Alyssa Black (Aly200)
Who knew that a story about a cat solving a series of brutal murders could be so engrossing? Germany entered this controversial thriller into the animation game that has become the country's own masterpiece, earning global praise. Its fame has even surpassed the literary source novel it was based upon.Francis is a house-cat who has just moved to a new neighborhood with his magazine writer owner and stumbles into a murder mystery that involves scientific experimentation, a feline cult and a bloody body count as he gets closer to the truth. Aided by a colorful cast of diverse characters from the wise-cracking deformed Bluebeard (Bleubart in German), the blind, gentle and wise Felicity (Felicitas in German) to the fatherly figure-like and all- knowing Pascal, Francis comes to learn that the truth is stranger and more horrifying than he could have known. Our leading feline is a simple cat who must become a hero in extraordinary circumstances. Francis is naive yet intelligent despite little knowledge of the film's events prior to his introduction. His voice is what guides us through the story as we see everything from his perspective, allowing us access into his mind when Francis begins to experience nightmares so horrible that it pushes the limit of what should be seen. Francis is also flawed as he gives in to temptations that could cost him his life or the answers to the murders, but in the end the hero does prevail thanks to his resourcefulness, razor-sharp wit and fierce combat skills.The violence is graphic and unyielding as the bloody aftermath is not shielded from the viewer. We never actually see the crimes occur, but are given details in some instances that would make one's stomach twist and turn. The carnage is spine-chilling as the murders grow more gruesome in the film's short run-time (I won't divulge here for the sake of not offending my readers). Best not to see this on a full stomach or if you are squeamish.The narrative takes many twists and turns as the mystery is slowly unraveled. By the time the killer's identity is revealed, the tension is so thick that the air could be cut with knives and still the adrenaline pumps through the veins. Even as the fiery and brutal final battle takes place, you can't look away as the hero and killer face off in the most epic cat- fight since "The Lion King (ironically released the same year as "Felidae")". It is only over when blood is spilled, but there is a bittersweet final word of advice that wraps up the film with a bow but not in a condescending way.If you are brave enough, give this little gem a watch but be prepared for one hell of a ride.
Screen Squinty
This is not the kind of animated feature that you would stick the kiddies in front of unless they have a great deal of maturity to understand graphic (violent) imagery. This is a story that takes talking animals to a whole different, nitty-gritty level.The first thing to note is the differences between the original German voice acting and the English dub later developed. You can tell right off when doing a comparison between the two, that the voice acting and the lines is definitely better in the German one, the voice actors matching their characters personalities quite well, with Ulrich Tukar as the voice of Francis and Mario Adorf as Blaubart. The English version cleaned up a lot of the language which actually felt part in setting the tone, particularly of Blaubart, and did have some noticeable differences to wording outside of that which was not to the film's advantage.So like with anything else that is done in a language different from your own, if your English, stick to the subtitled version if you want the full effect of the film.The animation was a rather fascinating mix of the standard, though good, quality of animation during that period, but then you get these moments where it takes a step above itself, particularly in Francis' dream sequences, and one in particular whose contents won't be given away, but its style works well with the disturbing and potent imagery you're not likely to forget.There is also a sense of environment with this, an idea of the sort of old run down once lofty urban district which is established through the movements of the cats, done particularly well through a really well animated and detailed chase scene between Francis and the cult followers.The story itself is another highlight, appropriate given the popularity of the books, the narrative flows from one sequence to another well enough, though there are moments that do feel a little rushed, it does weave its mystery in a very engaging way with equally engaging characters, Blaubart being a nice humorously crass counterpoint when it gets a little too heavy at the right times. It actually reads almost like a film noir, with some of the tropes of the genre, but not dominantly so.One of the things going against it is that there are certain things that do make it dated, and a product of its times, such as a scene or two of less than PC use of homosexuality in a negative connotation, particularly exemplified in the scene between Kong and his crew and Francis and Blaubart in the first half, but that is very brief thankfully, and doesn't impact with the rest of the film, so it can be skipped.The other negative perhaps is that while the climatic ending was really well done, the "bad humans and there corruption" message did feel a little forced here, almost shoe horned in with those last words of the antagonist, and then Francis before he passes out. It felt already established and stated by the antagonist's back story already, but then again, it is a product of its time, and it didn't take away from the overall enjoyment of the film.This was a great film that has a really compelling narrative and tone that sucks you in, a great set of characters in Francis and Blaubart, great animation, particularly in the dream sequences, and a gripping action-filled ending, if a little preachy here and there. Definitely a recommended watch for those who enjoy a good horror/mystery, are not squeamish, and like good quality adult animation.
bcroker
Not only is it dark and intriguing, it also is humorous and scary.F is for feline.E is for exciting.L is for lots of gore.I is for imaginative.D is for dark and gripping.A is for achievement in animation.E is for exciting.Highly recommend this film to any lover animation and dark stories.This is one of the masterpieces of animation!
Horst in Translation ([email protected])
"Felidae" is (as you may have guessed from its title) a film centered around cats, but it's not an animated film for children as it is basically a crime thriller with some similarities to the likes of "Watership Down". It's bloody, we see dead cats, a religious cult, there's talk about colon cancer and also a massive fire almost at the end. The movie is from over 20 years ago and features quite some great names in the cast. Tukur, Adorf, Brandauer, Schneider and Ochsenknecht should be known to those with an interest in German cinema. And it also includes Wolfgang Hess, the German voice of Bud Spencer. Always a joy for me to listen to, especially as the cat that he voiced also had Spencer's physical appearance, not his kindheartedness though. The male cat Francis moves into a new home with his owner (or I should say "tin opener") and quickly acts as a detective when several cats (in heat) in the neighborhood get brutally murdered. It gets personal when Felicitas is killed right after he met her. All the cats reminded me really of humans at times, not only because they were speaking, but also because of the characterizations and character traits they possessed. Also when they get into comparing the victims' races, it is almost like a real crime movie with human actors. It's a pretty short movie, runs only for 75 minutes without closing credits. The novel it is based on and the script come from Akif Pirinçci ("The Door") and as I saw him in a recent talk show, the final developments made me think quite a bit in terms of the main antagonist cat obviously possessing a Nazi-like attitude. The film's director is Michael Schaack. You may have heard about his "Werner" movie work or "The Little A**hole", which also features Helge Schneider.All in all, I did enjoy this film. The animation is fine and I also liked how the cats were randomly scratching their furs while talking. Also the crows representing danger were nicely included. However, I have to say there are a couple flaws too mostly near the end. I was a bit underwhelmed by the motive and the solution to the murders, but it's not so bad that it destroys everything before. I did not like the final quote about animals and humans coexisting in peace as this is really not what this film is about. It's about cats coexisting in peace with other cats, or humans with humans if you see it metaphorically. And how did out hero manage to kill the main antagonist and all the other victims before were not able to do so? Everything before that is good though (especially the tension as you did not know if cats or humans were the killers) and that's why I recommend watching this film.
