Paris was illustrated on 35mm film. IMDB doesn't record the original aspect ratio. This DVD is in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio which seems about right. It is 16x9 enhanced.

     This film is exquisitely animated in a highly stylized fashion. Lines and hashed shadings move on purpose to give it that "moving picture book" feel. The colours are clear and well handled. This is not a day-glo animated film by any stretch and combines cool tones, pastels and blues to give the feeling of night in Paris.

     There are subtitles in English.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     A Cat in Paris contains two soundtracks. One is the French original which is a 5.1 track running at 448 Kb/s. The other is an English dub which is a 2.0 track running at 224Kb/s.

     The dialogue is clear and easy to understand. Both tracks are adequate. The original French is to be preferred not only because it is more expansive and fuller in sound but also because, according to the extra included with this DVD, the creators spent a good deal of time carefully selecting a voice cast.

     There are no technical defects with the sound. The music by Serge Besset is a noirish cool jazz track of French themes which perfectly suits the material.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

     There are a couple of extras with this DVD.

English Version

     The English dub is, as said above, not as good as the French version but it is still adequate, particularly for the kids too young to read subtitles.

Making of A Cat in Paris

     This featurette, subtitled "When Voices are Animated" is really an introduction to the voice cast. Although a little bit of information is provided about the story behind the making of the film the majority of the extra is taken up with meeting the voice cast members and having them talk about their role and the challenges of acing in an animated film. Worth a watch.

Theatrical Trailer

     A decent trailer for the film.

     This DVD is available only in Region 4 and Region 2 France (DVD and Blu-ray). I can't find reference to subtitles on those releases. Stick with Region 4.

     A Cat in Paris grows in the memory after watching. It does suffer from being a little short, a divertissement rather than fully fledged fare. But even so there is much to like in the film.

     The sound and vision are good and the extras complement the package.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall