The Cat Returns

We got an unexpected (to me anyway) surprise before the Studio Ghibli produced main feature, in the form of an Aardman short film! **Creature Comforts: What it’s all about** 

This is a wonderful little followup to the seminal Creature Comforts – this time, the animals are asked questions about evolution. It’s interesting to compare the changes in the quality of the clay animation over the past 15 years or so. Everything is so smooth and clean-looking, it’s as if the entire short came out of Pixar rather than Aardman. Not sure if that’s good or bad.

There was as much action in the background as in the foreground, so much so that it’s difficult to figure out what to keep an eye on. From the walruses talking about weight loss and keeping fit, to the gerbil who wants wings, to the well educated amoeba, this is an hilarious short film, sure to be shown endlessly at animation festivals for years to come.

Aside: When The Wrong Trousers debuted in Vancouver, the entire audience (myself included) burst into spontaneous applause and cheering at the end of the chase scene. It just felt right.

There’s nothing all that wrong with this film. It’s cute. It’s funny. It’s short. The characters are clever and original. The animation is pretty, but a bit uneven. I think I’m damning it with faint praise.

A girl saves a cat from being hit by a car. Much to her surprise, it thanks her formally before running off. The night, she’s visited by a delegation of cats, who lavish gifts upon her – you see, she’s saved the life of the Prince of Cats. They try to convince her to follow them to the Kingdom of Cats to receive the Prince’s hand in marriage to honour–

Ah never mind. It’s not important. Stuff happens and it’s all fluffy and even Disney-esque in its tacked-on blatant moralising. In case you weren’t paying attention, that was an insult. While it’s a good enough film, it doesn’t hold a candle to other Ghibli productions, like Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke or even My Neighbour Totoro. It’s a lowball thrown at younger kids, without much respect to their intelligence. But hey, it’s funny and cute.